Chinese mainland to organize three buying teams to Taiwan by July

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland was
scheduled to organize three buying teams to visit Taiwan for business talks and
purchase of products and materials, Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of
Commerce (MOC), said Wednesday.

The MOC, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office and
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology were endeavoring to organize
three economic and trade facilitation teams to visit Taiwan at the end of May,
in mid-June and early July to deepen the mainland-Taiwan economic and trade
ties, Yao said in a Web site statement.

Yao did not specify how many mainland businesses
would visit Taiwan and how much they planned to spend, but he said they would
mainly focus on purchasing folk handicraft, processed food, daily necessities,
machinery equipment and raw materials.

Li Shuilin, head of the Association of Economy and
Trade Across the Taiwan Straits, a non-governmental mainland institution, would
head the first team to visit Taiwan, with business people from home appliance,
light industry and food processing firms in the delegation. The delegation would
also carry out business talks in Taiwan, according to the statement.

Special Report:
Global Financial
Crisis

Businesses brace for H1N1 impact

Special Report: World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu 

BEIJING,May 7-- While
confirmed human cases of influenza A (H1N1) have not been found on the mainland
so far, the business community in Shanghai is preparing for the worst and
introducing precautions against the potential outbreak of the disease.

Travel agencies and hotels have been among the
hardest-hit sectors of the business community and many in Shanghai are now
beefing up their hygiene management and emergency controls to ensure the safety
of customers after experiencing a drop in bookings.

According to Zhou Yinfeng, general manager of the
outbound division of Shanghai CYTS Tours Corporation, about 10 percent of
outbound tourists have cancelled their trips in the past three days, citing the
virus as their main concern.

"People are generally less inclined to travel, even
though their destinations are not within the affected areas," Zhou said.

"What we do is to spend more time telling them the
real situation of the epidemic, while also stepping up precautions to ensure
safety for them."

He said that the company now provides face masks and
thermometers to tourists bound for overseas destinations, and each tourist guide
is required to report regularly to the headquarters on the health condition of
the travelers.

Michelle Chong, communications manager of Renaissance
Yangtze Shanghai Hotel under Marriott Group, said the hotel has been keeping a
close eye on the outbreak while putting in place procedures necessary to deal
with the virus.

She said the hotel had procured "enough masks and
gloves" to be ready in the event of an outbreak.

In the meantime, workers are being reminded about
good hygiene, both personal and in the workplace. Employees frequently clean
areas such as handrails, telephones, door handles, elevator buttons and fitness
center equipment.

Carson C. Block, owner of a storage service company
in Shanghai, said he is worried about his business, even though it is not
directly influenced by the disease in the way hotels and travel agencies are.

"Should the situation continue to worsen with fewer
people going out, there surely would be a decrease in our revenue," he said,
adding that the safety of his staff in the face of the spreading virus is his
primary concern. He said he now asks them to clean their workstations with
alcohol four times a day.

But Warren Bock, business development director of
Scandic Sourcing, a China-based sourcing company for Scandinavian companies,
said his business had actually received a boost from the epidemic.

He said more clients are now asking him to do product
sourcing in China because they are less willing to travel.

"With the economic downturn, people are less likely
to travel, and find us a cheaper solution," he said. "Now, with this flu
affecting people's traveling plans even more so, it is even better for us to
help with their production."

(Source: China Daily)

Analysts: "no impact" yet from A/H1N1 flu for China's economy

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Though outbreaks of A/H1N1 across the world have
China on alert, economists said the flu isn't having much impact on the Chinese
economy.

Tourism and exports are considered most vulnerable to disruption, but
operators said their business has not been seriously affected.

Wang Yuan, manager of the domestic tourism division of China CYTS Tours
Holding Co., Ltd., said: "There is no obvious change in domestic tourism. It's
safe in China and people have not changed their travel plans."

Wang said the company had closely followed the situation and would take any
necessary measures if conditions changed. She said CYTS required tour guides to
inform tourists to pay more attention to hygiene, for example, washing their
hands before dining.

Sun Changwei, executive general manager of the outbound division of China
CYTS Tours Holding Co., Ltd., said about 5 percent of outbound tourists canceled
their trips in the past three days mainly due to flu fears.

"The majority of our business remains normal," Sun said.

He said the company now provided face masks to tourists bound for the
United States and made minor changes on travel plans to avoid going to
overcrowded places or rural areas where there were pig farms.

Liu Jie, a business manager with Sino-Right Investment and Development
Group Ltd., a Beijing-based export company, said: "Our construction projects in
Mexico would have to be postponed as many workers are staying home. If there was
other business there, we would not dare to take it and would have to postpone it
and wait.

"The majority of our business is not affected, only staff travel," said
Liu. She said cargo shipments hadn't been affected.

She said the company had given top priority to staff health and two of
their engineers had returned to China from Mexico on May 1.The two were released
from quarantine Thursday in good health. "Two others have to stay in Mexico to
supervise some projects and they are now our top concern," Liu said.

Analysts said the A/H1N1 flu epidemic had not had an obvious impact on
China's economy.

Zhang Yansheng, head of the foreign economy research institution with the
National Development and Reform Commission, said: "The impact of the A/H1N1 flu
on the Chinese economy is limited."

"The flu so far has not damaged the economy as SARS did in 2003," said
Zhang, "If there was any impact, it would be on the expectations of consumers
and investors."

Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and
Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Finance, said: "The epidemic has had
little impact on the Chinese economy so far.

"China has beefed up precautionary measures. The country has improved its
capacity to deal with emergencies after having suffered SARS and last year's
earthquake," he said.

"Meanwhile, China's major business partners are the United States and
European countries. Mexico does not rank high among China's major business
partners," Mei said.

"The influence of the flu is now psychological. It's not necessary to be
too nervous about its impact on China's economy," Mei said.

Special Report:
World Tackles A/H1N1
Flu


American entrepreneurs seek new opportunities amid recession

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

by Jing Zhao Cesarone

CHICAGO, May 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. entrepreneurs are
adjusting to the current economic environment and are trying to seek new
opportunities.

"By and large, no company is doing as well as it was,
regardless of size," Lloyd Shefsky, a clinical professor of entrepreneurship at
Kellogg School of Management, said.

Bob Billow, managing director of Billow Butler
Company, L.L.C., a middle market investment bank, said: "All across the spectrum
of industries, small and medium sized businesses have been especially impacted
by this very negative environment in which they are operating presently. We can
see the pervasive effects of this challenging credit environment impacting so
many firms up and down their supply and distribution channels."

R. J. Seidel, owner of an Asian antique store in
Chicago, said:"No question we've felt the slow down. I can't say the economic
impact on small businesses is greater than that on larger businesses; but it's
the small businesses in many local economies that are most affected and are most
likely to feel the pain."

However, Shefsky said some smaller companies are
prepared because they have not accumulated mass, and the result is they have
staying power. "The small and medium companies may even benefit by picking up
customers of competitors who are less prepared," he said.

Indeed, many believe that the economic downturn also
presents them with unique opportunities. They feel that it is time for
entrepreneurs to have a long-term vision and expand their possibilities. When
the economy starts showing glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, existing
small and medium sized companies will be in a position to take advantage of the
economy.

"You should never miss an opportunity in a time of
crisis," Billow said, quoting an ancient Chinese saying. "When other people are
pulling back, it is the best time for a business to build itself up and further
strengthen and even consider expanding its core focus. If a firm has sufficient
resources it should consider how to best develop and expand on its model for the
long-term."

He listed a few things they can do such as building
IP competitive advantages, recruiting good people with necessary and
complementary talents, implementing marketing and brand promotions and, for
manufacturers, investigating improvements in cost structure by finding an Asian
product source or partner.

Shefsky advised entrepreneurs to spend time thinking
on how to cut unnecessary expenses, pay attention to how their competitors are
doing and, if possible, consider it a good time to upgrade -- personnel,
distributors, suppliers, etc. which were previously not available. "Have a board
to guide you with their experience." Shefsky said.

Seidel has been doing a lot of thinking recently on
how to survive and even thrive in this economy. "We've focused on sending out
more frequent and professional looking emails. We've recognized that while there
is a good percentage of customers who have tightened their purse strings there's
still a percentage of individuals spending. These people have now become our
target market. And, we've shifted our marketing efforts and our inventory to
take advantage of this reality."

Seidel is optimistic about the future. "We will
continue tweaking our business plan to make better use of marketing
opportunities and the media to attract more affluent shoppers."

Anita Tang, managing director of Royal Roots Global
Inc., a cross-border business strategy advisor, pointed out the importance of
building an international strategy with a strategic network.

"The global economy connects different countries and
regions, and economic cycles impact economies around the world in various
degrees. A good international strategy and strategic network can help defuse
certain negative impacts and open doors to business opportunities outside of
your geographic territory," she said.

Another "think-outside-the box" business strategy was
recommended by Stella Y. Su, director of corporate finance consulting and head
of China practice at Blackman Kallick. She pointed out that a Chinese buyer or
investor could help small and medium U.S. companies realize their maximum value.

Su said that with the Chinese government's
encouragement of overseas investments, the abundance of capital, and the weak
U.S. dollar, Chinese companies are investing in more and more American
businesses in virtually every industry.

Tang said that U.S. businesses have to be proactive
in working with foreign parties by providing them with a strong value
proposition. "Even though China is cash rich, it has many investment options all
over the world rather than just in the United States."

Looking at the future, Shefsky predicted that
initially many existing companies will disappear. At the same time, many
laid-off people and graduates without jobs will start their own businesses. Some
will succeed at a higher percentage than they usually do because,
percentage-wise, more of the fittest will start new businesses, since the less
fit may be more careful, Shefsky said.

However, Jim Blasingame, a leading business expert
and host of the Small Business Advocate radio show, as well as a small business
owner, believes that new start-ups will not be as robust during the recovery
compared with those in the 1990s, simply because of the lack of credit. New
start-ups will no longer get easy funding from their credit cards, home equity
loans, and 401K plans like they previously did.

On the other hand, it will be good news for existing
businesses which will have a much larger pool of talent and less competition in
the market, Blasingame said.

A recent survey conducted by the University of
Maryland's business school and Network Solutions revealed that America's small
businesses are succeeding despite the economic downturn with69 percent being
profitable in 2008 and 7 percent breaking even.

Other research conducted by the American Express Open
Small Business Monitor discovered that four out of 10 entrepreneurs are
optimistic about the economy this year and feel it will provide opportunities
for their businesses.

Moreover, nearly "all of these glass-half-full"
entrepreneurs (92 percent) say that managing through the recession has made them
a better business owner, compared to 77 percent overall.

"Existing small business will be the force to bring
this economy out of the recession," Blasingame said.