News Update January 17

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Firan Technology Group Plans Aircraft Parts Factory For Tianjin

Precision illuminated display systems and aerospace manufacturer Firan Technology Group (FTG) recently reached an agreement with the Tianjin Airport Industrial Park to construct an aerospace technology plant in the Tianjin Free Trade Zone. The plant will mainly manufacture aircraft cockpits, LED panels, and control systems.

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China Unicom Acquires Core Assets

On December 16, China Unicom announced that it has acquired two of its largest shareholders, China Network Communication Group and China Netcom Group, for a total of approximately RMB 6.4 bln. China Unicom is one of China’s three largest telecom operators.

For more information on these or other topics, get in touch with us today!

— The Dragon Exports Team

News Update January 16

Opportunity: Chinese Medicine

Due to meriad reasons including smell, bitter taste, and troublesome preparation, Chinese traditional medicine has never been particularly successful in Western countries. Many people in the Western world don’t even feel brave enough to walk into a traditional medicine shop, let alone buy some exotic mushrooms! Even as Italy puts more stringent requirements on Chinese medicine imports this week, Dragon Exports believes there to be significant market potential for Chinese traditional medicine — if someone can work out a successful marketing approach.

Global Financial Crisis Affects Chinese Markets

At the 104th Canton Fair recently held in Guangdong province, it was revealed that Chinese export markets have entered a period of negative growth due to the on-going global financial crisis. Exports of toys, furniture, clothing, and shoes all have gloomy prospects for the first half of 2009. Zan Wenzhong, China’s foreign trade minister, warned that in 2009 “most labour-intensive enterprises will likely see harder times”. The majority of orders placed during the Canton Fair were for the first half of 2009.

— The Dragon Exports Team

News Update January 13

Canada Welcomes WTO Decision

In a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling, import taxes levied against Canadian auto firms by the Chinese government were found to be inconsistent with global free trade obligations, and China was asked to remove the offending levies immediately. China has reportedly been charging an additional import tax of 25% on all vehicle accessories from Canada, leaving foreign automakers in that country with a considerable cost disadvantage.

China is the primary market for Canadian autoparts, with average annual imports between 2003 and 2007 of CDN 225 mln. The most recent ruling by the WTO comes after several years of appeals by China.

McDonald’s, KFC Lower Prices To Weather Financial Storm

After years of increases, large fast food chains in China are finally lowering prices. According to China’s “National Business Daily”, McDonald’s and KFC have launched value meals and promotions providing discounts of as much as 32% and 35% below regular prices.

For more info on these or other stories, get in touch with us today!

— The Dragon Exports Team

News Update January 11 2009

Chinese Clothing Exports To US Rising

According to the American Department of Commerce, Chinese clothing exports occupied 54% of all clothing sold in America in November, marking the first time China’s exports to the US had exceeded 50% of the market.

Large Increase In Microwave Imports To US

Chinese home appliance manufacturer Guangdong Galanz Enterprise recently revealed that its American exports rose 18% in the first ten months of 2008.

For more information concerning the above or any other topic, please contact us today!

— The Dragon Exports Team

Valentine´s Day

Have you got your gifts ready for Valentine´s day?
You are just on time to get ready! Here are some suggestions we have for you:

Heart Shaped USB Mouse

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A lovely USB mouse that suits the occasion!

USB Memory Stick in a Heart

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USB Heart Light


Let the love flash with this heart-shaped USB light.

All this items available at Dragon-Exports. Get in contact with us for more details!
info@dragon-exports.com


The Dragon-Exports Team

According to media reports, Chinese electronics manufacturer Prima Electronics recently received 2009 flat-screen television orders for export to America worth more than USD 20 mln. The increase in orders is due to American plans to end analog television signal broadcasts in February 2009, leading to new demand for digital televisions. Demand is also being stimulated by economic stimulus vouchers recently issued by the American government.

When looking for market opportunities, an obvious but sometimes overlooked place to begin your search is the direction of industry development. As in the above example, many aspects of technology are continually undergoing upgrades, or being made obsolete. At the end of the day, those revamps, upgrades, and obsolete machines mean market demand from consumers and companies as they seek to keep up with the pace of technological development.

Take China’s telecommunications industry as an example. In that field, the development of the TD-SCDMA network is unfolding rapidly, causing a massive telecommunications revolution right across China, and forcing companies AND customers to purchase replacement equipment or to upgrade their old equipment. China is also currently undergoing digital television conversions, with Chinese cities converting en-masse to DTV as you read this.

While some might suggest predicting these things is next to impossible, the truth is that a little research goes a long way to figuring out the future industry hotspots. Below are some examples our Dragon Exports team considers research-worthy.

Electrical batteries for cars and scooters
and other accompanying parts are a huge industry in China, and manufacturing prices are unbelievably low due to stiff competition in the market. Electric scooters themselves cost just RMB 1,000 – RMB 3,000, and are sold at several times that price in Western countries for similar models.

Solar powered water heaters. There aren’t many better ways to save money AND help the environment than to switch to solar power. It simply makes sense from an economical point of view, and where there is logic and rationality, there is money to be made. It simply doesn’t make sense to pay for heated water, when the sun will do it for free.

Plumbing tubes and other construction materials are some of the cheapest things to export from China, and are in constant demand in new and old homes alike. Anything that is perennially needed by people all over the world is definitely a good industry to research.

There are almost as many types of web cameras in China as there are people! Any technology market has them arrayed along shelves like jelly beans on display and in all shapes, colors, and designs. Like computers themselves, the market is only going to expand in the foreseeable future, and with creatively designed cameras, it’s a better bet for success.

Notebooks and paper are equally varied in China, and just as cheap, with the added advantage of being easily customizable. While the business world has switched to laptops and blackberries, we don’t think the same trend is likely to unfold in classrooms. Notebooks and paper geared toward primary, middle, and high school students is probably a good market to research.

Samples of all the above products are available through us at Dragon Exports, not to mention anything else you might think of! If you have an idea, then run it by us and we’ll help you find a way to make things happen for you. And don’t forget that we guarantee the industry’s LOWEST prices!


The Dragon Exports Team

Online Companies Operating in China

From Dragon Exports’ The China Report:


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Counterfeiting, defrauding, and dishonest websites are becoming an increasingly rampant problem on Chinese search engine result pages. Through recent investigations conducted by Chinese authorities, a number of Chinese websites were found to be promising 800% returns on investments, but simply taking the money and running once bank transfers were complete. Numerous investors have reported significant losses stemming from such schemes, and China’s legislature is currently considering regulations to standardize online markets. For now, we recommend using only websites you’ve heard of!

A large variety of factors has led to the current lack of effective regulation in some Chinese industries. Below are some reasons why the Chinese market has become the way it is.

“Guanxi” in China is, as you may know, embedded in almost every facet of daily life here. When you buy a car, or a home, or often even dinner at a restaurant, it’s far more cost-effective if you have a “friend” in the company who can talk to another friend who knows someone else who can lower your purchase price. It’s all about finding someone to break you a deal, and of course with the understanding you’ll return the favor one day. In this respect, the Chinese marketplace is extraordinarily regimented: if you don’t return a favor, you really don’t know how many other people are going to hear about it, and thus not help you in the future. Once you play the game, you’re stuck in it.

So what does guanxi have to do with fraudsters on the Internet? Well, consider the situation. A group of unsavory fellows decide they have the perfect plan to get rich quick, and open a website that is going to trick people into sending them money. When they open the site, however, there are ID checks performed by the webmaster (these are government-ordered for anyone running a website), so guess who you need to bring into your scheme if you want to pull it off? The webmaster, and maybe his boss too. If a scheme is going to rake in enough money, it’s quite easy to understand how, in such a society, this sort of criminal activity might perpetuate.

Another reason for the lack of control is of course the speed at which Chinese society is changing. Every single aspect of the economy is exploding, and it’s hard to keep tight grip on a tether being pulled in 10,000 directions at once. In addition, consider the older generations in China, who were not born into a capitalist economy. In the past (i.e. before 1978) when the government announced it would do something, it usually happened (whether that’s a good thing or not is something we can debate another time!). So now, when an older Chinese citizen sees an advertisement on the Internet, it is more than likely he is going to be rather naive in his financial decisions — after all, no one owned cash in the past. These people will unfortunately learn how to survive in a semi-capitalist society the hard way.

As China’s economy matures, these growing pains will likely dissipate to some degree, though there isn’t a place on earth where you can trust everyone. A market thrives when people act responsibly and smartly with their money, and that’s the route China is on. While guanxi remains an issue, in the end it is not the most efficient way to do business. So long as the government continues to relax control of the economy, the problems with corruption and relationships will ease as well.


The Dragon Exports Team

Sabiduria China

Buen día !

La semana pasada platique por teléfono con un amigo que vive en EUA. El ha estado en China de negocios ya varias veces, y tiene un buen entendimiento de la cultura China, tanto de negocios como cultura general.

En lo personal me considero un fanático de la cultura, sobre todo de la cultura Asiática. China, India, etc.. y cuando se presenta la oportunidad de tener una conversación profunda con alguien que aprecia y le interesa aprender mas, es para mi un placer participar.

Es cierto que la China actual esta lejos de ser lo que uno como extranjero tiene en la mente. Su desarrollo económico es tan rápido, que en la vida diaria no queda tiempo para recordar los mitos e historia de esta, la civilización mas antigua del mundo.

Tengo en mis manos, un excelente libro de cuentos cortos que quisiera recomendar. El nombre es “Reflexiones del Vencedor” por Michael C. Tang.

Cada cuento viene cargado con una o mas lecciones de vida, sabiduría e interesantes historias. Eso es lo fascinante de este libro, cada cuento es como un trago de sabiduría.

Aquí uno de los cuentos mas cortos del libro, que tomara 2 minutos en leer.
Que lo disfruten!!

El Detector de Mentiras

“El que ha hecho algo malo pero teme que lo descubran, todavía puede salvarse. El que ha hecho una obra buena pero tiene ansias de darla a conocer, ya esta manchado.”

Raíces Vegetales

“En tiempos de la dinasta Song, hace unos mil años, había un magistrado llamado Chen Ziang, en la provincia de Fujian, en el sur de China.

Cierta noche hubo un robo en una posada y desapareció una cantidad importante de dinero. La policía detuvo enseguida a todos los sospechosos de la posada y de sus alrededores. Eran quince personas en total. Pero ninguna se reconoció como autora del robo.

En una primera audiencia, el magistrado Chen no encontró pruebas suficientes para acusar a nadie. Acto seguido anuncio que en un templo que estaba al norte de la ciudad había una campana de bronce antigua que tenia el poder divino de distinguir a los ladrones entre las personas honradas.

Envió a varios agentes de policía a que pidieran prestada la campana y la trajeran. Cuando se coloco la campana en la sala de audiencias, el magistrado le hizo una reverencia y le pidió solemnemente que emitiera su veredicto en el caso presente. Hizo venir a los quince sospechosos ante la campana. Les dijo que cada uno de ellos debía tocar la campana con las manos y que si el hombre era inocente, la campana guardaría silencio cuando la tocara. Pero si el hombre era culpable, la campana sonaría.

Entonces apagaron todas las luces y la sala de audiencias quedo completamente a oscuras. Los sospechosos se fueron acercando uno a uno a la campana de bronce, que estaba colocada detrás de un biombo y apoyaban las manos en ella. La campana no sono, y el publico de la sala se quedo desilusionado, viendo que todos habian superado la prueba.

Cuando se volvieron a encender las luces, el magistrado pidió a los sospechosos que enseñaran las manos. Entre todas las manos negras había solo un par de manos limpias.

-Tu eres el ladrón- dijo el magistrado Chen, señalando al hombre que tenia las manos limpias.

Previamente, el magistrado había hecho cubrir de hollín la campana. El ladrón no se había atrevido a tocarla por miedo a que lo delatara.

El hombre, ya detenido, confeso el robo que había cometido.”

Tang, Michael C., “Reflexiones del Vencedor”, EDAF, 2001.

Last night I had dinner with a friend of mine, we happen to live in the same building complex so our apartments are very similar. He was telling me he just payed his electricity and water bills, and I was surprised to hear that his electricity bill was way higher than mine. We both use the same home appliances, air con, etc… there is just one difference between his apartment and mine, the water heater.

In China, it is very common to use one of these 3 water heaters:

1. Electric water heater
2. Gas boiler heater
3. Solar Water Heater

My friend happens to have an electric water heater, and I have a solar water heater, that is why his bill is always and will always be higher than mine.

I want to introduce this Solar Water Heaters to you, this is what it looks like:


Solar Water Heater

You have probably seen them before, they usually go on the roof of buildings/houses, if you have been to China, I am positive you have seen them, especially in the north of China, where most habitants are not as wealthy as eastern China, and each penny counts.

To be honest, before using a Solar Water heater, I was skeptical about them… I worried if they would really heat the water, would it be hot enough, bla, bla, bla. It was until I moved to this new apartment, where I really had no choice, because the solar water heater was already installed here. So perhaps the universe sent it to me…

So I started using it, got used to it, and after a week, I understood why so many apartments in China have these heaters, they work!! No wonder why it has become such a big industry in China, this technology, pretty simple by the way, has more than 30 years of experience in this country. In simple words, the way they work, is circulating water through the vacuum pipes, this pipes get the heat from the sun, then the water gets hot. They also need very little maintenance, they wash themselves with rain, and the only problem you might have, is a broken pipe, which it is very easy to change, I changed mine myself actually…

So what happens in the winter, when the sun is out for a very short period of time? The solar water heater has an accessory, an electric resistor that looks like this:


Electric Resistor

This accessory is also designed to use very little electricity, and you will be using it only in the winter time (say 3 months a year), actually it depends on the climate of the area where you live, perhaps in you country, the sun is out also during the winter, you will use the resistor for even less than 3 months a year.

So there is no down side about it. These heaters will save you money on the long run, your electricity and gas bills will decrease for sure! And you will be doing the atmosphere a favor, reducing gas emissions. Sounds good doesn’t it?

Interested? Send me an email to info@dragon-exports.com We will be happy to assist you!

Cheers!
Sergio

新年快乐!! Happy New Year!!


Happy New Year

En Dragon-Exports deseamos que tenga un muy buen Año de la Rata!
Esperamos poder servirle con sus proyectos en Asia este año.
Gracias por su constante apoyo!

Sergio de Leon