Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BEIJING6396
2007-09-28 10:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

ALL BUBBLES, NO BATH: HUNAN'S APPAREL FESTIVAL

Tags:  PGOV BTIO EINV ECON CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0846
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #6396 2711027
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 281027Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2332
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 006396 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV BTIO EINV ECON CH
SUBJECT: ALL BUBBLES, NO BATH: HUNAN'S APPAREL FESTIVAL
THAT WASN'T

Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4
(b/d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 006396

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV BTIO EINV ECON CH
SUBJECT: ALL BUBBLES, NO BATH: HUNAN'S APPAREL FESTIVAL
THAT WASN'T

Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4
(b/d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Poloff's attendance at a recent apparel
festival as part of a larger trip to Hunan province
highlighted the provincial Party leadership's desire to
attract foreign interest and investment, but exposed their
limited understanding of how to actually do so. Despite
flying in participants from various cities in China and
giving speeches declaring the festival a "great success," no
actual festival took place, no investors attended, and no new
economic gains were achieved. Several "participating"
companies reported that they were unaware of the festival
altogether. End Summary.

Lofty Goals . . .
--------------


2. (SBU) Hunan province is poised for an explosion of
investment, Communist Party officials from Zhuzhou, an
industrial city one hour from the provincial capital of
Changsha told Poloff during the September 7-8 Zhuzhou
(Lusong) Emperor Yan Apparel Festival. As explained by
government officials including Hunan Province Vice Governor
Guo Kailang, the festival aimed to raise investment in the
Hunanese apparel industry and increase awareness of
investment opportunities in Hunan. Zhuzhou officials cited
the presence of Ambassadors from Belarus, Bulgaria, Lesotho
and Uruguay, delegations from eight other Embassies, and the
presence of a Spanish business delegation from Catalonia as
evidence of the international nature and large scale of the
apparel festival, as well as a sign that Hunan province is a
"leader" in foreign investment.

. . . But No Means to Achieve Them
--------------


3. (SBU) The Zhuzhou government's desire for international
attention was not matched with great actual know-how on how
to attract investment. When asked for specifics regarding
the event, such as number of attendees and participants or
RMB estimates of increased investment, several officials said
that Poloff had an "incorrect concept" of what constitutes a
festival. Te true goal, they said, is simply increased
awareness of Hunan. As such, aside from opening speeches,
there would be no events or festival-related activities, no
investors would be attending, and the stores involved would
not be doing anything different. Aside from a 30-piece PLA
marching band and towering inflatable dragons in front of a
dozen or so shopping centers (including one mall
participating in the "apparel festival" despite the fact that
it sells no apparel, only household appliances),no other
extraordinary activity was evident at the "festival."


4. (C) Several shopkeepers, when asked their goals for the
event, said that prior to the arrival of the inflatable
dragons, they were unaware that a festival would be taking
place. A representative of the Spanish business delegation
said that they were attending only because they had been
invited and the Hunanese government was paying. The Spanish
investors had actually signed a memorandum of understanding
and not an investment contract, and the signing had taken
place in March, six months in advance of the festival. In a
scene reminiscent of the Central China Expo 2006 (Reftel),
the stores "participating" in the festival were largely empty
aside from the diplomatic attendees, the vast majority of
whom left empty-handed. A Danish journalist and festival
attendee commented that the exercise was "worthless" for
attracting investment, and Lesotho Ambassador Anthony
Rachobokoane Thibeli wrote it off merely as "a nice vacation"
in Hunan province.
RANDT
Randt