'Made in China' gets a new gloss

As China moves up in the food chain, the Chinese state media will at least try to acknowledge consumer sensitivity...Look for Chinese State media to turn up a notch in their propaganda machine...

'Made in China' gets a new gloss
By Benjamin A Shobert
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/LA15Cb01.html

We have become so desensitized to defective products originating in China that this week's announcement from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission about finding dangerous levels of cadmium in children's toys seemed oddly expected and has thus far ruffled few feathers.

Yet, while this particular issue may not be significant enough to upend the trade relationship between the US and China, or of such severity that it is likely to be the cause of a whole new set of import restrictions, it does add more weight to an increasing wariness and frustration with Chinese-made products on the part of American consumers.

The cumulative effect of these quality problems has the potential not only to impact the export-sensitive economy of China, but to create a systemic problem for what it means to have products of any variety sourced in China, an issue that could cause problems for an untold number of American and European consumer-product companies, as well as the retailers they serve.

In a series of television ads that started late last year with limited runs on CNN Asia, and now spreading to various media outlets around the world, Beijing seems to have acknowledged these fears, with a new ad program defending what it means to be "Made in China". The new ads go by the tag line "Made in China, Made with the World".

The advertisements are sponsored primarily by the Ministry of Commerce, in conjunction with four Chinese trade groups, and are developed by DDB Guoan-Beijing. Through them, the Chinese government appears to be acknowledging that the China brand is suffering from these repeated product quality problems and may need a global media campaign to prevent further damage.

Global marketing on the part of a country in the face of such a mounting set of negative publicity is extremely rare. The ads themselves have been in the works for some time, but the launch of the campaign appears with stories of tainted milk still lingering in people's memories.

Should further quality problems present themselves in other industries, the country could well face a collective and insurmountable disgust at what it means to have products sourced in China, with customers of Chinese manufacturers choosing to pay higher prices in order to avoid the "Made in China". Unlikely though such a scenario might seem, the very presence of the ads seems to reinforce the concern that the potential consequences could be severe. The net effect of a shifting tide of popular opinion could be more devastating than all but the most onerous of trade wars.

The TV ad begins by showing runners on their way through a park, and as one runner ties his shoe, the tongue of his running shoe can be seen bearing a label that reads: "Made in China with American Sports Technology". A home of distinctly European taste is the ad's next scene, with a refrigerator whose interior label states: "Made in China with European Styling". Teenagers listening to music at a bus stop are next up, shown holding an MP3 player that bears the imprint "Made in China with Software from Silicon Valley".

The flash from a photographer is the next to last, as clothing models have their pictures taken, with a peak of the inside label from one garment showing "Made in China with French Designers". And last, a businessman on an airplane looks out of his window to see a jet engine bearing the black lettering "Made in China with Engineers from around the World". The ad's primary slogan, "When it says Made in China, it really means 'Made in China, Made with the World'", ends the 30-second piece.

The products in question are interesting choices, ranging from the lowest technology (garment manufacturing) to the most popular of consumer products (the MP3 player, as shown in the spot a model curiously reminiscent of the iPod Nano), to one of the highest technology products that touches the average consumer's life, an airplane engine.

This part of the ad works both for the benefit of the China brand as well as to its detriment: undoubtedly the ad's designers hoped that by showing the breadth of products made in China, consumers would be reminded of how infrequently they encounter problems. At the same time, the ad may provoke an uncomfortable realization on the part of the consumer that they have no grasp of where the next quality problem from China could present itself. As the ad illustrates, given the sheer number and variety of products made in China, shielding yourself against Chinese-made products is all but impossible.

While the production value of the advertisement is not fully to Western standards, it is on the whole not poor; the overall effect on the part of the viewer is mixed. The ability to think strategically enough to understand the role such a global ad campaign needs to play in calming fears about what the "China" brand means suggests a responsive and somewhat sophisticated government. To be able to put out a coordinated program, strategically designed to talk to some of the most influential TV watchers, is well thought out. On the other hand, the ad has a twinge of what comes across almost as an inferiority complex, the entirety of the "China" brand reduced to that of being a passive manufacturer of the world's products.

It is a curious combination that may not create the desired effect, and it is an admission on the part of China that its role in the global economy is not that of creator or innovator, but as that of a factory. At its best, this ad seems to suggest that China wishes to remind the world of what it does well, in an extremely wide range of products. At the same time, it provokes the watcher to recall the interconnectedness between country's production capacity and global business. At its worst, the ad reinforces the idea of China as only a factory, capable of low-cost production and little else.

In a week that has seen one of America's technology leaders, Google, stand up to the Chinese government with a threat to withdraw from the country if the company cannot run an uncensored search site there, it is useful to reflect on whether we may have overstated the position of dominance enjoyed by Beijing.

The "Made in China, Made with the World" ad campaign is not a move born of strength; rather it is an admission that the "China" brand currently carries many weaknesses and is still quite vulnerable. The fact that much of the developed world is questioning its own economic models further complicates a balanced diagnosis on China's real versus perceived strengths. Among the implicit admissions made in this ad by the Chinese government itself is that China needs the world as much as the world needs China, a reminder which again communicates strength, mutual reliance, and some weakness.

In its own way, this ad may also serve as a reminder that the Chinese economy still has a lot of ground to cover if it is to compete with Western businesses.

Without intending to do so, the ad should also provoke a realization on the part of American and European companies that, in order to stay competitive, they must remain vigilant on those business practices that they do better than their peers, with further emphasis on research, product development, and consumer marketing.

However clumsy some may believe this ad campaign to be, it does reflect an awareness at the highest levels in China that the country must pay attention to, and work to create influence on, consumers' perceptions. As with many developments in China, once the government has shown this to be a necessary step, industry will soon follow.

For all the emphasis on Chinese businesses and their role in export markets, those companies who have truly separated themselves and built their own autonomous brands in export economies are extremely rare, few if any being known outside the circles of business professionals or China industry watchers. Consequently, the "China" brand, if it exists at all, exists as a country-of-origin locator, and is not tied to any particular product or industry. This is undoubtedly why such a concerted media campaign was deemed necessary: if consumers know only the most global version of the "China" brand, and relate it to the numerous and mounting stories of defective products, they will begin to make purchasing decisions to avoid Chinese-made products.

In addition, as the recession or near-recession in America drags out, more US-based companies looking for a marketing advantage may determine that sourcing domestically provides a short-term benefit that outweighs the cost savings of having product manufactured in China. The current faint cries for "Made in the USA" branded products could begin to build, leaving the "Made in China" brand to face not only baggage related to poor-quality products, but a spirit of economic nationalism in the US.

From Beijing's perspective, it makes enormous sense now to reach out and try to speak directly to American consumers, reminding them not only of the benefits they enjoy from their Chinese-made products, but the degree to which American companies rely on Chinese manufacturing.

At a time when the certainty of globalization's interconnectedness is being questioned, this television advertisement argues that the world benefits from China's productive capacity and that on balance China has earned the world's trust. But the mere fact that Beijing feels it must launch a concerted ad campaign to make these points suggests that many outside China feel quite the opposite, and that its position of strength is not as firm or all-encompassing as some might suggest.

Benjamin A Shobert is the managing director of Teleos Inc (www.teleos-inc.com), a consulting firm dedicated to helping Asian businesses bring innovative technologies into the North American market.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527426.900-get-ready-for-chinas-domination-of-science.html

Introduction to Chinese thinking 101:

The ancient board game known in the West as go, in China as weiqi, offers invaluable insights into the philosophies that drive China's re-emergence as a global power. Were Westerners to stop lecturing Beijing long enough to familiarize themselves with the Tao of weiqi, they would find the key to the paradoxes of this civilization. - David Gosset (Jan 5, '10)
Weiqi: A symbol of the Chinese experience
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LA06Ad03.html

The Tao of weiqi envelops an esthetic and an intellectual experience that take us closer to Chinese psychology and give us insights on Chinese strategic thinking, but are also, to a certain extent, a way to approach the fundamental patterns of China's collective success.

Using a universally relevant metaphor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to US president Jimmy Carter, wrote in The Grand Chessboard (1997): "Eurasia is the chessboard on which the struggle for global primacy continues to be played." But is Beijing playing chess? In Eurasia and beyond, Chinese strategists are more probably spontaneously designing a series of moves compatible with their own understanding of strategy. While Westerners might navigate a world mapped as a chessboard, the Chinese mind circulates on a weiqi board.

Westerners are looking for a knockout punch (hard power). Chinese just shower you with their products which are essential for daily use. Which means you can't live with them or live without them (soft power).

"As the best victory is gained without a fight, so the excellent position is one which does not cause conflict," says the Classic. [9] It introduces what can be called the axiom of non-confrontation. In weiqi, the objective is not to checkmate the opponent: only positions in relation to others really matter. Weiqi's innumerable circumambulations aim at increasing influence without reducing the opponent's forces to nothing. The ability to manage the paradox of a non-confrontational opposition requires the highest emotional and intellectual qualities.

The Classic adds: "At the beginning of the game, the pieces are moved in a regular and orthodox way, but creativity is needed to win the game." [10] What can be named the axiom of discontinuity is a variation on a postulate that is central to Sun Tzu's Art of War: [11] at the beginning of the engagement the action is guided by accepted rules, but victory often requires "irregular" decisions or unorthodox resolution, and only visionary intuition leads to breakthrough.

Hence, thinking outside of the box. We, the conspiracy believers, are destined to meet in Wp and seeka forum.

The Classic mentions a third dimension: "Do not necessarily stick to a plan, change it according to the moment."

ianadds wrote:Hence, thinking outside of the box. We, the conspiracy believers, are destined to meet in Wp and seeka forum.

yes we are thinkers outside the box. indeed. the west has mystical approach as well. it's a worldwide understanding that goes back to hunters and gathers in which the individual looked for his or her own vision in life. Sometimes this vision was sought on a vision quest on a distant hill or mountain from the village. The shaman always incorporated the old traditional cultural themes with his or her own unique slant in order to maintain a breath of fresh air, so to speak, in the old. The old cultural traits easily become old, static, and die. But with new insights that are creative and therefore honor the individual's own uniqueness (all people are unique individuals), then the old doesn't become static and die off leading to a tyrannical mindset. Those in the world that try to monopolize a worldview losing track that the aesthetic, ie. symbols, etc... isn't to be taken literally, ie. static, the Wasteland, etc... It is the positivists that take what is actually poetic in nature and construe what is aesthetic into something it is not. Superman is not real, but a fantasy. Positivists think Superman is real and literal. Comic books and other fairy tales are excellent analogies that peer into the psyche of any one individual, but to go too far into say something eugenic is somebody taking what is meant to be analoguous, too literally. There are positivists and thus literalists in places of power sadly today. And all around the world there is a mix of people that I generalize as being literalist and metaphorics. And to place a good starting point in history when the literalist came to be able to wield a large amount of control upon others as their being a god-king was to be unfortunately taken to be literal is in Mesopotamia and spread to other regions such as Rome or the Chinese Emperor, etc...

by the way, Zhuangzi is awesome green tea drinker! You read any of his stuff?

No. I immigrated to the states when I was ten years old. I was only recently reindoctrinated by R. But I am willing to learn.
Zhuangzi's philosophy

In general, Zhuangzi's philosophy is skeptical, arguing that life is limited and the amount of things to know is unlimited. To use the limited to pursue the unlimited, he said, was foolish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi

How is this for starters ?? LOL...

ianadds wrote:Zhuangzi..

I was thinking more about the Dao. Lao Tzu, is either a legend or a real person, and Zhuangzi is one of the early adherents to daoism. His writings are poetic in nature. And the DaoDeJing, what Lao Tzu was credited as being the author of, and a book Zhuangzi refers to a lot being the daoist he was; is a peaceful counter-revolutionary script against the burdens of a tyrannical gov't. There's a good story and real occurrence that Zhuangzi wrote about when a king in China sent court emissaries to go get Zhuangzi to be the king's advisor. Zhuangzi was fishing in a river when they show up. He asked the emissaries if the king still had the turtle rattle by the throne. Emissaries said yes. Zhuangzi said, 'I'm going to stay out here were the turtle's are alive and leave paths in the sand.'

The Daodejing or if you come across stories that Zhuangzi wrote they are very imaginative and thought provoking. It's not something that is necessary, but since you brought up the Dao and aesthetics in your post it had me think of Zhuangzi.

Thank you for the Daoism indoctrination. My Taiwanese mother-in-law is a firm believer of Daoism. I am always fascinated with Eastern Religions. I never realize my path of self-discovery starts with a westerner.

Taoism has several different manifestations in the modern world. Popular taoism (folk religion and beliefs) is widespread throughout east asia. It can be seen in forms of reverence for ancestor spirits, and in cultural artifacts such as the immortals and the celestial bureaucracy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daoism

ianadds wrote:Thank you for the Daoism indoctrination. My Taiwanese mother-in-law is a firm believer of Daoism. I am always fascinated with Eastern Religions. I never realize my path of self-discovery starts with a westerner.

Taoism has several different manifestations in the modern world. Popular taoism (folk religion and beliefs) is widespread throughout east asia. It can be seen in forms of reverence for ancestor spirits, and in cultural artifacts such as the immortals and the celestial bureaucracy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daoism

My archaeology book says, "During Longshan times (ca. 3000-2295), scapulimancy, the interpretation of cracking patterns on heated bone, was practiced. Although no written inscriptions are found on Longshan bones, Chinese written characters have been found on numerous bones at later sites. In later times, such divination rituals involving oracle bones were addressed to royal ancestors and were carried out by religious specialists. In addition to scapulimancy, the manifestations of ritual were prevalent in many other ways during the Longshan period. Fantastic or mythical animals were crafted on objects of pottery, wood, and jade. Many of these objects were probably associated with shamanistic rituals that were important during the later 'Three Dynasties' and 'Shang Periods'.... Late Shang society was highly stratified into upper and lower classes. The extent of social distinctions, present as early as the Longshan period, was exaggerated by the establishment of An-yang. The king, his family, and officials were at the top. Kings were considered divine, with power flowing from teh king to the nobility to the court, and finally to the commoners. Only those of high status possessed the spectacular Shang bronzes, used the Chinese script, and controlled the archives. The king and his court received grain and other forms of tribute which they used to support a lavish style in life as well as in death."

I quoted this to point out the emergence in China before Lao-tzu supposedly lived, of a deep tradition in divination which, not from this source but from what I recollect, also coincides with ancestral worship. Eastern Asia has a deep tradition of ancestral worship that is not localized but can be found in Korea or Japan, etc... Reverence for ancestor spirits is a very old tradition that goes back probably pre-Shang civilization, therefore pre-Dao. Celestial bureaucracy seems to be a merger of imperial china concepts with Daoism. And I don't know if the Daodejing discusses immortals. The original book itself clears up some of the additions that may have been made over time which is why there are such a diverse response to what Lao-zu and Zhuangzi wrote about, ie. the "several different manifestations" that you quoted. The book Daodejing is considered philosophical, rather than strictly religious in nature. Though many different ways of viewing and experiencing the Dao is a concept of the Dao to begin with.

So I wouldn't take what those wiki quotes as being what the Daodejing or Zhuangzi say, but more descriptive of what was added onto the understanding of the Dao from earlier Chinese tradition or even later Chinese tradition, ie. after the Daodejing was written.

Is there an on-line archaeology degree or courses that I can enroll in. Fascinating stuff. I view my retirement as a beginning of the second phase of my life. Now I have all the time in the world to pursue my passion. If there is any recommended reading material, please let me know. I like to keep myself busy.

"I never realize my path of self-discovery starts with a westerner" mine was the opposite i was @ totally into Lao/Confucius/
Daoism/Mahayana Buddhism Zen/ i became Buddhist for several years and one day i look at the Bible and for first time make so much sense to me
i recommended YOU to read by the river piedra i sat down and wept by the great Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho
here is the book critic
http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/bytheriverpiedra.html

I know Paulo Coelho is at supporter of the unesco some people don't like his writing hey imho his art is good

Much appreciated...

ianadds wrote:Is there an on-line archaeology degree or courses that I can enroll in. Fascinating stuff. I view my retirement as a beginning of the second phase of my life. Now I have all the time in the world to pursue my passion. If there is any recommended reading material, please let me know. I like to keep myself busy.

I zazen (it is meditation without pondering on anything in particular. I simply sit with my eyes closed and focus). I like to do this under a eastern hemlock tree near the woods here. It's basically a way to exercise staying conscious without falling into a trance. By trance, I mean, the experience of losing consciousness. It can be experienced as drifting off and then when I suddenly realize what I'm doing again I can use hindsight and see that I wasn't sleeping (though right below a trance experience would be sleeping), but instead I was staring off. I try to avoid trancing. I try to sustain an effort to stay awake and remain very aware of what's going on. I'm stay aware and if I decide to, I adjust my focus to listen to a particular bird off in the distance or switch to listen to the wind blow. But what I really try to do, depends on how I feel or what I'm thinking at the moment, is stay very focused on everything that is happening without drifting off.

It depends on what you're interested in. Reading those books I recommend above would fit your curiousity about the dao. But it all depends on what you're looking for cause I believe in God and Christ, but yet I zazen which is a form of communing with God, waiting, listening, and simply providing a moment, while I sit, in which the spontaneousness of the world takes over and I try to stay nimble and keep up with the on-going events that are happening (events such as wind blowing, bird singing, or maybe a small tree branch falls, etc...). But to learn about God can be found in the Bible or other sources, if you're looking for a book. When I think of Jesus going out into the wilderness and he didn't get trapped in Satan's temptations, I think of a vision quest, which is usually stereotyped as a hunter-gather event, but it's not only something people of old did.

I wonder if you can shed any insight into this period of Chinese history...I always like to know politicians/statesmen of the past. Hence if one knows history, one is not doomed to repeat it...Interest, he was born in Anhui, China. Also a birthplace of my father. Current president of China, Hu Jing-tao, is also an Anhui province resident. Anhui is rather a poor province..Must be the water..lol
Tomb of legendary general Cao Cao unearthed in central China

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/27/content_12712471.htm

Cao Cao (Chinese: 曹操; pinyin: Cáo Cāo; pronounced Ts'ao Ts'ao [tsʰɑʊ˧˥ tsʰɑʊ˥]; 155 – March 15, 220[1]) was a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years in ancient China. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei (魏武帝). Although often portrayed as a cruel and merciless tyrant, Cao has also been praised as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his subordinates like his family. He was also skilled in poetry and martial arts and authored many war journals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Cao

ianadds wrote:I wonder if you can shed any insight into this period of Chinese history...
Cao Cao (Chinese: 曹操; pinyin: Cáo Cāo; pronounced Ts'ao Ts'ao [tsʰɑʊ˧˥ tsʰɑʊ˥]; 155 – March 15, 220[1]) was a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years in ancient China. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei (魏武帝). Although often portrayed as a cruel and merciless tyrant, Cao has also been praised as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his subordinates like his family. He was also skilled in poetry and martial arts and authored many war journals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Cao

--
This is what I could find.

Establishment of Han dynasty is also known as: Confucian bureaucracy established (206 BC - 220 AD).
Six Dynasties also known as: disunity, Buddhism established (220 AD - 589 AD)
--
His death matches these pivtol dates that I have from leaving the Han to entering the Six Dynasties. I know before the Han were these era's:

1 - Shang 1523-1027 BC (which is the period I was quoting from in the archaeology book)
2 - Chou or Zhou period 1027-221 BC
3 - Ch'in 221-206 BC
4 - Han

Period 2, from my memory, looked back to the ancestors and gloried the 'golden age' of the past. They kept in touch and nurtured the ancient ways of before. Ch'in is where China gets it name as this was one of the smaller states of the time, but then what would be considered the First Emperor of China came out of this state, conquered all others, and the Great Wall was built during this time. Ch'in at the time of this expansion was very brutish compared to other states within that geography of what would later become known as China as in that state they still practiced human sacrifice amongst other things. This is also when the First Emperor made an edict for all books to be burned. One book that did survive through this time even in high circles, as it was considered practical, was the I-Ching.

Han is when the silk road opened to the west ca. 100 BC. This is when the five elements: water, fire, wood, metal, earth; are seen in the scholarly writings of the Chinese for the first time, though this understanding was also in other places of the world on tablets in Sumer, India, and in Greece, etc.... so was probably a cultural assimilation from outside China re-interpretated to fit their, Chinese, cultural mythos. The Han was a military empire. I also know that the Han began to re-interpret the past mythic lore, their ancestral stories, etc... in a unique way that at times (and also due to the book burning by Ch'in) that made it a bit difficult to know what the mythos and rituals of China pre-Han were like and what was added onto the stories during the Han dynasty. For instance, there were no creation stories that appear, now this is according to Campbell's book "Oriental Mythology", before the Han period. Not even in Confucian books. But later in the Han period some appear and seem to have come from Daoist thinking.

I think that's good for now. Hope that helped.

I thank you for the hard work. My elementary knowledge of Chinese history is gained during my Taiwanese primary school education (more than 35 years ago). My father escaped with the Nationalist (Koumingtang) to Taiwan in the 1940's. I was born in Taiwan in 1960's. And our family immigrated to the States in 1975. I like to understand my past and my roots...If you find any additional helpful information..please share it with me. Thank you.