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Surprising Harbin - Harbin's Community Spirit
Did you know . . . The capital of Northeast China's
Heilongjiang Province
has come up with an idea - a neighborhood festival -
with the hope of raising residents' awareness of the
importance of good neighborhood relationships. Zhou
Xiqiu, secretary of the residents' committee on Renli
Street, said: "Our initiatives are to help residents get
better involved in community life, nurturing good
neighborhood relationships."
Renli Street, in the old part of the city, is one of the
places where the houses used to be mainly one-
story. As the city began its renovation, most of the
compounds were torn down, and good
old neighbors now live many streets apart.
What replaced them were steel and concrete
structures that were taller, but also colder. Many
new neighbors poured in, bringing with them new
living habits. The warmth of the old, closer
neighborhood relationships was gone.
"We used to know our old neighbors in the compound
pretty well, and we got on quite well," said Yu
Yinglian, a long-time resident of the street who
now lives in a multi-story complex. "But now I even
have no idea who's living
across the hallway, " she said. Yu's husband knows a
little about electronics and was often asked for help
by the neighbors in the compound. "However, now
even if he wants to help, I'm afraid the new
neighbors would say, 'No, thanks,' "
The Harbin Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau is the main
sponsor of the neighborhood festival, which will
continue over two months. The bureau is calling on
the communities to organize activities such as
meetings among new neighbors, a neighborhood
party, shooting a photo for all the people living in the
same unit or even a cooking contest. Wang
Guozheng, Civil Affairs Bureau deputy director
syas, "A harmonious community life could exert
positive influences over people's quality of life and
attitudes."
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Dear Friends:
Those who have read past commentaries know of my
harangue regarding the timidity of American investors
regarding Chinese opportunities. Well, my perception
is not unique. Crain's Chicago Business recently
published an article headlined, "Investors taking slow
boat to
Asia." Investor reluctance is likely to place the U.S.
at a serious disadvantage worldwide in the future,
unless we take up a greater presence in the world's
largest market. The article quoted Paul
Carbone,
Managing Partner, Baird Capital Equities as
saying, "We don't think . . . companies have a choice
but to globalize. They have to figure it out or get
left behind."
Where are the privatization investors? One of the
almost unrecognized phenomena is the ability of
foreign investors to privatize an enormous number of
public works and infrastructure projects usually
associated with government development and
operation. For privatization advocates, there is a
great irony. Last year, Professor Anthony
Pagano, a
leading authority on transportation and privatization,
was HBE's guest on a fact finding trip to Harbin. He
was impressed with the number of privatization
opportunities that existed, especially in view of the
old image of China.
 Finally, we are pleased
to announce that HBE will
have a new President. Due to increasing workload,
we are creating a stronger two-nation leadership
team. Mr. Xie YingYi, who had recently been
retained to provide legal and governmental
assistance, has agreed to serve as HBE President. I
will serve as Chairman of the Board, and continue as
Chief Executive Officer. The changes do not affect
the Advisory Board chaired by our good friend Bill
Miller. We are all very excited to have Mr. Xie
as
part of the HBE team. Hope all is well for
you.
Larry P. Horist
Chairman
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| Trade Mission in October |
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HBE will provide an opportunity for seriously
interested business executives to visit Harbin. The
mission will focus on three key economic sectors; (1)
industrial investment (from Joint Venture Partnership
to acquiring Chinese companies), (2) privatization of
infrastructure (investment in highways, water
treatment and waste removal, power generation, bus
and rail systems etc.), and (3) tourism and
entertainment (investment in hotels, resorts,
amusements, sports arenas, restaurants, etc.)
Participants will follow a customized meeting agenda
designed to meet their specific interests, with all-
delegation activities limited to overview meetings,
official social occasions, and most meals.
For more information please contact us at:
email:
info@thomasandjoyce.com
telephone: 312.565.4467
fax: 312.565.4460
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| China Reforms State-controlled Industries |
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Officials from the State Development and Reform
Commission says China will speed up its introduction
of a market-oriented mechanism to state-controlled
civil aviation, telecommunications, power,
railways and oil industries.
A seminar was held in Harbin, capital of northeast
China's Heilongjiang Province and headquarter of
Daqing Oilfield, the country's leading crude oil
producer. At the seminar on the reform and
development of the oil industry in Heilongjiang
Province, SDRC Vice Secretary General Cao Yushu
defined the reform of the oil industry as
being "difficult and sensitive" because the
industry has a particular bearing on the nation's
development. Cao says, "We have to conduct
careful and in-depth studies before arranging specific
moves to reform oil and other monopolized industries."
In January 2005, China began allowing foreign
companies to retail finished oil products.
Furthermore, the wholesale market of crude and
finished oil products to foreign entities is planned to
be made available by 2007.
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| Pingchuan Signs with Guangdong |
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Harbin Pingchuan Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd.
(PINGCHUAN) announced that its has signed an
agreement with the Guangdong Medicine Group Co.
Ltd. (GDMG). The terms of the agreement
authorizes GDMG as a franchisee of PINGCHUAN in
five provinces of Southern China. GDMG plans to buy
about 2 million USD worth of PINGCHUAN's
products in 2005. Through their cooperation,
PINGCHUAN has extended its network and market
in the southern provinces of China.
Hu ZhanWu, Chairman and President of Pingchuan
Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. elaborates, ''We are
delighted to reach this agreement with the leading
medical enterprise in Southern China. This purchase
agreement not only increases our sales revenue in
these five provinces, but also substantially
improves our brand awareness in Southern China.
While maintaining the existing marketing network, we
are developing and setting up new marketing network
and sales channel actively . . . One of our marketing
strategies is to establish a connection with medical
enterprises such as Guangdong Medicine Group, for
the promotion of our products into their commercial
networks throughout the entire country.''
Pingchuan Pharmaceutical Inc. (PINGCHUAN) is a
highly-developed pharmaceutical manufacturer of
premiere medical equipment, with strong
R&D abilities, and extensive marketing networks.
Since its establishment, PINGCHUAN has focused its
businesses on diabetes medicine and medical
products. PINGCHUAN's network extends all over Asia
and includes U.S., Japan, Russia, Southeast Asia, and
over 50 percent of China.
Guangdong Medicine Group Co. Ltd. (GDMG) is based
in Guangzhou. GDMG is a large state-owned
pharmaceutical enterprise which manages three
pharmaceutical enterprises and controls 20 associate
enterprises. In China, recent sales revenue for early
2005 has ranked GDMG number one.
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| Heating and Cooling with Sewage |
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In Harbin, Capital of Heilongjiang Province, P.R. China,
researchers say they have invented a cheap
and enviromentally safe way to keep city-dwellers
cozy in winter and cool in summer harnessing
untreated sewage. Researches claims the device
reduces the cost of heating and air conditioning by
20 percent. Sun Dexing, a professor in the
environmental science department at Harbin Institute
of Technology says it is also eco-friendly,
produces no pollution and uses no chemicals.
Already, it has been successfully tested in a hotel
and mall in Harbin.
The invention works in conjunction with the
standard system used in air conditioning
units. Solid waste from the sewage is contain by
filters, thus leaving the liquid portion free to enter
the pump and transfer its heat to a coil filled with
Freon. The freon will then be used to transfer the
heat to the air. Though this process is electric
powered, the heat from sewage makes it four times
more efficient, says Sun.
The process works in reverse for cooling purposes.
Heat from the air is transmitted through the coil and
back to the condenser then onto the liquid portion of
the sewage. In addition, removing the heat through
sewage while traveling to its destination, the device
may relieve some of the "urban heat island effect" in
highly populated cities.
Though other countries have used sewage as an
energy source, it is usually sewage that has been
refined. According to Sun, his method is more
practical and efficient. Jiang Yi, an expert on
heating and air conditioning from the Chinese
Academy of Engineering says, "The device has huge
social and economic benefits."
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