Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Microsoft Corp believes that, after more than a decade of efforts, it is on the cusp of a breakthrough in China's vast potential market, where it has traditionally been hindered by widespread software piracy.
But even as Microsoft is winning Chinese government backing to crack down on piracy, the software maker and its competitors have come under fire for aiding government censorship efforts as they try to break into China's lucrative online market.
"Everybody sort of has this issue of, `How do you balance the sort of civil liberties aspect with the sort of real world that's the market out there,'" said analyst Charlie Di Bona with Bernstein & Co.
Meanwhile, Boeing Co has won pledges for big airplane orders that could help boost diplomacy efforts, although some say the company's potential there is limited by the strict regulation of Chinese airlines.
slow deregulation
"Everyone wants the market to deregulate, but it's happening slower than expected," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group.
The US' largest exporter also is seeing stiffer competition in China from rival Airbus SAS, raising concerns in part because so much business is at stake. Boeing believes China will require 2,600 new airplanes over the next 20 years.
"The Chinese market is probably going to be as strong as any single country in the world over the next 20 years ... so it's certainly one that Boeing wants to continue to be dominant in," said aviation analyst Paul Nisbet with JSA Research.
trade imbalance
Nisbet credits Boeing with astute sales and marketing efforts in China, but he said the company also is benefiting from both US and Chinese eagerness to address a growing trade imbalance.
The US has a US$202 billion trade deficit with China, and big purchases of Boeing airplanes help tip the scales back a bit.
At a meeting between US and Chinese officials last week, China pledged to complete a previous 150-plane commitment by buying 80 narrow-body 737-700 and 737-800 airplanes worth US$5.2 billion at list prices.
The order has yet to be final-ized, and airlines typically negotiate discounts.
Still, Aboulafia said he thinks the potential could be greater if there were looser restrictions, allowing more people to more easily start up airlines and buy planes.
"The fact that the Chinese government is placing these orders shows how close they are," said Aboulafia, who believes India is more promising in part because it's a more open market.
Robert Laird, vice president for China sales at Boeing, insists Chinese airlines, not the government, are making fleet purchasing decisions.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has had a presence in China since 1992, but Tim Chen (
crackdown
The Chinese government has said it will crack down on illegitimate software use, and three major computer makers have said they would begin loading legitimate copies of Windows onto some of the computers sold there.
"China wants to be regarded as a mature player in the world stage, and to do so it has to respect intellectual property law," said Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies Associates.
Such regulation is important to Microsoft because the market for Windows and other products is growing saturated in much of the developed world, leaving Microsoft hungry to boost sales in areas such as China and India.
But Di Bona said that, despite the high-profile promises, he thinks it will still be some time before Microsoft actually sees significant revenue from the pledged changes.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a