环境对美国的中小企业有何不同

How does China’s business environ-ment for U.S. small- and medium-sized enterprises differ from that for large multinationals?

In the past SMEs really didn’t come here except to source cheaper products, but China’s domestic market has become more appealing because of its growing size and status in the world market. Chi-na has a better operating environment since joining WTO, improving service fi rms, more experienced local and foreign staff, and an increasingly transparent mar-ket with more benchmarks, since more companies are entering and this allows them to see what is needed to succeed. The only negative trend is increasing com-petition.

China’s new distribution rules rep-resent a kind of breakthrough for SMEs. The biggest challenge for these smaller companies is economy of scale. Unlike bigger companies, they don’t come in with a huge war chest and don’t have head-

quarters around the world for support, so

they need much more effi cient outsourc-

ing and partnering. In China, this was

impossible under the previous distribu-

tion rules because an SME would have to

build an entire factory and start produc-

ing here at the very beginning of its busi-

ness. Since companies were not sure what

would sell in China, it was a huge risk for

a small company to put up that kind of

investment. Under the new rules, SMEs

will be allowed to import a portion of

their goods and this is exciting because

they can get involved in the China mar-

ket with much less risk.

How have companies fared so far under

the new distribution rules?

The principle of what needs to be

done is laid out in WTO quite clearly and

if it’s achieved in practice people on the

whole will be happy. However, the new

Matthew Estes provides the

recipe for helping SMEs in China.

regulations passed on December 11, and

so far no companies have been approved,

although the ice is breaking and we expect

a fair number to receive distribution licens-

es.

Actually this issue is a good exam-

ple of AmCham working together with the

U.S. government. We have been meeting

with the U.S. Embassy and Foreign Com-

mercial Service to create a consolidated

position on distribution. When the Chi-

nese government fell behind schedule on

implementing the new rules, letters were

sent by the deputy trade representative

and U.S. ambassador to the Chinese gov-

ernment. On March 17, a team led by sen-

ior representatives from the U.S. Embassy

and Foreign Commercial Service, AmCham

President Charlie Martin, and myself as

chairman of the Retail and Distribution

Forum met with Deng Zhan, deputy direc-

tor general of the Ministry of Commerce’s

Department of Foreign Investment Admin-

istration. The government realizes it is

late with the approvals and says it will

happen soon. It is making progress, but

needs to fi nalize all of the details.

What is causing the delay?

There are different delays for differ-

ent types of companies. New entrants are

looking for clarity in the law – to know

what the rules are, how to apply for a

license, and how to get approval. But most

AmCham members are already set up in

China as manufacturers and are looking

to expand their business scope to include

wholesale distribution and retail. This is

more complicated. As manufacturers, they

receive tax preferences and the govern-

ment is trying to clarify how to deal with

this because there are no such preferenc-

es for distributors. Deng Zhan told us that

if a company’s business is at least 70 per-

cent in manufacturing, that is, less than

30 percent in distribution, it can stick with

its present tax structure. But those above

30 percent would need to apply as a whole-

地雇员和引进先进技术帮助了中国。以我们公司（爱葆婴公司）为例，尽管我们在北京有?个GMP “模范??”，但（我们所?产?品的）?些营养素配原料仍由我们在美国的???产，因为那??产的产品品质更?、且更为安全，?且价格更低。通过允许这些产品种进?，我们为美国协作??创造了就业机会；?当我们将这些产品进?到我们的和中国???，?为中国都创造了就业机会。我们充分利?了美中两国的了资源优

势。

新法规是否对美国企业关注的知识产权问题有所影响？

杜绝假冒产品的最?问题就是阻?批发商以次充好和偷梁换柱的?为。在街头巷尾兜售的盗版DVD可能给你假货最直观的印象，事实上?多假货是通过便利店、零售商店和超市等正规的分销渠道销售的；假货?乎?处不在，?论你买的是洗发?还是汽车配件。如果我们能够有效清理批发环节，就可以?幅减少零售环节的假冒产品。

过去，当不允许外国公司?营进?任何产品的时候，他们不仅不得不向低效的批发商和零售商?付40-45%的利润，也?法对分销体系进?控制。但有了新的分销法规，象Babycare葆婴这样的公司可以??设?商店了。如果有了我们??的专卖店，我根本甚?不担?知识产权问题，因为顾客知道，如果他们来到相信我们这?，他们就会买到（直接销售）的产品是真的产品。

对于那些不准备??开设零售店?

希望通过分销商销售的公司来说，新

的法规也有帮助。有些时候，商店并

不知道??在销售假货，这是因为批

发商可能在10件商品中混进5件假

货。但随着批发市场的放开，?益激

烈的竞争将让信誉良好的公司胜出，

服务将不断改善，假货也会越来越

少。不久，原来销售环节巨?的利润

空间（40-45%）很可能将随着公司

投资信息系统、改善管理体系?被压

缩。最终，中国的消费者将受益，他

们可以较低的价格购买到质量更好的

产品。同时，中?企业也因找到了更

好的分销伙伴?受益。

中美商会零售和分销论坛关注的其

他问题有哪些？

问题之?就是?前每个分销商在

全中国境内只能拥有9000平??的

总店铺?积，?论你是开设30家每家

300平??的店铺，还是开3家每家

3000平?的店，情况都?样。很多中

?企业认为这??积太?了。没有?

够的店铺数量，他们很难达到成功经

营所需的规模采购及?效通讯。

另?个问题涉及特许经营法规。

尽管法规的明确程度有了?幅的提

?，但它仍要求特许店的所有者?少

开设两个店，并且在盈利运营?年以

后才能进?特许销售。对于肯德基和

麦当劳这样的?公司，他们可以先开

50家店铺然后再开始做特许经营，?

美国众多的中?企业则希望能够在中

国直接授权特许经营店以节约成本和

时间。

此外，我们也关注尚未正式颁布

的《直销法》。与《分销法》?样，

它也应于去年12?开始施?。有关直

销的规定公布恰逢中国政府颁布关于

反传销的法规，两者在如何定义“直

销”上存在?盾之处。此外，还有?

些涉及资?的问题，例如?少1000万

美元的最低资本?要求，2000万?民

币的保证?要求以及要求直销企业只

能销售在中国?产的产品，这与允许

销售进?产品的新分销法规是不?致

的。对?公司来说，这些问题可能不

算什么，但它们确是中?企业的进?

中国市场的巨?阻碍。

18|A M C H A M C H I N A B R I E F|M A Y2005