China Watch Blog

China Watch Blog reports that global chain retailer Carrefour as well as Wal-Mart are among vendors in China who may face a maximum fine of 500,000 yuan (US$75,188) for alleged price frauds.

The National Development and Reform Commission was quoted as saying in a Shanghai Daily report that investigations had found some Carrefour and Wal-Mart outlets in China fabricated original prices of goods on sale and lured customers into buying falsely discounted products.

The two retail giants are also accused for using misleading price tags and failing to comply with their pricing commitments, according to a statement on the commission’s website today.

Their cheating practices were discovered during a pricing scrutiny in China’s major cities after authorities received consumer complains.

Price frauds were found in Carrefour and Wal-Mart’s stores in Changchun, Shanghai, Shenyang and Kunming, covering a wide range of products from garments to home appliances and food.

The commission has asked its local departments to confiscate all the illegal income and fine the stores five times of their illegal revenue to a maximum penalty of 5 million yuan (US$751,880).

China Watch Blog has learnt that business leaders in a survey revealed that they have considered China as the most important country for future economic growth.

In a worldwide poll of 1,201 CEOs, Xinhua reported that China was named by 39 percent of them as the No. 1 growth engine, followed by the 21 percent for the United States, 19 percent for Brazil and 18 percent for India.

According to PwC’s 14th Annual Global CEO Survey, which was released here on the eve of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Global CEOs also saw China, the U.S. and India as the most important future sources for products and raw materials.

Regionally, 90 percent of CEOs said they expect their operations to grow in Asia in the next 12 months, followed by Latin America’s 84 percent, Africa’s 75 percent, the Middle East’s 72 percent and Eastern Europe’s 70 percent.

China Watch Blog does not claim to be an authority of parenting, but it has successfully gone through the process, including making mistakes which had to be subsequently rectified to obtain the desired results.

First, parenting is not EASY, and to be successful parents, it comes with lots of hard work, sacrifice and, above all, lots and lots of PATIENCE.

If you want to succeed, never start on the premise that you know EVERYTHING, because to become a successful parent, it is a long learning process. Remember that you will make mistakes on the way, and you must be prepared to eat humble pie and restart the process if  you have gone off tangent.

Agreed that there are differences between the way westerners and how people living in the east bring up their children, but at the end of the day, whether you are from the west or from the east, you want to bring up children who will grow up to be responsible citizens of the respective countries and to be able to contribute to growth of society and well being of fellow human beings.

Baha’U'llah says: “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”.

Most westerners do not believe in strict discipline measures as part of parenting.  However, people living in the east, particularly in Asia, believe that they should discipline a child, and yours truly agrees on this concept. Using a  system of reward and punishment but with a strong measure of mutual respect, parents can actually discipline a child and, most important of all, ENJOY the experience of parenting as it means the parents have to learn how to discipline a child WITHOUT beating a child.

Discipline a child by depriving the child of what he or she likes most if he or she misbehaves and does not do as he or she is told, is a tactic that has been tried and tested and also it has been found to be effective. For example, children should be ‘controlled’ to do their school homework first before watching TV, and not the other way around.

If the child loves to watch a particular TV programme, then the parent can tape the programme and only allow the child to view the programme after finishing his or her homework. In case the child is naughty, punishment should be in the form of depriving the child of the right to watch the taped TV programme by an hour or two after it has gone on air. This will hurt the child more than beating the child.

Same methods should be adopted for the right to play with for the child’s favourite toys as a means of reward and punishment. Use the freedom to play with the toy as a bargaining tool for getting the child to do some school work or other extra curricular activities like music, dancing etc.

Happy parenting. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask us.

China Watch Blog has learnt that Shanghai’s economy ended up with an annualized growth of 9.9 percent last year, accelerating from 2009′s 8.2 percent and well above an 8-percent target.

However, a quarter-on-quarter moderation indicated Shanghai requires a new engine to drive its economy after the World Expo, according to a Shanghai Daily report.

The city’s gross domestic product amounted to 1.687 trillion yuan (US$256.3 billion) last year, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said today. The annualized rates in the four quarters settled at 15 percent, 10.7 percent, 9.2 percent and 5.9 percent respectively, showing a tendency of sharp moderation quarter after quarter.

In addition, Shanghai’s economic growth rate lagged the pace of the national average, which stood at 10.3 percent in 2010, for the third consecutive year.

“Shanghai has secured a stable growth last year,” said Cai Xuchu, chief economist at the local statistics bureau. “The slower pace, especially in the last quarter of 2010, was mainly due to a higher comparative base and it reflected the demand to revamp the city’s economic structure.”

Some analysts said today Shanghai requires a new engine to power ahead its economy after the World Expo, which contributed quite a lot to the city’s economic performance last year.

“Shanghai needs to find another stable source of growth after the Expo,” said Li Maoyu, an analyst at the Changjiang Securities Co. “Building the city into a global financial hub could be one, and construction of a Disneyland park can also contribute.”

China Watch Blog has learnt that China expects to maintain the stability of its export-related policy, and it is “highly unlikely” that the country will reduce export rebates for highly polluting and energy-intensive industries “during the first half”.

According to the Economic Information newspaper, some Chinese ministries are mulling reducing and canceling export-tax rebates on selected products which are highly polluting and energy-intensive.

A senior Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) official in charge of drafting export-related policies, was quoted as saying by a China Daily report that such a decision will not come any time soon.

“While it is still not clear when the global economy will fully recover, China will try to maintain continuity and stability in its foreign trade policies,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“We will not take any sort of measures in the first quarter, or even the first half of the year, if there are no signs of an entrenched recovery in the global economy,” he added.

Citing an unnamed source, the Economic Information said new tax-rebate measures will probably cover several categories including rubber, steel and materials for construction, although the rate of any rebate was not disclosed. The newspaper said the ministries have finished preliminary research work, but did not outline when the authorities would launch concrete proposals.

China Watch Blog has learnt that Taobao.com, a Chinese-language website for online auctions and shopping founded by Alibaba Group, reported nearly 200 million registered members and more than 200 billion yuan in annual turnover, creating at least 1 million online sales related jobs.

As China’s inflation data remains high, the E-market will attract more price-conscious customers from the country’s 450 million Internet users and has yet to deliver more growth potential.

But the opportunity also brings a huge challenge to China’s logistics sector, one of the largest barriers to e-commerce.

Chinese customers have long been grumbling about the delays and patchy quality in the delivery sector because the logistics companies.

To ease the bottleneck, Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce giant, unveiled its plan on Jan 19 to invest 20 billion to 30 billion yuan in the first step to set up a network of warehouses nationwide.

China’s electronics-oriented B2C site, 360buy.com and the garment site Vancl.com, also stepped up efforts to construct warehouses in major cities.

“We hope 10 years from now, anyone placing an online order can receive their goods within eight hours,” Ma Yun, chairman and chief executive of Alibaba, said.

China Watch Blog has learnt that this story is making the circuit that Chinese parents are famously – some say notoriously – strict with their children, but they often achieve stellar results, that is, according to a Chinese-American “tiger mom”.

A new memoir of tough parenting, Chinese style, from a self-proclaimed tiger mother has unleashed a ferocious roar, an uproar.

Fallout was swift for Yale law professor Amy Chua after she published a stark essay in The Wall Street Journal describing the harsh words and heavy-handed methods she used with her two teen daughters.

Her “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” shot to No. 6 in the Amazon sales rankings last Tuesday, the day it was released, likely fueled by angry buzz over the weekend column and a headline Chua had nothing to do with: “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.”

The Chinese version of the “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” has hit the market this month on China’s mainland, published by Citic Press Corp.

Adult offspring of Asian and Asian-American immigrants are weighing in on Chua’s provocative description of Eastern-style parenting: No sleepovers or playdates. Grueling rote academics. Hours of piano and violin practice. Slurs like “lazy” and “garbage,” and threats to burn stuffed animals when things don’t go mom’s way.

Some see truth and a borderline abuser. Others publicly thanked their moms online for similar, though less extreme, methods.

Few had read the book themselves, missing out on more facetious nuances and details on Chua’s journey to a softer approach with Sophia, 18, and Louisa, nicknamed Lulu and about to celebrate her 15th birthday with – gasp – a sleepover party. “It’s been tough on my kids,” Chua says.

“They want to speak out over the thing that has hurt me the most, when people say, ‘Oh, doesn’t that kind of strict parenting produce meek robots?’ My daughters could not be further from meek robots. They’re confident, funny, kind, generous, with very big personalities, and they’re always calling my bluff.”

Chua, 48 and the daughter of Filipino immigrants of Chinese descent, insists her tone in the book is self-deprecating. It’s a point she considers lost in the blogosphere, including heat from moms employing current Western philosophies she doesn’t consider better or worse, but more lax and undisciplined.

China Watch Blog has learnt that foreigners now can apply for extension of their visa and stay permit through an English-language website.

According to the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau, people who need to extend or renew their visa and stay permit can fill their application form online and note down their pick-up time. They only need to visit the bureau at the appointed time to get their visa or permit.

The online service is now available in English. Previously it was only available in Chinese. The bureau believed it would simplify the procedure and make it convenient for foreigners, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Besides the bureau’s main office on Minsheng Road in the Pudong New Area, foreigners can also go to its offices in Gubei, Zhangjiang and Waigaoqiao to solve their visa problems.

The Website address:

http://gaj.sh.gov.cn/shga/gweb/wsbs/enterprise_index.jsp?param=2

China Watch Blog has learnt that twenty-six percent of survey respondents expect their business situation to improve in the first quarter compared with the last quarter, while 9% expect it to worsen.

These were the findings of the Census & Statistics Department’s latest Quarterly Business Tendency Survey released over the weekend. Respondents in almost all surveyed sectors had a favourable business outlook for the first quarter, particularly those in the retail, and financing and insurance sectors.

While the proportion of respondents with positive expectations fell to 26% from 28% in the previous survey, the prevalence of optimistic business expectations remained broadly unchanged, the department said.

In the information and communications sector, however, the proportion of respondents with a favourable business outlook was broadly the same as that with an unfavourable outlook.

Respondents in all surveyed sectors also expected a rise in business volume in this quarter over the last on balance, especially those in the retail, and financing and insurance sectors.

Respondents in all the surveyed sectors expect their employment to increase this quarter over last. The financing and insurance, retail, and information and communications sectors have significantly more respondents expecting their employment to increase, as against those expecting it to decrease.

The enumeration period for the survey was from December 7 to January 11.

China Watch Blog has learnt that the Baha’i Faith (www.bahai.org) is a religion without priests or ministers.

The Baha’i Faith, which originated in what was formerly Persia, has 19 months in a year, and each month comprises 19 days, making a total of 361 days.

The remaining four days or five days when there is a leap year are known as “Ayyam-i-Ha” or Intercalary Days (which are from February 26th to March 1st inclusive). During these days, followers of Baha’U'llah, founder of the Baha’i Faith, go for blood donation, visit the sick or aged, organise charitable events etc.

The 19 Baha’i months starts with the first month known as month of Baha (Splendour), 2nd Jalal (Glory), 3rd Jamal (Beauty), 4th Azamat (Grandeur), 5th Nur (Light), 6th Rahmat (Mercy), 7th Kalimat (Words), 8th Kamal (Perfection), 9th Asma (Names), 10th Izzat (Might), 11th Mashiyyat (Will), 12th ‘Ilm (Knowledge), 13th Qudrat (Power), 14th Qawl (Speech), 15th Masa’il (Questions), 16th Sharaf (Honour), 17th Sultan (Sovereignty), 18th Mulk (Dominion) and 19th ‘Ala (Loftiness).

Between March 2 and March 20, the Baha’is fast from sunrise to sunset, and celebrate their new year known as Nawruz on March 21.