Index


SUBJECT: CHINA/TELECOM: NEW MINISTRY OF INFORMATION INDUSTRIES


  1. Summary: One of the more significant Chinese government reforms announced in March was the creation of a new Ministry of Information Industries (MII) formed by merging the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), the Ministry of Electronics Industry (MEI), and parts of the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television, China Aerospace Industry Corporation and China Aviation Industry Corporation. On March 31, the State Council officially announced the top leadership and the mission of the new Ministry: the MII Minister will be Wu Jichuan, former Minister of MPT; there are five vice ministers: two former MPT vice ministers and three former MEI vice ministers. The announcement added that MII will work closely with the State Economic and Trade Commission in setting policies for China's information industry, including policies regarding introduction of foreign investment and technologies and strategic development plans.

  2. In an interview April 3, Minister Wu indicated that reorganization will not lead to additional opening to foreign companies. In addition, on April 8, the State Council announced on August 8 that the "State Council Informatization Leading Group Office" and "Radio Regulatory Commission" would be abolished and their functions taken over by MII. End summary.

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    The New Lineup
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  3. Vice Premier Wu Bangguo took over the MPT portfolio last year from Zou Jiahua (who retired) and will retain overall responsibility for the MII within the State Council. The top MII leadership is balanced between former officials from MPT and MEI. (MPT is closely linked to the former monopoly telecom service provider, China Telecom, and MEI is closely linked to the state-owned second telecom service provider China Telecom; this could lead to rivalry between the ministries for control of telecoms policy.) The five MII vice ministers are: Executive Vice Minister Liu Jianfeng (MEI), Lu XinKui (MEI), Qu Weizhi (MEI), Yang Xianzu (MPT), and Zhou Deqiang (MPT). Former MPT Vice Minister Lin Jinquan will continue to head China Telecom, but will give up his status as a government official in order to achieve a more complete separation of regulations from operators. None of the other agencies absorbed by MII are represented in the top leadership. Additional details of the reorganization are still emerging: The State Council announced on August 8 that the "State Council Informatization Leading Group Office," which had served as an interagency coordinating group, and "Radio Regulatory Commission," which had been responsible for radio frequency allocations, would be abolished and their functions absorbed by MII. Former MEI Minister Hu Qili now heads the "909" semiconductor project in Shanghai.

  4. The new MII leadership is currently deciding the organizational structure of the new ministry, the portfolios of each vice minister, how many departments the ministry will have, and the staffing and responsibilities of each department. Decisions on the new organizational structure are proceeding from the top down and are now at the director general level; the process is expected to take a minimum of a few months to conclude. Reforms at MII are likely to be completed before reforms at other ministries because of the relatively favorable circumstances of the information industries. High growth rates in the industry and expanded authority for the regulators make restructuring less painful. According to industry sources MII is being treated as a showcase for government reform.

  5. The Chinese central government has traditionally had relatively little power over budgets and personnel appointments at the provincial level. However, provincial governments mirror the central government in organizational structure. Observers estimate it will be at least another year before the ministerial reforms are implemented at the provincial and local levels-- in part because reforms must first be completed at the central level to establish a model to follow. Premier Zhu has publicly stated that the structural reforms at all levels should be completed within three years.

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    Less monopoly, but not market access for foreign companies
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  6. In an interview in the April 3 "Southern Weekend" Minister Wu said China will open to foreign participation its Telecom services market "gradually, after certain conditions are met"-- a statement virtually identical to ones he made as Minister of Post and Telecommunications. In past statements, Wu had explained that the conditions to be met include promulgation of a comprehensive telecom law and the development of domestic companies capable of competing with the large foreign telecom companies. He estimated it could be 20 years before this latter condition was met.

  7. Telecom industry observers believe the government reorganization will not likely include any additional market opening measures, and, in the short run, could actually lead to active protection for newly formed state corporations. Some industry sources expect closer scrutiny of "gray area" operations of foreign companies that had been tolerated when the regulatory authority was unified.

  8. China Unicom in the past purchased equipment from foreign companies rather than from the manufacturing enterprises associated with its rival China telecom, while China Telecom purchased equipment from state-owned manufacturing operations associated with MPT. Now that the two companies' patron ministries MPT and MEI have merged, some industry observers believe there may be additional pressure on China Unicom to purchase equipment from domestic companies. Of the two carriers, only China Unicom had been willing to enter into the Foreign-Chinese- Chinese indirect joint venture arrangements, which have offered foreign companies their only opportunity to participate in China's telecom services market. While for the foreseeable future China is likely to remain dependent on foreign sources for the most advanced telecom technology, some observers worry that opportunities for foreign participation in China's telecom markets may be curtailed in order to strengthen the development of domestic companies.

  9. Industry observers believe that the reason for creating MII was primarily to increase the efficiency of China's government and economy by consolidating responsibility for information technology (IT) issues under a single ministry and thus provide a nurturing environment for strengthening Chinese IT companies. On April 1, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) told Emboffs that restructuring under Premier Zhu aims to clarify and unify government agency responsibilities, so that one agency, not several, would be in charge of any particular issue.

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    A significant change
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  10. Although the MII was formed around the relatively conservative core of MPT and Minister Wu, it's creation nonetheless could bring about a significant change in China's telecom regulatory environment as the many companies associated with the former-ministries that make up MII are spun off into independent corporations. Officials at China Unicom believe the reorganization will create a fairer regulatory environment. They are optimistic that an independent regulator, such as MII, can solve the interconnection problems that have stymied them- - such as the delay connecting the local China Telecom network to the Sprint-China Unicom fixed-line network in Tianjin, completed last July. Other observers point out that even with an independent regulator, competition between a former monopoly and a rival with less than two percent market share is unlikely to be fair.

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    Affiliated companies
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  11. Enterprises affiliated with the now defunct MPT include: China Telecom, General Administration of Posts, Post and Telecommunications Industry Corporation, Post and Telecommunications Appliances Corporation, Telecommunications Construction Corporation, China Postal Stamp Corporation. For the time being, the University of Post and Telecommunications will remain affiliated with the MII. Enterprises affiliated with MEI include China Electronic Information Industry Corporation, China Electronics Import/Export Corporation, China Electronics Materials Corporation, China Electronics Equipment Corporation, China Great Wall Computer (Group) Corporation, China Shaanxi Rainbow (Group) Corporation, China Nanjing Zhongshan (Group) Corporation.

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    Need for foreign capital
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  12. In addition to external factors, such as the drying up of soft loans from Japan and Korea, several emerging industry-specific factors may make it difficult to obtain the capital needed for continued rapid expansion of China's telecom networks. Telephone installation fees have been a major source of capital for China Telecom, but have dropped from a national average of RMB 4000 (USD 480) to only RMB 2000 in 1997. Even at that level, recent consumer-oriented newspaper articles have called for abolishing this fee because it is not based on costs, but is simply a means of raising capital for network expansion. The popularity of cell phones and competition from China Unicom (which charges a lower connection fee) has also cut into installation fee receipts.

  13. The trend towards lower international settlement rates and internet usage which originates in China will mean reduced settlement revenues for China. (The U.S. alone paid China over USD 300 million in settlements in 1996. In 1997, after receiving the FCC proposal on cost- based settlements, China twice agreed to lower settlement rates. Rates to consumers were also lowered.) There is also pressure on China Telecom from alternative communications technologies such as call-back, internet telephony, resale of leased lines and satellite transmissions which bypass the China Telecom controlled international gateways (presently, still the only legal international links) to reduce service charges, or lose customers.

  14. In the past, China Telecom benefited from preferential policies, subsidies and tax breaks. Officials at the MPT (now MII) believe they have managed the industry very well. The remarkable growth in capacity, revenues and profits tend to bear them out. Some observers believe this rosy profit picture may change under the more competitive conditions created by China Unicom and an independent regulator. Recent accounts of rising consumer displeasure related to the telecom industry include a story of a group of college students who sued China Telecom when they discovered that their telephone debit cards could not be used outside of the locality where purchased. The sale of a 20 percent share in China Telecom (Hong Kong) last year raised over USD 3 billion, but industry observers question whether such an approach would be permitted for mainland Chinese Telecom companies, and if it were allowed, whether it would be as successful.

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    Government downsizing: hiring opportunity for companies
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  15. According to MII officials, the number of jobs in the central (Beijing) offices of the new Ministry will drop from the current 800 (the combined total of the employment at the merged ministries) to only 200. Most of the employees let go will be transferred to the various operations being separated from the ministries. Since the absolute number of people is small and the sector rapidly growing, there should be no difficulty for the excess employees to find work elsewhere. Telecom industry executives point out that there is a shortage of skilled workers in information industries. These favorable circumstances mean MII will probably be the first ministry to complete re-organization.

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    Plenty of job offers for qualified applicants
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  16. Many companies, both Chinese and foreign, appear eager to hire laid-off government ministry employees, especially the many MPT and MEI employees with advanced training in technical areas. In addition to being relatively well-educated, employees at government ministries bring valuable knowledge of regulations and connections to colleagues at their ministries. Recent editions of newspapers such as the "Youth Daily" have ads from several of the most well-known companies in China asking laid-off government employees to send their resumes. One company from Jiangsu Province advertised that it was seeking former ministry employees to fill 41 senior positions in its electronics, finance, legal and trade departments. Legend computer and the U.S. company Rockwell International are among the firms soliciting resumes from ex-government employees.