Chinese ICT Companies Going Abroad

 　　Now, the last piece of series on the US government decision to restrict the procurement¹ of Chinese information technology products over fear about so-called cyber security.

 

　　Insiders and experts are making their suggestions on how Chinese companies access the overseas market.

 

　　CRI's Cao Yu Wei reports.

　　Huawei, China's largest telecommunication² equipment company says it has hooked up one-third of the world's population to networks that use its gear.

 

　　ZTE, another Chinese powerhouse in the sector³, is now the world's fifth-largest company among its global peers.

 

　　Zha Xiaogang with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies says Chinese ICT companies have many advantages in the global market.

 

　　"Firstly, the advantage of cost, because Chinese cost is much lower, even now compared to the US. And second advantage is the economy of scale, because we have so many product lines here. We have these production facilities together."

 

　　He adds that the conglomerate⁴ of production values of the high-tech⁵ sector is also very important when they go through competitions in the US market.

 

　　But their robust⁶ development seems have done little to help them enter the United States.

 

　　Statistics show that only five of the world's top 50 telecom carriers are not Chinese IT company Huawei's customers, and four out of the five are from the US.

 

　　William Chow, managing partner of the Deloitte TMT Group, says the US market is very uniquely locally driven.

 

　　"There oversea sales only occupy a very small portion of their global revenue, compared to other European company. For example like Vodafone their overseas sales leer 90 percent, and Dos Telecom, their oversea sales is 70 percent, but US telecom carrier like VERIAZON, AT&T, their oversea sales only occupy 1 percent of their total revenue."

 

　　He adds that domestic revenue is very important to US telecom carriers, so they will protect their local market as keenly as possible.

 

　　This results in some obstacles for Chinese companies to get in.

 

　　Li Yong is Vice⁷ Chairman of the China Association of International Studies.

 

　　"I think basically there are two obstacles. Actually they are kind of interconnected. One is protectionism. The second is the politicization of the trade and investment relations between China and some countries where Chinese companies do business and investment."

 

　　Cai Cuihong is professor at the Fudan University specializing in Sino-US relations.

 

　　She says there are mainly three strategies Chinese companies can adopt encountering protectionism, including appealing to arbitral authorities, bilateral⁸ negotiation⁹ and unilateral retaliation¹⁰.

 

　　"For example they can appeal to arbitration¹¹ committee of the WTO. But in ZTE and Huawei's case, the damage has already been made, while the appealing process is relatively¹² long, so it might not be so effective. Second is bilateral negotiation. Relative government departments, such as the Ministry¹³ of Commerce, can negotiate with the American counterparts. Unilateral retaliation is the last option, which is to give him a dose of his own medicine."

 

　　Other than those external factors, Chinese companies' market performances are also restricted by their own weaknesses.

 

　　Researcher at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies Zha Xiaogang again.

 

　　"The first and the utmost one is they are not familiar with the local and legal environment. And the second is Chinese companies in general still lack of the experience of international operation, and we need to learn more in the future. And the third is they lack of the internationalized intellectual talents to support Chinese companies' expansion overseas."

 

　　He also says that the poor management of some Chinese companies overseas, especially in Africa and Latin America, have affected¹⁴ the industry's reputation.

 

　　However, professor Cai Cuihong suggests if they want to stand firm in the global market, providing competitive products will be the key.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Cao Yuwei.

1 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

2 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。