International Trade
- "E-Distribution" Network initiative in China Announced
- President Signs PNTR Legislation
- Heidelberg M-130 Begins Operations
- Training Center On Line In English
- NPES Only Western Organization At 2nd South Asia Print Congress
- 11th Edition Of NPES Directory Published
- Delmontagne Talks In India Focus On U.S. Markets, Technology
- Heidelberg Web Press Set For NPES Shanghai Center
- Shanghai Training Center Gains Recognition
- Fourth Quarter Seminar
- New Installation
- New Technology Commitments
- A Favorite of USDOC
- With Fewer Limits
For More Information
Contact:
Michael Hurley
703/264-7200
mhurley@npes.org
October 17, 2002
NPES announces new "E-Distribution" NETWORK initiative in China
Using a $180,000 grant from the U.S. Commerce Department, matched by $360,000 in association commitments, NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies has announced plans to develop the world's first online, multimedia, dual-language E-Commerce Distribution Network to serve the greater China marketplace.
Linda Conlin, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development, joined NPES President Regis J. Delmontagne at a news conference in Chicago during GRAPH EXPOÒ and CONVERTING EXPOÒ 2002 to announce the grant. She noted that "NPES is exactly the type of organization government should invest in. NPES members represent the best in innovation and technology, exactly the sort of partner we want to work with. It's programs like these that allow small businesses to expand and enable others to enter foreign markets for the first time."
Delmontagne said the new system could boost the market share of U.S. companies in China by 10 percent over the next five years, generating up to $80 million annually in additional sales revenue.
"We believe the government-controlled sales and distribution channels which have dominated the Chinese market in the past have been a major obstacle to U.S. suppliers increasing their export sales in this huge market, which is potentially worth $1 billion a year," Delmontagne said. "Our research shows that e-commerce is experiencing significant expansion in China and promises to spur new private enterprise economic activity, so we feel that this is an excellent time to undertake this new venture."
Delmontagne said NPES International Trade programs have consistently found that the most urgent need of small and medium sized businesses trying to enter the China market is for access to independent, reliable commercial agents and distributors.
"We're also convinced that China's transition from government mandated purchasing to free market commerce through open distribution channels will be slow and difficult," Delmontagne said, "unless United States private enterprise players, in partnership with our government, take strong initiatives to drive free market economic activity in China and assure Chinese compliance with the World Trade Organization trade agreement."
NPES Greater China Project Director Ya-Ping Zhou reviewed the progress of Chinese trade and tariff reforms, noting "we believe conditions for international trade will be greatly improved within the next two years, and expect that the Chinese market for imported products will be fully ready within five to six years."
Based in Shanghai, the E-distribution system will strengthen links among U.S. suppliers of graphic media communications technologies and Chinese dealers, agents and distributors, as well as supporting dissemination of product information, technical training and product support, and flexible e-communication among those involved in marketing U.S. products in China.
The new project will include a new high-speed, broadband Internet platform based at its home office in Shanghai. The E-Distribution System will identify, collect, analyze and maintain information about Chinese agents, dealers and distributors and establish an e-channel of communications between these industry participants and U.S. suppliers.
It will also adapt and translate product information of U.S. suppliers into Chinese, and entering this data into the new system. The E-Distribution Network will support online conferencing, training and demonstrations, and will provide ongoing centralized technical support and services online for established dealer networks. In addition, the system will be used to set up "e-dealer networks" and facilitate e-communication between Chinese distributors and U.S. suppliers, including networked meet-and-deal gatherings at both Chinese and U.S. trade shows.
The grant was awarded through the Commerce Department's Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP), the same agency that provided startup funding for the launch of the NPES-sponsored U.S.-Sino Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies Training Center in Shanghai in 1997. For further details on the NPES presence in China contact the International Trade Department at 703/264-7200 or e-mail mhurley@npes.org.
October 10, 2000
PRESIDENT SIGNS PNTR LEGISLATION
President Clinton signed legislation establishing permanent normal trade relations with China, revising a mid-1970s law which subjected trade relations with communist states to annual reviews and guaranteeing Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to the U.S. market as products from most other nations.
The legislation, strongly supported by NPES, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May and the Senate in September over stiff opposition from labor, human rights and conservative groups, who argued that the annual review allowed the United States to pressure China on human rights, trade practices and weapons exports. It followed an agreement between China and the United States under which China, as a condition for entering the World Trade Organization, agreed to open its markets and reduce tariffs.
After it enters WTO, China’s tariffs on U.S.-made goods would drop from an overall average of 25 percent to 9 percent by 2005. Tariffs on computers and other information technology products would be eliminated by that date. In addition to lower tariffs, under WTO rules China must also grant Americans and others the right to set up distribution points within the country, must open its financial and service sectors to foreign competitors and must allow outside participation in its Internet and telecommunications development.
"I do think this is a good economic deal for America," the President said. "But by far, I think, the most important reason to ratify this agreement is the potential it gives us to build a safer, more integrated world." However, he added, "China must still complete its WTO accession negotiations and live up to the agreements it has negotiated with us and our partners," the President said during the signing ceremony.
China’s entry into WTO may be delayed because the final round of talks has stalled over the legal documents that will spell out China’s commitment to abide by WTO rules and combine the terms of the bilateral agreements China has reached with WTO members. Issues involved include a detailed plan for reducing tariffs, removing trade barriers, rewriting regulations and adjudicating disputes.
Chinese negotiators have complained that they are being asked to do more than other nations to explain how China will live up to its trade promises, and some segments of the Chinese government remain strongly opposed to the nation’s entry into WTO.
On the same day he signed PNTR, the President sent Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky to Beijing to warn China that efforts to back away from pledges to open its markets could threaten the trading rights it had won. Before the PNTR legislation goes into effect, the President must certify to Congress that China joins the WTO on the terms it negotiated with the United States last year. The United States, which already has open markets, made no new concessions as part of the agreement, but had to grant permanent trade status before it could share in China's market-opening measures.
June 28, 2000
Heidelberg M-130 Begins Operations
The NPES U.S.-Sino Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies Training Center in Shanghai, China took a major step forward with the commissioning of a new Heidelberg M-130 web press and the addition of two new Technology Partners to the list of companies providing equipment to the Center.
The four-color Heidelberg press, capable of up to 40,000 impressions an hour, is a major addition to the Center’s output capabilities, which include a Goss SSC web press, an A.B. Dick offset press and a Xerox DocuTech 135. A number of Technology Partners provided accessory systems for the new web, including a Barco Graphic Systems Computer to Plate system; web offset blankets from Day International, a pressroom viewing booth from GTI Graphic Technology, a web guide system from Quad Tech Inc. and densitometers from X-Rite.
More than 150 guests from throughout China and Asia attended the ceremonial first run of the M-130 on June 14. They included Henry Levine, U.S. Consul General in Shanghai; Liu Jinping, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Foreign Economic and Trade Administration; Sun Yong, Director of the Shanghai Press and Publication Administration, and Yang Yiping, Deputy Director of SPPA.
Representing Heidelberg Web Systems were Jochen Meissner, Senior Vice President/Sales; Torben Rasmussen, Chief Financial Officer; Tim Mercy, General Manager, Asia Pacific, and Seng Lee Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Heidelberg China Ltd. Representing the Center were NPES President Regis J. Delmontagne; Ya-Ping Zhou, Director of the NPES Greater China Project; Frank Mo, Center General Manager; Yu Zhihue, Chairman of the Center and the Shanghai Advanced Printing (Group) Co. Ltd., and Jean-Pierre De Moor, Managing Director of Barco Asia Pacific, and Pan Xiaodong, directors of the Center.
"I am so pleased to see the success this project has brought to our industries both in the United States and China," said Consul General Levine. "We have seen many projects with glorious starts that failed later, but this project has not only succeeded, but also grown to be more successful. This is an extraordinary example of what the combined effort of a trade organization such as NPES, its member companies and the government can do in creating a new market for the future.
(Below: NPES President Regis J. Delmontagne with the Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, Muyaio Zhou)
Prior to the commissioning ceremony, the NPES delegation met
with Shanghai Senior Deputy Mayor Muyaio Zhou and other city
officials. The deputy mayor praised the work of the Center
in promoting U.S. technology and assured the group of his
support for improving trade between the industries of China
and the United States.
Delegation members from Apple Computer, Barco, Quad Tech, Quark and Xerox conducted a seminar for more than 120 people on world printing technologies in the new century as a part of the commissioning events.
Quark, Heidelberg and Barco presented a seminar on advanced prepress technology and products for about 30 representatives of prepress service bureaus the following day.
During a separate ceremony, the Center welcomed two new Technology Partners, Quad Tech and Quark, Inc., bringing the total number of participating companies to 34.
Following the events at the Center, NPES and member companies participated in exhibits at the Shanghai International Equipment Exhibition.
Click here for information on the Training Center.
Contact the International Trade Department at 703/264-7200 or e-mail mhurley@npes.org, or Ya-Ping Zhou at 619/238-4222 or e-mail zynetzhou@aol.com.
July 17, 2000
Training Center On Line In English
Get the latest details on the NPES U.S. - Sino Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies Training Center in Shanghai from the Center's new English-language web site. Log on to http://www.meihu.com.cn and click on the English icon.
April 27, 2000
NPES Only Western Organization At 2nd South Asia Print Congress
Hosted by the Nepal Printers Assolciation, 300 delegates from seven South Asian countries participated in the 2nd South Asia Print Congress Conference and Exhibition in Kathmandu, Nepal in March.
(Ya- Ping Zhou speaks at the 2nd South Asia Print Congress Conference)
As the only western professional organization invited to the congress, NPES participated by delivering a presentation on the current printing market in the United States and the NPES greater China project. Ya-Ping Zhou, director of the project, participated in a number of meetings with industry leaders from the region.
A detailed report on the congress, with contact list and market report from printing associations in the region is available from the International Trade Department. Call 703/264-7200.
January 7, 2000
11th Edition Of NPES Directory Published
NPES has published the 11th edition of its Directory of International Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologiesin print and CD-ROM formats.
The Directorycontains more than 200 pages of corporate and product information for member companies and more than 150 pages four-color advertising as well as an index of products and information about the Association.
Information on how to use the Directoryis provided in nine languages. The CD-ROM version also includes a slide show of the ads and links to member company web sites.
The Directory will be distributed at tradeshows and through foreign embassies in the United States, U.S. Consulates and Chambers of Commerce overseas and printing industry associations worldwide. To receive a free copy of the Directory in either format, contact the NPES Publications Department at 703/264-7200 or e-mail publications@npes.org.
April 16, 1999
Heidelberg Web Press Set For NPES Shanghai Center
A new Heidelberg M-130 web press will be installed this summer at the U.S.-Sino Printing and Publishing Technologies Training Center in Shanghai, under an agreement finalized in April by NPES, Heidelberg and the joint venture partner, Shanghai Printing Group Corporation. In addition, Heidelberg will install a new M-600 commercial web press at Zhonghua Printing, located at the same site as the Center. The two installations will create one of China's best equipped high-volume print shops, sharing space with a complete digital prepublishing workflow and a variety of output capabilities. Click here for more information on the Training Center.
February 8, 1999
Delmontagne Talks In India Focus On U.S. Markets, Technology
NPES President Regis J. Delmontagne made two key presentations in January in conjunction with the Print Pack India exposition and its associated technical conference.
Speaking at the Excellence in Printing Awards presentation ceremonies, Delmontagne briefed Indian professionals on key market trends in the United States. He described the state of printing and publishing, current growth prospects, "hot" market segments, and print’s relationship to the broader communications environment.
"Throughout the industry, in every specialty and in shops of every size, smart people are using new tools to create opportunities where no one may even have thought to look before," he said.
He particularly stressed the rapid convergence of printing with package printing and converting technologies, and summarized the findings of NPES’ recent study on the current and future U.S. press market.
Delmontagne’s second presentation came during the Printing & Packaging Conference and Technical Seminar sponsored by the Indian Printing, Packaging and Allied Machinery Manufacturers Association.
Focusing on technology developments shaping the U.S. market, Delmontagne reviewed the recent press market study and the Workflow Dynamics research project.
Digital networks, file compatibility, steadily expanding press automation and capabilities, and digital "direct-to" technologies are all changing how American graphic communications specialists manage their businesses, Delmontagne said.
In addition to Delmontagne’s two presentations, NPES staged a Product Information Exhibit in Print Pack India, the leading exposition serving the huge Indian market.
February 4, 1999
Shanghai Training Center Gains Recognition
The U.S.-Sino Printing and Publishing Technologies Training Center has been designated as its only "official" training center by the Shanghai Printing Technology Association. Apple, Adobe and DuPont have designated the Center as a formal training venue for their products.
The U.S.-Sino Printing and Publishing Technologies Training Center ran the first jobs printed on its new Goss SSC Community Press during the Center’s fourth quarter technical seminar on December 8-9. "Within a few hours, the entire printing industry in Shanghai knew that the Center had tested and run the Goss press with success in both the quality of the printed pieces and the speed of the printing process," reported Ya-Ping Zhou, NPES project manager for the Center.
The Goss Press, along with a new DocuTech 135 from Xerox Corporation, were major additions to the resources of the Center, which recently completed its first year of operation.
October 16, 1998
New Installation, Technology Partner Announced For Training Center
Xerox Corporation will install a digital DocuTech 135 printing system at the U.S.-Sino Printing Technologies Training Center in November, in time for a special ceremony and demonstration as part of the Center's fourth quarter seminar in December.
"The addition of the Xerox DocuTech will complete and showcase the Center's digital printing system for a wide variety of potential customers in the greater Shanghai area, as well as providing Xerox a demonstration facility for this technology," said NPES President Regis J. Delmontagne.
BARCO Graphics has become the 32nd Technology Partner in the Center. The company's official certificate was presented to James Yu, Sales Manager for East Asia, at the Center's Third Quarter Technical Seminar September 16 in Shanghai.
The Center's next training and demonstration program will take place December 8-9, from 9 a.m. to noon each day. The Seminar will include dedication of the Xerox DocuTech, live demonstrations of the DocuTech and the newly installed Goss SSC Community web press, and product/technology presentations by several of the Center's Technology Partners.
The Center's ongoing seminar program provides both basic and advanced training on technology subjects to industry professionals from the Shanghai area as well as to students at several Shanghai technical colleges. Special education programs have also been organized to complement major trade exhibitions in Shanghai.
For more information about the Center or becoming a Technology Partner, contact the NPES International Trade Department at 703/264-7200 or e-mail mhurley@npes.org.
NEW TECHNOLOGY COMMITMENTS TO SHANGHAI TRAINING CENTER, THREE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS SIGNED
NPES conducted an 11-day trade and training mission to China in early June, producing major gains in new commitments of technology to the Sino-U.S. Printing Technologies Training Center in Shanghai and the signing of cooperative agreements which will further facilitate access to the Chinese market for U.S. manufacturers.
A highlight of the mission was the formal presentation of an SSC Community press manufactured by Shanghai Goss Graphic Systems to the Training Center. Members of the delegation visited the Shanghai Goss joint venture plant to see the press, which was installed at the training center later in the month. It is equipped with an Enkel splicer and Baldwin Technology circulator.
Additional technology which has been pledged to the Center includes a DocuTech from Xerox Corporation to complete the digital workflow system.
Market development cooperative agreements were signed with:
- The Flexographic Technical Association of China in Shanghai to develop the central Chinese commercial and package printing markets. The signing took place during a reception hosted by NPES and the Training Center Technology Partners at the Shanghai Art Museum, with remarks by U.S. Consul General Raymond Burghardt and the Director of the Shanghai Press and Publication Administration, Sun Yong.
- The Guangdong Printing Technology Association in Guangzhou to develop the southern and Greater Chinese markets.
- The Printing and Printing Equipment Industries Association of China (PEIAC) in Beijing to develop the northern Chinese market, with new initiatives to link the NPES and GASC web sites with the PEIAC site and actively promote trade exhibitions sponsored by the three organizations.
The 12 member companies participating in the mission were A.B. Dick, Adobe Systems, Barco Gerber Systems, Baum USA, Goss Graphic Systems, Martin Automatic, OLEC Corporation, Pantone Asia Inc., Quad Tech International, Tobias Associates, Inc. X-Rite Inc. and Xerox. Other activities during the tour included:
- A live design to delivery demonstration of printing and publishing technologies in the production of a flyer and poster using digital photos of the unveiling of the Goss press, presented for 75 technology seminar participants.
- Technology seminars were also presented to 25 printers and distributors in Guangzhou and 100 attendees in Beijing.
- Mission participants visited a commercial printer and the largest newspaper printing operation in Guangzhou and a distribution and "market hall" center operated by the Guangdong Printing Technology Association.
- Mission participants also received briefings on the Chinese economy and business conditions from U.S. Commercial Attaches in Guangzhou and Beijing.
- NPES presented Product Information Exhibits at the Second China Flexo and Gravure Technology and Equipment Exhibition in Shanghai and the Second International Printing Equipment and Materials Exposition in Beijing.
For further details on the NPES presence in China and upcoming events at the Training Center, contact the International Trade Department at 703/264-7200 or e-mail mhurley@npes.org.
U.S.-CHINA TRAINING CENTER OPEN
Industry, Trade, Diplomatic Leaders Hail "A Great Tool"
With Fewer Limits, Chinese Printers Ready for Growth
Leaders of NPES, the U.S. Commerce Department, and the U.S. and Chinese printing and publishing industries joined in ceremonies on September 29-30 1997,launching the new U.S.-China Printing Technologies Training Center in Shanghai.
The Center, located in the heart of China’s largest city, will serve as both a training facility for Chinese printing professionals and a demonstration site for U.S. vendors seeking to expand markets in China.
Moreover, in the coming months it will evolve into one of China’s best equipped and most sophisticated printing businesses.
More than 30 NPES member companies have pledged equipment and supplies worth more than $6.5 million to support the training center, including a broad array of the latest and most advanced systems on the market. The center was created with the support of a $285,000 grant through the Market Development Cooperators Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
NPES President Regis J. Delmontagne hailed the new facility as "a promising first step in a journey of many miles." He added that "as China moves to the center of the world economic and political stage, printing will be one of the nation's most important resources."
Joining in the opening ceremony, Soon Yong, head of the Shanghai Printing and Publications Administration, predicted that "cooperation between us will be prosperous and have a long future."
Raymond Burghardt, U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, praised the new center as "a great example of cooperation between the public and private sectors" in the United States, and predicted it would "not only be a great promotional tool for U.S. companies but also an excellent training ground for Chinese professionals and a successful production facility."
The opening program included ceremonies at Shanghai’s Portman Hotel, followed by a VIP tour of the training center.
"We like this program. It's one of our favorites," said Gregory J. O'Connor, manager of the Market Development Cooperator Program at the U.S. Commerce Department. "We think it's a highly creative and innovative effort."
O'Connor noted that when the MDCP was launched in 1992 the Department’s initial request for proposals listed training as a prime example of the kind of effort it wanted to fund. "But NPES is the only group that has taken us up on that," he said.
"This is the only training and demonstration center we've funded," O'Connor said. "It's one of the most innovative projects in our entire program."
Moreover, O'Connor said, the NPES grant proposal had several other very strong features. "This was one of the only proposals we received that really addressed the issue of self-sustainability," he said
It’s also the first true joint venture funded under he MDCP, O'Connor said, noting that SPGC shares in both the ownership and management of the center.
U.S. Consul General Burghardt, during his tour of the facility, noted that NPES and SPGC have truly used the MDCP as "seed money," adding, "the U.S. government contribution to this project was actually very small, but it was enough to give everybody confidence and to get everything going."