China Set To Announce Record Trade DEFICIT In March

[GRG55]

Re: China Set To Announce Record Trade DEFICIT In March

I've done limited trading in China. From what i've seen, to some of the Chinese businessmen, the only contract that holds water if when money is paid and transferred to their bank account, otherwise it is ok to back out.

Usually some reason is provided, e.g. we're out of stock, the goods were sold to someone else who ordered earlier, we made the mistake, apologies.

A contract for future pricing doesn't mean anything.

Western Canada has the second largest metallurgical coal export operation in the world [Australia's is the largest]. After the experience of repeated abrogation of contracts by the Chinese in the 1980s/'90s, to this day exports to China are limited...despite the Pacific Rim location we export more met coal to Europe than we do to the Chinese. And I can fully understand BHP and Rio's "hard line" approach with the Chinese when it comes to negotiating iron ore and other prices...they are merely giving back what they got.

In the petroleum sector I know a long time oil patch financier here who serves on the Boards of a number of Canadian companies, including one with a Chinese State shareholder, which holds a minority interest. He describes them as "the partner from hell". Apparently they feel their minority shareholding should give them the rights of a controlling shareholder including a veto, they don't understand the preoccupation with conducting operations in accordance with Canadian regulations, and they can't grasp the reasons the rest of the Board is so concerned about following corporate governance and other Canadian securities laws.

That's why I chuckle when I read something like this excerpt from another post on this thread...

I find ti amusing that when the US/Aus/UK go into 'developing' coutries and buy mines/huge swaths of land, and all major businesses and banks -this is seen as a clarion call for the merits of democracy and capitalism.

However -should another non-club country try to do the SAME thing -people are 'worried' and in angst. Rather telling...

It's debatable whether Chinese, Arab and other business norms are "better" or "worse" than the norms for how we try to conduct business in the US/Aus/UK [and Canada]...but as someone who has firsthand experience with the Middle East, parts of Africa and Central Asia I can assure the norms are quite different and often in direct conflict. That is one of the primary sources of the "angst" over investments by Chinese State companies and Middle East sovereign wealth funds [and here in Canada we have plenty of experience with both].

[Penguin]

Re: China Set To Announce Record Trade DEFICIT In March

Impeccable timing no?

~snort~

Will