Doing Business in China
skip to secondary navigationChina is the world's fastest growing market and an important feature of our changing economic and environmental landscape. Growing our business in China depends upon our continued leadership in technology, environmental concerns and best business practices.
From the Olympic Games in Beijing to the Shangyi windfarm and much more, GE is committed to conducting our business in China successfully and ethically, holding our employees, our suppliers and our partners in China to the same rigorous standards we do wherever we do business. Right now the focus in China is on the Games.
GE is proud to be a sponsor of the Olympic Games and the personal achievements they celebrate. From their inception, the spirit of the Game has been a celebration of the human spirit, a celebration of personal achievement that is meant to transcend the politics of nations.
As a Worldwide Olympic Partner, GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to staging successful Games. Our Olympic partnership was launched in January 2005, and continues through the London 2012 Olympic Games. GE is working closely with host countries, cities and organizing committees to provide infrastructure solutions for Olympic Games venues including power, lighting, water treatment, transportation and security, and to supply hospitals with ultrasound and MRI equipment to help doctors treat athletes. In addition, NBC Universal is the exclusive U.S. media partner of the Olympic Games, with its partnership also extending through 2012.
In Beijing, GE is making significant contributions to more than 400 infrastructure projects, providing innovative solutions to help the city host the largest, most technologically advanced Olympic Games ever. Examples of GE’s environmentally sound technology at work for the Beijing Games include filtration systems for clean drinking water and rainwater recycling at the National Stadium; solar-powered lighting at Fengtai Softball Field; water-processing technology to recycle water for Olympic Green landscaping; and high-efficiency energy units at the Jing Hui Garden media hotel.
In China, as in every other country in which GE operates, we maintain high standards for our employees, suppliers and partners. For example, we hold our suppliers to the same set of standards and metrics that we use in every other part of the world. We will only do business with companies that respect local laws relating to employment, the environment, health, as well as workplace and community safety. We will not work with those who use child or prison labor. We are committed to the responsible conduct of business and encourage you to visit the Performance area of our Citizenship report to learn more about how we work.
As the world’s most populous country and its fastest growing market, China continues to develop economically and demographically at a record pace. Energy, water and infrastructure needs continue to be in high demand, and strain on the environment is steady, and at times, severe. We understand that our efforts to address global climate change are limited without China’s help. Consequently, much of GE’s work is focused on addressing these environmental issues at the policy level. GE is working with China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to drive environmentally sound technologies in China including cleaner-coal power generation, renewable energy, water reuse and desalination, high-efficiency and low-emission aircraft engines and locomotives, energy-efficient lighting and power distribution.
GE employs more than 11,000 people across 53 locations in greater China, and we aim to be a responsible member of the community, helping when needed, wherever we do business. Through GE employee volunteers and the GE Foundation, we reach schools, hospitals, aged-care facilities and disaster-affected people in rural and urban areas alike. Following the May 2008 earthquakes, over 7,000 GE employees in greater China contributed $891,000 (RMB 6.2 million) in cash and matching gifts to the Red Cross Society of China. GE and the GE Foundation donated more than $4.3 million in equipment and cash donations.
There is always great energy surrounding an Olympic host city. And GE is proud to play a role in the excitement of the 2008 Summer Games. However, as you can see, our work in Beijing - and in China - extends far beyond that of an official Olympic sponsor.
GE is an employer, a customer, a supplier, a business partner and a community member in this city and many more across the country. In these roles, we are committed to making a positive and long-term impact everywhere we do business. Each and every day.