TIGHTER REQUIREMENTS AND INSPECTION A LIKELY OUTCOME OF TIANJIN BLAST

Last Wednesday, people around the world turned their attention to the massive explosion in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China. Although neither the precise cause of the explosion nor the volume of damages has been identified and made public, some of the developments taking place in the past seven day (including government announcement by government officials) outline several important implications of the incident on the owners’ accountability, quality control and standards as well as on business in China (especially business with unusual and dangerous goods).

TIANJIN BLAST KILLS OVER 100: WHO IS TO BLAME?

In less than 30 seconds two explosions shook Tianjin on 12 August. The massive blasts came from Binhai District, right by the port, where hills of containers are lined up with all kinds of products. There is not yet a clear statement about what provoked the initial fire, but initial reports have been talking about an industrial accident. The flames have been difficult to control. Moreover, several new explosions have been registered until today.

ANTI-GRAFT CAMPAIGN UNCOVERS FIRST ‘TIGER’ FROM MEP

More than three years into the national corruption campaign, Xi Jinping’s hunt for ‘tigers and flies’ has made its first major foray into the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). The anti-graft crusade shows no signs of slowing its permeation deeper into scattered sectors of the Chinese political sphere, with Zhang Lijun, the 63-year-old former Vice Minister, the latest target for enquiry.

BOLD GOVERNMENTAL PLANS RECOGNIZE QUALITY AS CRUCIAL COMPETITIVE FACTOR

The Made in China 2025 plan, introduced first by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in April 2015, aims to address some of the new challenges faced by Chinese economy and quoted by president Xi Jinping as the New Normal; the new reality where the the country can not expect the GDP to grow in double digits.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER QUALITY CONTROL SCANDAL IN CHINA

The Made in China 2025 plan, introduced first by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in April 2015, aims to address some of the new challenges faced by Chinese economy and quoted by president Xi Jinping as the New Normal; the new reality where the the country can not expect the GDP to grow in double digits.

QUALITY CONTROL MAKES YOUR PRODUCT MORE VALUABLE

What are the consequences of avoiding investment on inspections?

China’s industrial capacity is not a secret. After the implementation of the Reform and Opening Up policy in 1978, the country experienced an exponential increase of industrial investments and manufacturing. Gone are the days when “made in China” implied the peculiarity of low quality and virtually inexistent inspections.

2015: THE YEAR OF IDEAS

Get used to “create in China”.

Since Xi Jinping took office, China has started to see some big changes. It is not only the fight against corruption, nor the further institutionalisation of the rule of law, but also the rearrangement of the productive structure. Just like President Xi has expressed it in several occasions, China is transiting from the “made in China” to “created in China”.

EVERYTHING HAS A PRICE AND CHEAP ISN’T ALWAYS IT

Doing business in Asia for many is appealing because of the low cost and high profit margins that any enterprise or entrepreneurial adventure can have. But just as the products that come out of the many cities known as the epicenters of business like Guangzhou or Shenzhen, cheap doesn’t mean quality.

INSPECTIONS AND ETHICS

The issue of ethics once again has made headlines with companies like Apple being under fired for the working conditions in their supplier factories. Undercover filmmakers pretending to be workers in a factory making Apple products in China had to work up to 16 hours a day and as many as 18 days in a row, according to an investigation by BBC Panorama.[1]

STRONGER FOOD SAFETY A MUST IN CHINA

As the year 2014 comes to an end, several scandals rocked China in the food safety sector this year. These scandals, impacting the view and confidence of how consumers see their food quality being inspected and controlled has brought many Chinese citizens to be first hand witnesses on the lack of control in this sector.