Since then, domestic media have started speculation and reports on "What exactly did Cao Dewang encounter in the United States". Among them, Tian Deyou, the secretary of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said: "Investment is more like

Huxiu Note: Recently, a report from " New York Times " pushed Cao Dewang's investment in the United States to the forefront. Since then, domestic media have started speculation and reports on "What exactly did Cao Dewang encounter in the United States".

Now, this storm has almost subsided, and many media and professionals have also expressed more objective views. Among them, Tian Deyou, the secretary of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said: "Investment is more like marriage. The new wife will marry into a family in the other country. She must be familiar with the language, culture and family rules there. Fuyao has developed manufacturing industry in China for so many years. It has a strong pioneering spirit. With its continuous operation and accumulation of experience in the United States, it will overcome this difficulty."

A few days ago, Alana Semuels, a reporter from " Atlantic Monthly ", specially visited Fuyao's factory in Dayton, Ohio, interviewed some workers, observed Fuyao from their perspectives and put forward his own opinions and suggestions. The original title of the original text is Will China Save the American Economy?, compiled by Huxiu (some deleted) (all pictures in the article are from "Atlantic Monthly").

Compiled | Growing up

Until three years ago, their restaurant suddenly increased by a huge increase in new customers - it was a group of Chinese people far away from their hometown, leaving the locals' common burgers and pasta, and coming to the store to find the rural flavor. As soon as these people (mostly businessmen) enter the store, they will order things like vegetable noodles and fish balls that are not available on the menu.

Sometimes a rich old man would appear among the guests, take his deputy and find a corner to sit down quietly as soon as he enters the store. At this time, Xu Dongjian understood and knew that it was time to make some unique dishes to entertain the people.

And this person is either someone else, Cao Dewang, a wealthy man who started from scratch in China.

Cao Dewang attended the ribbon cutting ceremony of Fuyao Dayton factory

US reliance on foreign-funded enterprises

In 2014, Cao Dewang settled in this small city and spent 700 million US dollars to convert an abandoned general factory into Fuyao Glass Factory. Now, the factory has about 2,000 employees and hundreds of Chinese managers - many of them have families with their families, so most of them have bought houses locally, and even their children have been sent to local schools.

"If you have a good business, Fuyao will become the next GM. So, of course I hope they will succeed," said Larry Yates, an employee who has worked for GM for 25 years.

In recent years, Chinese businessmen's investment in the United States has been getting more and more important every year. According to statistics from the global investment analysis agency Rongding Consulting, in 2016, Chinese companies' direct investment in the United States reached US$46 billion, more than triple the increase from 2015. Currently, the total number of jobs in Chinese enterprises across the United States is more than 140,000, an increase of eight times compared with 2009.

Although President Trump 's series of economic policies are based on opposition to globalization, although he has stipulated that the executive branch can only use Americans and buy American goods, and although he has announced his withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and has promised to re-discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement, he cannot deny that the reason why many economic behaviors in the United States can be carried out is because of globalization.

The three words "globalization" can promote economic growth wherever they go - this is true for the United States and so for China. This country is no longer a seeker waiting for foreign investment, but a part of the people have gone out to sea, to the United States, to economically depressed places like Ohio to sow their money.

According to the statistics of the well-known think tank Brookings Institution , foreign-funded companies currently absorb 18.5% of manufacturing workers in the United States. No wonder a staff member of the society said this: "In many people - especially the president, globalization is a one-way road that leads them to failure... No one faces the influx of foreign capital can bring to the United States."

Unavoidable in adapting to the local environment and

This is almost a must-pass for all foreign-funded enterprises. Fuyao's Chinese executives told me that it is not easy to make American factory as high-yield and efficient as Chinese factories. On the one hand, American workers work shorter hours than Chinese workers (Chinese workers work an average of 2,200 hours a year, while American workers only work an average of 1,790 hours a year). On the other hand, they say that they can't recruit many qualified workers in Ohio, which means: those recruited are unreliable.

and the workers also have their own complaints. They said that Chinese companies operating in the United States do not comply with US labor regulations, including working hours regulations, and provide poor treatment.

Therefore, Fuyao has indeed encountered bumps and bumps recently. First, a female worker took the lead in prosecuting Fuyao, saying that Fuyao did not pay them overtime; then a male worker complained that Fuyao exposed him to a chemical-filled environment, causing him to have difficulty breathing and blisters. In addition to them, another group of workers accused Fuyao of not training them, which led to their inefficiency.

rejected all the accusations by Fuyao executives; they told me that the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) has investigated the chemical use process and has not found any violations in this regard. As for the factory's regulations on overtime and paid leave, it is simple and clear, without any ambiguity.

Frankly, from Dayton to the entire Ohio, Fuyao's success is needed. Because at present, the popularity of entrepreneurship in the United States is cooling down, and the number of new startups has fallen to its lowest point in 40 years. In this case, foreign companies should be a key force in adding new jobs, but the question is: Can the United States continue to prove to these companies that their investments are worth the money.

On-site visit

A few days ago, I came to the huge white reception hall of Fuyao factory and saw a group of people sitting under the Chinese flag and busy filling out the employment application form. In order to attract newcomers and reduce turnover rate, Fuyao has just announced that it will raise its hourly salary by $2.

31 The year-old William Oliver came here for this. He has now obtained an associate degree and is about to apply for a job from 11pm to 7am, so he will not delay the daytime school. According to him, he came when he heard about the salary increase.

Locals who are busy applying for employment

but it was not like this many years ago. At that time, because the labor costs in the United States and developing countries were very different (according to data from Boston consulting company , the average hourly wage of American workers in 2004 was US$17.54, while the average hourly wage of Chinese workers was only US$4.35, less than 1/4 of the former), American companies set up camps and went to China, Mexico and other countries to make a fortune. But now, the cost of Chinese labor has also risen.

According to the China Business Environment Survey Report ( jointly launched by the American Chamber of Commerce in China and Bain Capital), "risen at the forefront of labor costs" has become the "top problem" among business owners in the country. According to the latest data from Boston Consulting, the average hourly wage of Chinese manufacturing workers has reached US$12.47. Although there is still a big gap compared to US$22.32 in the United States, the range has been greatly narrowed.

Of course, the cost of rising trends is much more than salary. For example, since 2010, the electricity cost of enterprises has increased by 15%, and the price of enterprise land has also reached a new level. In addition, there is also a tax burden, which is also high.

I remember that Cao Dewang said in an interview last year that the reason he wanted to move the factory to the United States was because the tax burden of Chinese companies was the highest in the world (in fact, in terms of corporate income tax alone, many countries collected heavier than China, including those Nordic countries, and the United States); except for labor costs, all expenditures of American companies were lower than those of Chinese companies.

These factors are enough to cool down the enthusiasm of Chinese business owners to build factories in China, and the actual boosting factors are more than that. During the interview, I collected several views worth discussing, and now listed them as follows:

1, , , , professor Esvo Presad, believes that China has relatively scarce good acquisition opportunities, so investors with large wallets are increasingly keen on overseas investment;

2, Rongding Consulting partner Daniel Rosen believes that the reason why Chinese investors have frequently spilled money to foreign countries in recent years is because they want to enrich their investment categories by investing in overseas companies, and the other is because they are worried that the RMB will weaken in the future. Therefore, they will throw a large amount of money abroad and on land in Europe, Africa, South America and other continents.

It is reported that in 2016, China's direct investment in overseas reached US$200 billion, of which almost 23% were given to the United States. Most of these investments are used to acquire ready-made companies and enrich the existing assets of acquirers. Only a few talents like Cao Dewang are unique. They chose to start overseas, build factories and recruit workers, and spread their roots, so this investment method is called "greenfield investment" (also known as greenfield investment). Although there are still few such investments now, Rong Danie said that it is estimated that there will be a surge in less than a year.

When making "creative investments", Chinese companies will mostly bring executives overseas to participate in management. And in Fuyao, to be precise, it was the Chinese restaurant mentioned at the beginning of the article, I really met one. Liu Wei, 35, told me during the meal that Dayton's work experience can bring him more development opportunities; so now, he has taken over his wife and daughter. He likes life in America very much, although Dayton is not as diverse as elsewhere, although he doesn't like winter here.

Fuyao

Fuyao U.S. general manager Liu Daochuan told me that they invested in building factories in Ohio to get closer to their target customers - car companies that make cars in the United States.

Last year, automobile sales in the United States set a new record, marking the country's auto market is booming. Seeing all this, Fuyao naturally wanted to get a share of the pie; however, if he continued to transport vehicle glass from China, he would continue to bear the cost of "high cost and high risk". Therefore, Fuyao finally decided to choose a location in the United States and produce it on site.

After spending $700 million and migrating hundreds of employees to the United States, Fuyao has recently devoted more energy to absorbing local employees. According to Liu Daochuan, Fuyao hopes to become a "real American company" and the "best employer" in Dayton District.

Of course this is not easy. Since entering the investment and construction phase in 2014, the Dayton District factory has not yet achieved full load operation and has not yet achieved profitability. The 2016 financial report showed that Fuyao Glass America Co., Ltd.'s annual loss reached US$41 million. The losses like

are, on the one hand, because the factory invested a lot of money to purchase and maintain equipment, and on the other hand, it is also related to the low work efficiency of American workers. Liu Daochuan said that the work efficiency of local workers is 10%-15% lower than that of Chinese workers on average, which means, "we must strive to make up for it to catch up with China's Fuyao, but in the end, we can do it."

Chinese and American employees who test glass products

In addition, Fuyao must also make great efforts to adapt to the American factory's set of security regulations that are far stricter and more meticulous than Chinese factories. "In a more developed country like the United States, workers are protected more comprehensively, with more comprehensive safety regulations, and their powers enjoyed more extensively. It can be said that the challenges faced by Fuyao are very typical," said Rong Daniel.

, as mentioned above, not recruiting enough mature workers is also one of the problems that Fuyao has currently troubled. Even if the factory raises its hourly wage by $2, it has not completely solved the problem. Most workers have not received training in automotive glass production before entering the factory, and are not used to working in high temperature environments. Coupled with other reasons, Fuyao's turnover rate has always been high - workers complain about factories, while managers are dissatisfied with their frequent lateness and always asking for leave.

According to the New York Times, most of Fuyao's executives are from China, and in November last year, two American managers were fired. In response, Cao Dewang first responded that the two managers "don't do their duty and wasted my money." Later, it was stated through Chinese media that one of the two men had resigned by themselves and the other was fired for "not clean hands and feet", rather than being fired for their so-called "not Chinese".

In addition, in the media interview, Cao Dewang also said that Fuyao has made technical investments to ensure safety and has also conducted corresponding training for employees.

To help readers gain a more objective understanding, it is recommended to read this article together with Tencent’s interview with Cao Dewang, and then make a judgment

, former president of the University of Dayton who works on the Fuyao Board of Directors, told me that American workers are indeed different from Chinese workers in their professional qualities.

"Many Chinese workers are used to working for a long time. For them, working overtime is commonplace," he said. "But American workers are different. For them, 8 hours is 8 hours. Moreover, not everyone is willing to go to work on weekends. This is part of our culture."

The American labor force as a whole is not as skilled as it used to be, which is probably true. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the "offshore outsourcing wave" emerged. Since then, a large number of workers in the American manufacturing industry have left their jobs. Although the younger generation has grown up again, they generally lack experience in working on the front line of production.

Economist Taylor Cowen believes that more than before, Americans today hate to adapt to changes by adjusting themselves. This potentially leads them to be even less willing to accept unfamiliar jobs. Finally, while all kinds of professions have become more and more decent, “we are a little spoiled too,” Kevin said.

Although Kowen considers this change to be negative, from another perspective, it is also the result of some positive evolution - because of "not willing to be old waste in his 60s" (referred to from Kowen), American workers are no longer interested in cheap and tiring jobs.

Of course, objectively this has caused problems for employers. If they are unwilling or unable to increase their salary, improve their working conditions, and improve their work skills, their lives will be hard. During the interview with

, Kewen also presented me a research report published in Hand Diagnosis Weekly last year. The report shows that compared with the previous generation of American workers, the hand functions of contemporary American workers have deteriorated.

This explains from another perspective why factories like Fuyao find it difficult to recruit excellent technicians. It is reported that compared with their peers in 1985, today's young Americans under the age of 30 have significantly inferior hand grasping capabilities. This is probably attributed to the change in working methods - people are no longer used to the work in the fields, inside and outside the factory, but are nailed to the computer all day long and rely on "small hits and knocks" to complete the task.

But the workers still have another set of statements. Some people say that the reason why the production efficiency of the US Fuyao is not as good as that of China Fuyao is because the factory's work is both dangerous and unpleasant, and the other is because the communication between Chinese supervisors and US workers is not smooth. It is reported that any U.S. worker who needs to contact Chinese supervisors needs to download the Google Translate app. A worker named Tim Jenigan even told me that although those supervisors know English, they cannot communicate smoothly in English. So the common scenario is: American workers lower their heads and typing, while Chinese supervisors are watching...

In addition, some puzzling security phenomena are also worth complaining in their opinion.In summary, the main problems they reflected are: 1. Some behaviors are explicitly prohibited by US labor regulations, but because they can improve work efficiency, they are commonplace in Fuyao; 2. In the implementation of safety regulations, supervisors are "stricter than others" but "lenient than self-discipline."

For example, they stipulate that workers must wear safety eyepieces, otherwise they will be punished, but they often ignore the regulations; for example, Jennigan told me that sometimes some Chinese workers will climb onto equipment such as furnaces without wearing any protective equipment, and, "they are used to not using the safety devices they should have," Jennigan said.

Later, I briefly visited the workshop of the factory and the scene I saw was: in the blue and yellow machines, forklifts were shuttled back and forth, busy transporting glass products. Slogans are posted everywhere on the wall, reminding workers not to forget to follow the 5S rules of “organizing, rectifying, cleaning, cleaning and literacy”. Since glass production cannot be separated from a furnace, the workshop is extremely hot and the ventilation is not very good. In addition, I actually see more machines than workers.

Operator on site

It is reported that the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) conducted 8 investigations on Fuyao and issued a fine of US$226,937,000. The main reasons for the punishment include: the machine has safety hazards, which may cause workers to suffer physical damage or electric shock; the lack of necessary protective equipment; the correct use of dangerous chemicals by untrained workers; and the unmarked escape exit. Finally, after negotiations with OSHA, Fuyao paid a fine of $100,000.

complains more than that. It is reported that Fuyao has recently changed its leave system, stipulating that the length of workers' vacation time will be proportional to the length of cumulative working hours, and no longer guarantees that every worker can enjoy a fixed number of paid annual leave.

In addition, the factory has also modified the attendance management system and canceled the benefit of "as long as you come to work every day, you can get the full attendance award". In response, a worker told me: "Every time I work hard and almost meet the factory's requirements to the greatest extent, they change the regulations."

frankly said that such complaints are not uncommon among Chinese-funded enterprises in the United States.

In 2014, Jinlong Precision Copper Pipe Group invested and built a factory in Alabama. Soon after, the unhappiness between labor and capital began. Chinese supervisors said that the quality of local workers is "not very high"; while workers reported that the machine leaked oil, causing the ground to be slippery and lacked security devices.

Finally, one day in December 2014, workers decided to form a union with a 75-74 vote. In response, Dan Friber, the representative of the union, told me: "All Chinese companies that come to the United States to start from scratch will undergo a major change. There is no way, there is cultural differences and cannot be avoided... After the establishment of the union, the relationship between Jinlong and Labor and Capital has improved a lot... They get along well with each other."

is not only China, but foreign companies who come to the United States will have to go through long-term adjustments to find a set of economic and management methods that are adapted to local conditions.

In the 1980s, Japan advanced to the United States for the first time and began to build cars everywhere. Japanese companies at that time were generally worried about the inefficiency of American factories. A senior politician even said bluntly: Compared with Japanese workers, American workers were "too lazy." And what about American workers? They complained that Japan has not invested enough costs to help them adapt to how the Japanese factory operates. In response, Harry Shaken, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, concluded: "This proves that as long as you move to a new place, you must go through twists and turns."

Later, the initial strong attack of Japanese companies finally turned into an active fusion. Like Toyota , it jointly established the new United Automobile Manufacturing Company NUMMI with GM. At first, it was difficult for workers to adapt to Japan's "lean production" theory, but later, the Japanese side asked workers to participate in economic and management work and exchanged opinions and suggestions with Japanese executives. After this "clearance", American workers are more willing to devote themselves to their full efforts during their work, and the overall production situation continues to improve. In the end, NUMMI's factories became the most efficient factory in the United States, setting an example for local Americans and Japanese companies that come to the United States to invest.

In contrast, Chinese companies generally do not really involve American workers in operations and decision-making. In response, Xia Ken said: "On the one hand, Chinese companies say that American factories are not efficient, and on the other hand, they continue to use the management concept that will inevitably lead to this result. Frankly speaking, after 20 or 30 years of exploration, the manufacturing industry in various countries has left us with a lot of experience for reference, but Chinese companies have ignored it."

And American workers also have their own ideas. They want to form a union so that they can participate more in the operation of the factory. In this way, they can refuse to execute China's unsafe operation instructions, and secondly, they can help improve the production efficiency of the entire factory.

After getting off work every Wednesday, the Yates mentioned at the beginning of the article will meet with his colleagues at the office of UAW (United Auto Workers Union) just a few blocks away from Fuyao. One day, near midnight, I met these workers in the office. They sat around the table and were discussing how to convey their ideas to other workers. "The fundamental problem is: we don't have a little decision-making power," Yates said. "If we had been guided by institutions like UAW and knew how to fight for decision-making power, then our experience in Fuyao would be much better."

So far, UAW has not actively organized Fuyao workers to vote on whether to form a union. At a recent spontaneous discussion meeting, about a hundred workers (a total of about 1,500 production workers).

But you should know that forming a trade union is not the only way to help workers speak out.

Now take German Automobile Company as an example. They have long agreed to form a "labor-management agreement" to give both labor and capital the opportunity to discuss various matters in terms of economic management and welfare with each other. As for NUMMI, it is reported that they have taken the initiative to propose: in order to clear work obstacles as soon as possible, workers should be scruples and expose the problem if they find it.

They hope Fuyao will succeed

Fuyao All American workers told me: They hope Fuyao will succeed. They understand how difficult it is to have such a job under the current economic situation. But on the other hand, they said that Fuyao itself also needs to further adapt to itself.

"Do they plan to operate the factory as China Fuyao, or as the United States Fuyao?" Jenigan asked, "Chinese people have the way of working in China, and Americans have the way of working in America. We should find a compromise."

frankly said that it is difficult to make American Fuyao significantly change its management methods - especially when the pressure to make profits has not yet been eliminated.

Undoubtedly, Cao Dewang (we), who need to make profits, has not yet fully understood how to enable enterprises in the United States to operate in a healthy manner. I believe that in the end, they will figure out how to run an American company with Chinese characteristics, so before that, squatting down and listening carefully to the demands of American workers may be a good start.