There are claims that China has been manipulating and continues to manipulate its currency. Do you think that China is manipulating its currency? If so, what does this mean to the U.S. economy? Should the United States attempt to force China to change its policy? Use evidence, such as an online article, to support your answer.

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Kritika KrishnakumarLv10

28 Sep 2019

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With the heavy focus on trade with China, it may be surprising to discover that Canada is the USA's largest trading partner. Perhaps it is not the amount of trade between the US and China that is such a great concern as much as the growth of the trade, the corresponding imbalances, and China's currency valuations.

The yuan renminbi is the official currency of China. It has been historically fixed and controlled by the Chinese government, but that may be changing. As China becomes a greater global exporter and economic powerhouse, critics are claiming that the currency is being undervalued and manipulated in an attempt to protect domestic markets. There are additional levels of complexity impacting China as the nation must deal not only with the economic competition but also internal political and social pressures. As China continues to loosen capital controls, there is fear that the government may lose control of inflation and interest rates, thereby causing a great deal of labor and social unrest, while negatively impacting China's competitive advantages. There are currently platforms in place to increase the circulation of the yuan, but those platforms are currently limited and severely restricted.

China is a leader in international world trade, a major exporter, and currently holds the largest foreign exchange reserve in the world. The nation has one of the highest GDPs in the world and is increasing its economic power. Is it fair for China to fix its currency by undervaluing it on the market? How does keeping its exchange rate undervalued give it a favorable position in international trade? What about from the viewpoint of consumers?

Why is the Chinese government hesitant to open the yuan to market forces to determine its value (floating exchange rate) inside and outside of China?

We often talk about manufacturing and goods related to trade with China. What information can you find on trade in services between the two countries?

ochrecrow336

After reading the case that is below, how can a foreign company entering China ensure that it tackles the most important little things that end up being huge barriers to success as we approach the year 2020 when China is expected to have significantly increased purchasing power among its middle class? Write your opinion, as a manager, on how to face cultural issues like those described in the case, when entering foreign markets.

The People's Republic of China opened up to foreign investments in the late 1970s. Since that time, numerous companies have tried to establish operations and sell their products to customers in China. Many more companies will try in the years to come China is expected to have some 190 million people in the middle- and upper-income categories by 2020. This is an increase from only about 17 million people in these income brackets as recently as in 2010. China's purchasing power for virtually all products and services has strong potential, and foreign companies will seek these market opportunities. What have we learned culturally that can help Western-based companies in China's marketplace?

Some background on China can serve as a starting point for a better understanding of the culture in China and what some well-known companies such as Best Buy and eBay have done to target the Chinese marketplace. The motivation for many foreign companies to enter China beyond those that have been there for a few decades for reasons of low-cost production was the triple growth of the Chinese economy that was seen from 2000 to 2010. China overtook Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world behind only the United States, and its large population makes for an enormous target market. Investment from foreign companies was the largest driver of China's growth in the decade from 2000 to 2010. However, many companies also increased their exports to China. The United States, for example, saw its companies increase exports to China by 542 percent from 2000 to 2011 (from about $16.2 billion to $103.9 billion), while total exports to the rest of the world increased by only 80 percent in the same time period.

Interestingly, while foreign investments grew, domestic consumption as a share of the Chinese economy declined from 46 percent in 2000 to 33 percent in 2010. This consumption declineâcoupled with slower growth globally and, ultimately, the worldwide economic downturn that started in 2008âraised questions about China's momentum. Right now, around 85 percent of mainstream Chinese consumers are living in the top 100 wealthiest cities. By the year 2020, these advanced and developing cities will have relatively few customers who are lower than the middle- and upper-income brackets by Chinese standards. The expectation is that these consumers will be able to afford a range of products and services, such as flat-screen televisions and overseas travel, making the Chinese customer much more of a target for a wide variety of consumption. This begs the question, can the unprecedented Chinese growth really continue, and would it come from increased consumption?

The resounding answer is yes according to research conducted by McKinsey & Company. McKinsey found that barring another major economic shock similar to what we saw in 2008, China's gross domestic product (GDP) will continue to grow, albeit not at the historic levels seen between 2000 and 2010 when it grew about 10.4 percent annually. The growth from 2010 to 2020 is expected to be about 7.9 percent per year, which is still far above the expected growth for the United States (2.8 percent annually), Japan (1.2 percent annually), and Germany (1.7 percent annually) the three countries among the top four worldwide economies along with China. And, the key is that consumption will now be the driving force behind the growth instead of foreign investment. The consumption forecast opens up opportunities for foreign companies to engage with Chinese consumers who are expected to have more purchasing power and discretionary spending. But culturally translating market success from one country or even a large number of countries to the Chinese marketplace is not necessarily as straightforward as it may seem. Often, a combination of naivety, arrogance, and cultural misunderstanding has led many well-known companies to fail in China. Lack of an understanding of issues such as local demands, buying habits, consumption values, and Chinese customers' personal beliefs led to struggles for companies that had been very successful elsewhere in the world. Let's take a brief look at Best Buy and eBay as two examples.

Best Buy, the mega-store mainly focused on consumer electronics, was founded in 1966 as an audio specialty store. Best Buy entered China in 2006 by acquiring a majority interest in China's fourth-largest appliance retailer, Jiangsu Five Star Appliance, for $180 million. But culture shock hit Best Buy, best described by Shaun Rein, the founder of China Market Research Group. He pointed to a few reasons for this culture shock and lack of success. First, the Chinese will not pay for Best Buy's overly expensive products unless they are a brand like Apple. Second, there is too much piracy in the Chinese market, and this reduces the demand for electronics products at competitive market prices. Third, like many Europeans, the Chinese do not want to shop at huge mega-stores. So, these three seemingly easy-to-understand cultural issues created difficulties for Best Buy. Solving these issues, Best Buy believed that it would have to develop and implement a different business model for the Chinese market than it has used, for example, in the United States. Now, how far should a company go outside its normal business model to adhere to the cultural values and beliefs of a new market? Strategically moving forward, Best Buy opted to close all of its Best Buy branded stores in China and focus on its wholly-owned local Jiangsu Five Star chain of stores. But will this new strategic business model be successful with the new makeup of customers in China expected by 2020?

eBay, the popular e-business site focused on consumer-to-consumer purchases, was founded in 1995. The company was one of the true success stories that lived through the dot-com bubble in the 1990s. It is now a multi-billion-dollar business with operations in more than 30 countries. But China's unique culture created problems for eBay in that market. Contrary to the widespread cultural issues that faced Best Buy, one company in particular (TaoBao) and one feature more specifically (built-in instant messaging) shaped a lot of the problems that eBay ran into in China. Some 200 million shoppers are using TaoBao to buy products, and the company accounts for almost 80 percent of online transaction value in China. Uniquely, TaoBao's built-in instant messaging system has been cited as the main reason for its edge over eBay in China. Basically, customers wanted to be able to identify a seller's online status and communicate with them directly and easily function not seamlessly incorporated into eBay's China system. Clearly, built-in instant text messaging is a solvable obstacle in doing business in China. It sounds easy now when we know about it, but may not always be the case when we take into account all the little things that are important in a market.

brownox314

Case Study:

Wine Exports to China rise in value before the mid-1990s, the wine market in Asia was non-existent and many wine producers did not see potential in the Asian markets. But during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the markets started to change, and, almost overnight, wine became a symbol of wealth and class. The only problem was that very few producers were serving the market. As more producers became aware of the new potential markets, they started to enter China, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, and Japan. China posed specific problems for producers and importers as distribution channels and marketing strategies were virtually non-existent because the market was too new. The wine market maintained double-digit growth from 2005 - 2010, and it should grow faster than any other alcoholic beverage sector in the coming five years. With consumption rising at 10% - 15% per year it can be tempting for producers, whose traditional markets are stagnant, to consider China as a possible solution to their problems. Though there is little doubt that the market will continue to expand, the challenges are numerous: 1. A lack of transparency, counterfeit products, and unreliable information. 2. Dominance of the domestic giants. 3. Consumer and cultural challenges. 4. Distribution and logistics. The rewards are great for any foreign winery that can crack the market but the challenges are also great. The first step a winery must take before they carve out their niche, is to understand the reasons behind Chinese consumers buying habits, and how consumers purchase wine in China. Why do Chinese Consumers buy wine? The majority of wine purchases are made during the major holidays: Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, and the mid-Autumn Festival. Most of these purchases are destined as gifts for people. This is an interesting insight because gift-giving in China is important to the concept of Face. The Chinese wine consumer is typically a market follower, not a leader. He needs to feel safe about his purchase and does not want to lose face by choosing the wrong wine or admit that his knowledge of wine is limited. Chinese consumers buy wine to impress or gain Face (the Chinese word guanxi or the concept of face is somewhat analogous to influence or opportunities) within their social groups. Buying the right bottle of wine for a boss during the holidays could mean a promotion. In contrast to America or Europe, wine is also used as a social lubricant in place of spirits or beer. European consumers will often pair wine with food but Chinese are more likely to use wine as a social lubricant at parties or events. How do Chinese consumers buy wine? A survey conducted by the research company Wine Intelligence, which surveyed more than 1,000 Chinese upper middle-class drinkers of imported wine found that 75% of them said they often go online to look for wine information, and 62% said they frequently use social media as a source. New wine consumers were increasingly reliant on the digital world to learn about wine, with an estimated 13 million Chinese adults frequently accessing information online. This is a significant percentage of consumers searching for information online. Wineries that are looking to make an impact in China must create a strong digital strategy. (Source: http://www.digitalintheround.com/chinese-wine-market-digital-strategy/)

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Question 9:
Provide two (2) reasons why it is said wineries that are looking to make an impact in China must create a strong digital strategy. In your opinion, do you think digital strategy is suitable for the luxury industry like the wine market?
(18 marks)

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