Rambling 'Round
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KB3001
Wish you the very best of luck Junko! It's an excellent assignment and I ...
Jess02155
Congrats! I am looking forward to your thoughtful analysis on the technologies, ...
Why China?
Junko Yoshida
5/10/2012 3:10 PM EDT
NEW YORK – We all pay abject lip service to China. The business community and the media are equally in thrall to the world’s second largest – and fastest growing economy.
But China’s also a handy device for fear mongering.
Cheap labor, fake chips, counterfeit DVDs, the Communist Party, reeducation, all those central government-led 5-year plans…China strikes us foreign and distant, culturally and socially speaking.
Further, China today is the largest foreign buyer of US government debt. That’s a fact, but in an election year, it’s a fact that fuels fear of China calling in our debt and bringing America to its knees. That catastrophe is unlikely, but it doesn’t forestall politicians – and much of the U.S. public – from blaming China for every lost job in America.
It’s clear that we have a schizophrenic perception of China. We conveniently switch back and forth between two images of China, as we see fit, depending on the hot topic at the moment. Between the two polar views of China, however, many stories – with layers of complexity – remain untold.
As I talk to people in our industry, I am constantly amazed how much they know and how insightful their global views are. In our interviews and reporting at EE Times and EE Times Confidential over the last 18 months, China inevitably came up again and again. Here are just some sample of threads on China we’ve picked up.
1. Portraying China just as a “manufacturer” of technology products, while still true, is passé. China is rapidly rising as a “designer” of technology.
2. Some say there are more than 500 fabless chip companies in China. While that’s an inflated number, there is an unmistakable trend. The top 20 China fabless companies are now on equal footing – in terms of IP cores, design skills and access to advanced process technology – with any fabless company in Silicon Valley. (Find the names of more than 80 Chinese fabless comanies here. )
3. Since the global financial crisis in late 2008, Beijing bureaucrats have replaced U.S. venture capitalists as the major funding source. The Chinese government has given its fabless companies unprecedented access to capital, including subsidies, grants and other incentives.
4. Never paint China as a monolithic country. The country consists of people with diverse ethnic backgrounds – just like the Soviet Union once was. The inequality of different regions – between big cities and villages in the country side – is unimaginably huge. Like warlords in Afghanistan, some provincial governors are powers unto themselves.
5. Many leading chip companies in the West already have established a strong presence in China with their design teams in tow. As NXP CEO Rick Clemmer said, NXP today is “practically a Chinese company.”
6. Successful companies like MediaTek in Taiwan have effectively mined the vast amount of software engineers in China to bolster their mobile chip business. Taiwan’s proximity to China – in geography, language and culture – is definitely playing a role here.
7. Installing a design team in China, however, is no guarantee of success. Both Broadcom and Trident famously had their DTV SoC design teams in China. Neither came up with a successful product, while MediaTek and MStar ate their lunch.
8. Most Chinese companies remain focused on the domestic market. But they look increasingly to the global market. As a colleague in China recently said, “Globalization is not a ‘trend’ in China. It’s a ‘business strategy’ for Chinese companies.”
9. There’s no question that China remains under strong control by the central government. But never underestimate the power of municipal and local agencies in China. They often have their own agendas (even their own technology preferences) to expand the economy within their own regions.
10. Last but not least, let’s not forget the growing affluence of the middle class in China. According to a 2011 Accenture survey focused on usage and spending on consumer electronics technologies in eight countries (Brazil, China, India, Russia, France, Germany, Japan and the United States), Chinese consumers were among the most enthusiastic purchasers and users of the latest consumer technologies including 3-D TVs and smart phones.
I listed above items in a random order, jotting notes as thoughts popped into my head. In short, I’ve probably left out a lot.
My goal this year is to be less random and get a better grip on things and fill in the left-out stuff . For example: what’s happening in China (broadly); what technology and business concerns confront both Chinese companies and Western companies in China today; what does the engineering community in China look like; what are Chinese engineers looking for in the domestic and global markets, etc. I’m happy to report that as of Wednesday (May 9th), my new role at EE Times is Chief International Correspondent – with a strong emphasis in China.
As the industry-base has moved to China, EE Times will be moving, too -- aggressively.
I won’t be actually moving to China right away. But until I do so, I’ll be in and out of China regularly, poking around, ruffling (I hope) a few feathers. Whether you happen to be in Beijing, in New York, in Tokyo or in Paris over the next few months, drop me a note at junko.yoshida@ubm.com. Let’s synchronize our watch and meet up.
As I step down from being EE Times’ editor-in-chief, I’ll report to Alex Wolfe – EE Times’ new brand director. Anyone with an institutional memory should recognize his name. Alex is the newshound who broke the Pentium FPU bug story at EE Times in 1994. He returns to EE Times with a wealth of ideas and multimedia skill set. In the 1990’s, I remember Alex as the toughest news editor in this industry. He’s been known to gut a cub reporter with nothing sharper than a blue pencil. I’m looking forward to the challenge again.
I also want to thank Karen Field, senior vice president of content at UBM Electronics, who played an instrumental role in taking the first brave step toward making the China assignment possible.
For someone like me who has moved dwellings (and husband) and pursued reporting assignments from Tokyo, Cupertino and San Mateo to Paris and New York, the new position is a dream come true. It’s a job I had long lobbied for and a role I plan to relish.
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iniewski
5/10/2012 4:14 PM EDT
Junko, have fun in China and I am looking forward to hear your interesting stories...China remains and will likely remain a fascinating story for years to come...Kris
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junko.yoshida
5/10/2012 4:35 PM EDT
Thanks, Kris! I am truly looking forward to this.
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Bert22306
5/10/2012 4:17 PM EDT
Yunko, I'm sorry, I don't see these "two views" of China that you mentioned at the top. On the contrary, it's one and the same view.
I agree that expat jobs may well be what a lot of aspiring young EEs should look into these days, simply because the center of mass of EE design and production is likely to move to areas that are also the center of mass of global population. And by a lot.
Globalization and modern communications have allowed China and India to become much more influential in electronics and software industries, and the two account for 1 of 3 human beings on this planet. Unless their politicans screw things up royally, those two countries have a lot of growing to do, before the distribution of income and the flow of jobs are likely stabilize, IMO.
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WW Thinker
5/12/2012 4:41 AM EDT
Junko is certainly a well-respected journalist. However, I am amazed that EE Times is still taking a western-centric approch in this century. A foreign-born journalist is hardly the best way to find out what and how in a new country. Instead, take the localized approach and find a journalist that was born in China (or Taiwan), educated aboard, well experienced. Many semiconductor companies have been taking the localization approach. For example, Philip Semi (now NXP) moved its Tuner Division HQ to China many years ago, Renesas & NEC Electronics had a China-born (worked in US in the past) person as the president of its subsidiary in China.
The absence of a following statement to "Cheap labor, fake chips, counterfeit DVDs, ..." shows the wrong attitude. That following statement should be "countries like Japan, Taiwan, Korea also received similar accusation in the past. Let's take a concerted effort to find out if China simply follows the footsteps of these now well-recognized countries or not ..."
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junko.yoshida
5/12/2012 12:30 PM EDT
your points are well taken, WW Thinker. We are fully aware that the coverage of any country can't be done soley by a "foreign-born journalist." My responsibiliity is in identifying sources and do the China coverage in collaboration with locals. There is no question about that.
That said, as a "foreign-born jounalist," I have been covering stuff happening outside my native country. So, don't count me out.
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karen.field
5/10/2012 4:37 PM EDT
Recognizing the importance of China and the global electronics industry today, UBM Electronics made the decision to invest in our international coverage by creating a new role of EE Times Chief International Correspondent.
I cannot think of a better journalist for this job than Junko Yoshida. A true global citizen, Junko has a strong track record of covering the electronics industry. She's not afraid to ask the tough questions or of putting in the hard work required to be a great reporter, often toiling away outside of normal business hours.
In this intense and challenging position, Junko will lead from the front with her EE TImes colleagues, with excellent reporting, writing, and analysis. And sometimes breaking news, too.
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Siva.Uppalapati_#2
5/10/2012 5:02 PM EDT
Looking forwards to your reports.
Can you please point me to a list of fabless semi conductors companies in China.
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junko.yoshida
5/10/2012 5:49 PM EDT
Here you go!
http://confidential.eetimes.com/analysis-reports/4219425/Special-Report--China-Fabless-Profile
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Frank Eory
5/10/2012 5:17 PM EDT
Junko, congrats on your new assignment! I too am really looking forward to your news reports and especially your opinions and interpretations of what you see and learn in China.
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junko.yoshida
5/10/2012 5:51 PM EDT
Thanks, Frank. Appreciate your kind words.
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ibm221
5/10/2012 8:25 PM EDT
oh, well. Junko, they might think your proximity to China – in geography, language and culture – is definitely playing a role here.
It's about the time though, a couple of suggestions
1. Samsung's Xian fab, what's the true scale, update of progress etc. (this could be the terminator of Micron and intel in the long term)
2. ...
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george.leopold
5/10/2012 8:44 PM EDT
EE Times readers can appreciate what a delight it is to work with my colleague Junko Yoshida. She has been a superb editor in chief during a period of unprecedented turmoil in the media business. EE Times is back and better than ever thanks to Junko's herculean efforts. She will bring an cleared-eyed, uncompromising approach to her new China "beat" because she understands the global electronics industry just as she has chronicled the American and European industries. In short, she has one of the best BS detectors in the business, and she will cover China like no other journalist. We are extremely proud of Junko's accomplishments, and we look forward to her reporting from China. No one is better equipped to tackle this assignment.
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Tom McHale
5/10/2012 9:27 PM EDT
Junko,
Congrats on your new assignment. China is an exciting beat to report, and a fascinating place to be right now. After 30 years of reporting on and now doing PR here, I still find myself amazed at the pace of change and energy. You are in for all sorts of surprises. Look forward to welcoming you to Beijing - please do stop by the Hoffman Agency office. Good luck.
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ibm221
5/10/2012 10:14 PM EDT
Put a 'I' instead of 'we' here, plz?
did you get other folks endorsement?
Just like Obama agrees with gay marriage doesn't mean all americans are for gay marriage.
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junko.yoshida
5/11/2012 6:35 AM EDT
First, thank you so much for chiming in with such kind words.
I am truly excited about my new adventure.
I am planning to be in China early June. Drop me a line if you are already in China or you plan to be there during that time! junko.yoshida@ubm.com
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joyhaa
5/11/2012 11:06 AM EDT
As an EE embedded system designer, I plan to have my startup in South China instead of in US this year. EE design in US is diminishing and even though I can find good engineers here, the eco-system is just not as complete.
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chipmonk
5/11/2012 4:24 PM EDT
Yoshida - san : Perhaps you would also do an essay on how democratic Japan will now have to live under the shadow of the still very Communist but also Neo - Imperialistic China, thanks to thoughtless / irresponsible outsourcing and technoloy xfer from US to PRC driven by Wall St. The US has foolishly dug a hole for itself but unfortunately Japan has become a collateral damage.
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prabhakar_deosthali
5/12/2012 2:21 AM EDT
Junko, Congratulations to you for this new assignment and i believe , we will be able to see China from inside now that you will be writing about your real life interactions with the Chinese industry , Chinese bureaucracy , the Chinese labor force and the Chinese psychology and the Chinese culture.
At the fag end of my career as an engineer , I had a chance to visit China almost every month for a year and that experience is something unforgettable - their hard work, their hospitality and their ingenuity.
All the best!
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hm
5/12/2012 8:21 AM EDT
@Junko: Felicitations!!! I will miss you for your highly informative stories. I may like read more about how China evolved and how education played crucial role in it.
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junko.yoshida
5/12/2012 12:32 PM EDT
Thanks, hm. Rest assured, I will keep pumping out stories wherever my new assignment takes me...
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chanj
5/13/2012 6:50 PM EDT
Grats, Junko! I am so happy for you and can't wait to see more Asian news from you.
As the manufacturing companies move, the design centers move. The news organizations move closer to the major hub of those companies make total sense. Does it mean the semiconductor business come to "vanishing" in the western countries soon? Or it simply means globalization reach the next level and soon, better communication technologies are required soon. Globalization as an opportunity. ;)
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http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/poconoarmchairreview
5/14/2012 1:20 AM EDT
Congratulations, Junko. EE Times's increased devotion of resources to news from China seems inevitable. My learning Mandarin is probably also going to be inevitable.
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ibm221
5/14/2012 3:11 AM EDT
anyway this is right step/direction for westerners benefit/survive this oursourcing tide.
In this case junko benefited from the increase of news from china, I bet she ll nail a couple of local advertisement deal along the path as well.
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ray989
5/14/2012 12:42 PM EDT
Congrats Junko... it would be great to have your insights from China, the way we used to get from Japan.Here in India, it has always been India vs China whenever we talk to visiting CEOs - though the divide, in reality, is more huge than what it seems. Someone once said you should never think of China's working population as 600 million but 1200 million (1.2 billion) hands -- that's the kind of working culture that exists there. Compare that to India, and we are nowhere close. China sure would be interesting - to watch it morph into something else 10 years down the line.. I shall miss your views/pointers re my news coverage from India.. but I guess you will always be there to offer macro views and micro newspegs too.. Wish you all the best - you were/are wonderful to work with..
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stippu
5/14/2012 1:04 PM EDT
Congrats Junko.. I sure will miss your inputs and views re my stories from India. You were/are the best editor I have come across and I have come/had across quite a few since I worked with leading Indian publications and freelance for a few international publications. Re China, I am sure there would be more value-add from your side for stories out of China. Here in India, we always perceive China as a rival though we are far from it - China is way ahead of everything, starting from infrastructure and now even IT design. One has to see some of the mobile phones out of China and the features they have - no one can really say that China lags behind India when it comes to design. Lets wait about 5-10 years and see how China and India evolve and the route each country takes. Wish you the best and looking forward to great stories from China.
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Patk0317
5/14/2012 7:06 PM EDT
Junko,
Looking forward to your insights. I just returned from China last month and will go again in Dec.
You are correct things are changing and changing fast!
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dylan.mcgrath
5/14/2012 11:56 PM EDT
Cheers Junko. Nobody could do a better job with this very important ongoing story. Wishing you all the best.
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Sechrist
5/15/2012 3:13 AM EDT
Congratulations Junko,
You nailed it with your "fear mongering" comments above.
Look forward to your professional hard ball coverage that gets to the heart of the issue. Your insights will enrich us all.
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Melissa Liu
5/15/2012 9:39 AM EDT
Great! Congrats, Junko. I am a fan of your writing even though I am quite new in this field. Look forward to reading your first-hand, down-to-earth, unfiltered coverage of Chinese companies and real people, i.e. success stories of Chinese companies and entrepreneurs, frustrations and hardship they have to face daily, their vision, etc.
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phoenixdave
5/15/2012 1:50 PM EDT
Congratulations Junko!
It's sounds like a very exciting new assignment and journey is ahead for you and your husband. We look forward to the continued insightful contributions and observations you've provided in the past, but now based on a whole new perspective.
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Jess02155
5/16/2012 5:05 PM EDT
Congrats! I am looking forward to your thoughtful analysis on the technologies, companies and people making an impact in China. What an amazing opportunity for you and for all of us as readers!
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KB3001
5/18/2012 2:03 PM EDT
Wish you the very best of luck Junko! It's an excellent assignment and I personally look forward to reading your insightful reports from China. I also have a wee hunch we will be meeting over there in the near future :-)
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