Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BEIJING2343
2009-08-13 10:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

CHINA: DUE DILIGENCE ON NOMINEE FOR THE

Tags:  AMGT BEXP ECON ELAB ETRAD KSEP SENV CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1525
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #2343/01 2251038
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131038Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5643
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002343 

EEB/EPPD FOR NANCY SMITH-NISSLEY
DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND EAP/EP DHANNEMANN

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT BEXP ECON ELAB ETRAD KSEP SENV CH
SUBJECT: CHINA: DUE DILIGENCE ON NOMINEE FOR THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S 2009 AWARD FOR CORPORATE
EXCELLENCE

Ref: State 78538

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002343

EEB/EPPD FOR NANCY SMITH-NISSLEY
DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND EAP/EP DHANNEMANN

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT BEXP ECON ELAB ETRAD KSEP SENV CH
SUBJECT: CHINA: DUE DILIGENCE ON NOMINEE FOR THE
SECRETARY OF STATE'S 2009 AWARD FOR CORPORATE
EXCELLENCE

Ref: State 78538


1. (SBU) The following are answers to the due
diligence questions posed in reftel. (Note: In the
answers below "Cummins" and "the company" refer to
the parent company headquartered in the United
States; "Cummins China" refers to Cummins' wholly-
owned holding company in China as well as its joint
venture operations in China. End Note.)

A) Post research has not uncovered significant
possible negatives or risks associated with
selecting Cummins China. However, Cummins China has
had a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corporation
since 1996 producing several varieties of engines
used in Chinese-produced heavy trucks, including
those used by the People's Liberation Army and the
People's Armed Police. Post is also aware of
reports that Cummins China engines were included in
some truck shipments from China to Burma and Sudan
around 2005 (see links below). The company
responded in June 2006 by banning sales of Cummins
products in Sudan and Burma.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17 /030/20
06/en/dom-ASA170302006en.html

http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article115.html

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Report_Chin a_selli
ng_arms_to_rights_0608.html

B) Cummins does not compile data on job creation in
the United States from its operations in China.
However, according to information provided by
Cummins China, in the five years prior to the start
of the recession in late 2008, Cummins added
approximately 3,000 jobs in the United States -- in
part on the strength of the company's international
growth that led to record sales and profits for
Cummins from 2004-2008. For the past several years,
Cummins' international sales have accounted for more
than half of the company's total revenues; in 2008,
international sales accounted for nearly 60 percent
of Cummins' consolidated sales. With consolidated
sales of USD 1.1 billion in 2008, China is one of
Cummins' largest international markets. Factoring

in sales from the company's unconsolidated joint
ventures, Cummins sales in China reached USD 2.3
billion in 2008.

C) According to Cummins China, Cummins is a
significant exporter from the United States, with
approximately USD 11 billion worth of goods and
services exported worldwide in the last three years.
Cummins does not track exports by receiving country
and Post does not have an independent assessment.

D) Post is not aware of any problems related to
labor conditions at Cummins China facilities.
According to Cummins China, unions have been
established in all of the their joint ventures in
China, and Cummins China's wholly-owned holding
company recently established a union that is quite
large and vibrant. According to Cummins China
representatives, they view unions as a key part of
their approach to actively integrating local Chinese
partners and encouraging local employee development.

According to the Trade Union Law of China, workers
can form a union in any company, foreign or domestic.
The Communist Party-controlled All China Federation
of Trade Unions (ACFTU),however, is the only legal
union and does not effectively represent workers or
bargain on their behalf. Cummins has received
criticism that the company's business and employment
practices in China and Nigeria do not measure up to
international labor and human rights standards.

The following two paragraphs are in their entirety
an excerpt from a 2009 stockholder resolution
available on the internet
(http://www.onlineethicalinvestor.org/eidb/wc .dll?ei
dbproc~reso~8570):

Begin Excerpt:


BEIJING 00002343 002 OF 002


In January 2008, Cummins took an important step
towards recognizing workers' fundamental rights by
amending its Code of Business Conduct (the "Code):
"We respect employees' freedom of association, right
to bargain collectively and all other workplace
rights." However, the Code does not contain any
monitoring, enforcement, or reporting provisions to
protect these rights. In addition, our company's
non-discrimination policy fails to include "union
affiliation," as called for by International Labor
Organization (ILO) Conventions 98 and 135.

The Code states that "Our commitment to fair
treatment ... extends to our joint ventures,
suppliers and other partners" through the Supplier
Code of Conduct. This code, however, merely
requires adherence to local law regarding workers'
freedom of association and does not address
collective bargaining. Cummins' global operations
include countries such as China and Nigeria, whose
laws fail to sufficiently protect workers'
fundamental rights to form and join unions of their
choice, and to bargain collectively. End Excerpt.

E) Post is not aware of any litigation involving
Cummins China pending in local courts.

F) The CDA and others involved in the nominating
process do not hold shares of stock or have other
financial interests in Cummins.

GOLDBERG