Liu Qi

Wednesday, Apr. 25, 2007
By Simon Elegant

On a recent bright spring Sunday morning, a line of Beijingers waiting at a bus stop noticed a distinguished visitor at the back of their queue. The bemused commuters found themselves being congratulated for their "civilized behavior" by none other than the city's senior politician, Beijing Communist Party Secretary Liu Qi. As head of the city's all-important Olympic Organizing Committee, Liu, 64, has designated the 11th day of every month from now until the Games begin on Aug. 8, 2008, as "Learn to Line Up Day." Liu's other crusades—against spitting, smelly taxis, fractured English and dirty toilets, among other things—are manifestations of the gargantuan task he has been charged with, which is no less than the physical and spiritual transformation of China's capital in time for the Games.

The gleaming new buildings, stadiums and public spaces are visible symbols of the $40 billion campaign Liu is leading to ensure that China's coming-out party goes off without a hitch. Much less visible are the headaches that Beijing would rather not have exposed. One example, pervasive corruption, has led to the arrest of Beijing's deputy mayor on charges of taking millions in bribes from contractors. Another is air pollution: Liu recently said he may order all industries in the Beijing area to stop production in order to guarantee a clean atmosphere for the Games. China's top leaders have repeatedly made it clear that they will settle for nothing less than a perfect Olympics. A little more than a year from now, the world will find out if Liu has pulled it off.

Chinesisches Mercedes JV produziert - endlich auch offiziell

Es war eine schwere Geburt - monatelang hielt sich DaimlerChrysler bedeckt über die Fortschritte des Pekinger JV. Jetzt laufen auch offiziell Autos vom Band bei Beijing Benz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Co Ltd (BBDC), ein JV mit der staatlichen Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC). Dieser Meilenstein (Zetsche) hat DC 200 Mio $ Investitionen gekostet. Insgesamt will Daimler Chrysler 1,5 Mrd $ mittelfristig in Nordost-Asien investieren.

Was wird produziert: E-Class, Mitsubishi Outlander sedans (since december), in November launch of the Chrysler 300 C. It took 20 months of preparation to set up the facility with its production of 800.000 units p.a. So far 4,100 Mercedes-Ben E-Class sedans have been produced. Annual output is targeted with 25,000 Benz and 80,000 Chrysler and Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) vehicles this year.

The manufacturing site includes Mercedes Car Group and Chrysler Group/MMC facilities, a paint shop, stamping facility, logistics etc., separate body shops and assembly areas for each brand. (CD, 16.-17.09.2006)

Daimler Werk in Peking

Jetzt ist es offiziell: DaimlerChrysler hat Mitte September sein erstes Werk bei Peking eröffnet. Beim JointVenture mit der staatlichen Beijing Automotive Industrial Corp. sollen Mercedes- und Chryslermodelle, aber auch Mitsubishi SUVs vom Band rollen. Im ersten Jahr sind 105.000 Einheiten angepeilt, davon 25.000 E-Klasse und C-Klasse Modelle. Insgesamt liegt die Jahreskapazität nach Angaben von Beijing Auto-Chef An Qingheng bei 300.000 Fahrzeugen.

China ist derzeit der drittgrößte Automarkt der Welt mit mehr als fünf Millionen verkauften Fahrzeugen im Jahr und einem Absatzplus von rund 20 Prozent p.a. Laut ShanghaiDaily (16.09.2006) hatte Mercedes im vergangenen Jahr in der Luxusklasse einen China-Marktanteil von vier Prozent gegenüber Audi mit 48 Prozent und BMW mit 15 Prozent.