Here are some interesting or useful articles that I found recently.

China Due Diligence. The Most Basic Things To Do.

Dan Harris explains what can be checked quickly and inexpensively before you make a deal with a Chinese company. A lot of information can be gathered simply by reading the business license.

Buying Product Packaging from China: A Complete Guide

Fredrik Grönkvist gives sound advice about packaging: when to source your own packaging supplier, what challenges arise for custom-designed packaging, what legal requirements might apply, etc.

Compliance in China. Challenges of Transparency, Interpretation & Enforcement.

Mike Bellamy wrote a great piece on what foreign companies established in China could get away with in the past… and what is no longer tolerated by local governments. In particular, increased attention to transfer pricing policies inside international groups, and a plan to increase labor costs, will impact many companies with an office/factory in China.

Case Study: a Cost Reduction Program in a Chinese Factory (video on Youtube)

David Collins gives us a first person account of a successful factory turnaround project in China. This program involved special training of workforce, in conjunction with the application of lean manufacturing techniques.

China seen pushing back plans to free yuan

It seems Beijing is afraid of “hot money” flows into China, pushing the RMB value up. They want to remain in control. For example, over the past 6 months, it seems Beijing decided to put a halt on the RMB’s appreciation against the USD.

Genius Sign In Shenzhen Tells Workers What Might Happen If They Die On Site

Many Chinese workers are not aware of the safety risks they are running in their job. A construction company in Shenzhen, tired of the high number of accidents, decided to resort to provocation…