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Can we trust China’s new code of ethics?
By Lauren | March 11, 2010
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Chinese politicians are maneuvering themselves into position for big changes in the government. Seems that a major shift in power is expected two years from now, being spurred by the National People’s Congress and the Chinese people themselves.
Some of the candidates-in-waiting are already mounting Western-style campaigns that the Journal suggests may lead to more a populist government. That would be good, but there may be another reason why China’s politicians are turning their eyes to the West. Western markets offer tremendous opportunities to an enterprising government with a lot of mouths to feed. We already import a whole lot of merchandise from China (just try to find a clock or coffeemaker that was made anywhere else) but, for really big financial deals, different issues come into play.
Corruption has been a way of life in China; according to news reports, some of the most senior party officials in China have been on the take for increasingly high stakes. That poses a real problem for American financiers who might want to do business there. If they play along, they can run afoul of the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits American businesses from bribing foreign officials. The financial services industry is still licking the wounds to its reputation from the subprime mortgage mess. It can’t afford another major scandal.
So, it’s encouraging that China’s Communist Party has issued a new ethics code to fight corruption. The new code reportedly outlaws fifty-two specific actions in the part of government officials, including accepting gifts and nepotism. It’s a great start toward better ethics in U.S.-Chinese business relations, though we won’t know how effective it will be until we see the Chinese government enforce it. Here’s hoping that, in this Year of the Tiger, China’s new ethics code proves to have some serious teeth.
Topics: Business Ethics, Risk Management, business communications, corporate responsibility, ethics |
March 11th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
52 rules may be a start - but until ethics and integrity become an internal value, enforcing rules won’t develop true trust for doing business. The US has lots of rules - and they get broken all the time. Ethics and integrity start from the heart.
March 11th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Hi Nancy,
Welcome to my blog. Thanks for your comment - you’re absolutely right!
Lauren
March 12th, 2010 at 2:07 am
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November 29th, 2010 at 1:52 am
it depends on the chinese folks you deal with.
you see chinese are not groupies but indervigualists