Chapter 56 2005 Deep Water

Whether it is Haier's overseas construction of factories or Lenovo's cross-border mergers and acquisitions, there are two facts: the first is the extraordinary globalization of Chinese companies, and the second is the lack of innovation and defects in core technologies. The "retribution". The year 2005 was the birth year of Li Dongsheng, the 48-year-old chairman of TCL Group.Since January, he has been receiving awards continuously.First, he was named "2004's 25 Most Influential Business Leaders in the World" by Time Magazine and CNN, and then was named "CCTV China's Economic Figure of the Year" by CCTV in 2004. Then, the China Enterprise Confederation He and the China Entrepreneurs Association held a grand ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, awarding him the title of "Most Concerned Entrepreneur" of the year.No one would have thought that two years later, his name would appear on the list of "The Worst Chinese Entrepreneurs of the Year" selected by "Forbes" magazine.

The reason why Li Dongsheng is so popular is that the "captain of death" in the national brand revitalization movement once again played the role of a vanguard in international mergers and acquisitions.If Liu Chuanzhi launched a big "satellite" at the end of 2004, then Li Dongsheng's progress in recent years is more three-dimensional. TCL has long tried to operate transnationally. In 1999, TCL color TV entered the Vietnamese market, realized profitability after 18 months, and became the second largest color TV brand in the country.In 2003, Li Dongsheng launched the "Dragon Tiger Plan" for cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He first acquired Go-Video, an American company that produced DVD players and video recorders, and then bought Schneider, a color TV company in Germany that was on the verge of bankruptcy. On January 29, 2004, Li Dongsheng signed a contract to establish TCL-Thomson Electronics Co., Ltd. with the CEO of Thomson Group, a global consumer electronics giant, at the French Prime Minister's Office. The new joint venture will sell 18 million color TV sets annually, becoming The world's largest color TV supplier.Only half a year later, on August 31, TCL announced that it would jointly establish TCL-Alcatel Mobile Phone Company, which ranks seventh in the world and No. 1 in China, together with Alcatel.In these two cooperation cases, TCL appeared in the role of the acquirer. Li Dongsheng transformed the two main businesses of the group into internationalization in such a short period of time, which naturally caused a great sensation.Among them, the most talked about is the acquisition of Thomson TV, because more than ten years ago, Jack Welch, known as the "world's first CEO", once bought this company, but was finally rejected due to lack of recovery skills. forced to give up.

Just in April after TCL acquired Thomson Color TV, Jack Welch came to China.Under the arrangement of the organizer, Li Dongsheng and Welch discussed on the same stage, which was a very dramatic scene.Welch obviously knew Li Dongsheng quite well, so he said half-complimentally and half-humorously at the beginning, "Our business has become an ironic phenomenon. The color TV business that Mr. Li bought was the one I sold to Tom 14 years ago. General Electric failed to turn Thomson into a profit. Today, Mr. Li wants to help Thomson turn a profit and compete with Samsung and Sony. Mr. Li is now shouldering a major challenge of global significance.” These words were translated into Chinese, which immediately drew applause from the audience. Li Dongsheng was apprehensive and proud, while Welch remained calm.

Two months after the forum, Li Dongsheng, who shouldered the challenge, vowed to make TCL's European business profitable within 18 months.At the press conference, he even did not hesitate to guarantee his personal reputation. He said: "I can say responsibly that TCL-Thomson will be profitable in 18 months. Everyone can come and check after 18 months. My personal reputation It’s been pretty good, in fact, I think we’ll be profitable in less than 18 months.” Li Dongsheng’s self-confidence later embarrasses him.In fact, like Liu Chuanzhi, Li Dongsheng's "European attack" was also forced by the situation.

In the past two decades, Li Dongsheng has always been lucky, and his two famous classmates who started businesses at the same time have been in trouble in recent years. In 2001, Konka was defeated in the color TV war. Chairman Chen Weirong handed in his resignation and left Konka, which was single-handedly expanding. In 2005, Huang Hongsheng of Skyworth was involved in an unexpected scandal. The Hong Kong ICAC suspected that he was suspected of defrauding and misappropriating company funds through corruption, and therefore organized an operation called "Tiger Mountain Trip" for secret investigation. On November 30, the department announced the arrest of Huang Hongsheng. In July 2006, the Hong Kong District Court announced that Huang Hongsheng, the former chairman of Skyworth Digital Holdings Co., Ltd., and his brother Huang Peisheng, the former executive director of Skyworth, were guilty of four counts of conspiracy to steal and conspire to defraud Skyworth of more than 50 million Hong Kong dollars. 6 years in prison.The court found that from November 1, 2000 to October 31, 2004, the Huang Hongsheng brothers conspired with their mother Luo Yuying and another person Wang Peng to steal 48 million Hong Kong dollars from Skyworth Digital Holdings Co., Ltd. and Skyworth Network Co., Ltd. A sum of over HK$2.2 million.In comparison, only Li Dongsheng has been on a thrilling journey.He and TCL are one of the only survivors after several rounds of price wars in China's home appliance industry. TCL is the only large-scale enterprise in the home appliance industry that has completed the transformation of property rights. Ruimin and Ren Zhengfei.

However, as we have described in previous chapters, due to years of ignorance of core technology development, all home appliance companies in China rely on scale and cost advantages to fight price wars. Received, no profit. The color TV industry, on which TCL started, never got out of the quagmire of price competition. Around 2002, flat-panel TVs entered a period of rapid growth in China, and domestic companies once again fought a price war, pulling down the retail price by 50% within a year.According to the calculation of Professor Xiao Zhixing of China Europe International Business School, "The panel of flat-panel TV accounts for 60% to 70% of the cost, the movement accounts for 10% of the cost, and the core components accounting for about 80% of the whole machine cost need to be from Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taiwan companies are buying. This is the root cause of China's flat-panel TVs not making money, which is unacceptable to the industry with national sentiments. For entrepreneurs who regard price wars as a magic weapon, they are even more helpless: The price war of Chinese companies can only be carried out within 20% of the space, and there is not much room left.”

Compared with other established home appliance companies, Li Dongsheng seized the new cake of the mobile phone market when the color TV industry was unprofitable.Since 2000, China's mobile communication market has been booming unprecedentedly, and Li Dongsheng cut in in time. He hired a marketing geek named Wan Mingjian to specialize in the mobile phone business. Without any core technical advantages, Wan Mingjian unexpectedly launched a "gem mobile phone", that is, a gemstone phone is inlaid on the flip cover of the mobile phone. Southeast Asian jade for a few dollars.This new model, ridiculed by experts as "the mobile phone of the mayor's wife", has become extremely popular in urban markets across the country and has achieved incredible success. In 2001, TCL Mobile broke into the top three in terms of sales volume in the country, contributing a profit of 320 million yuan to the group. In 2002, it achieved an astonishing profit of 1.2 billion yuan, becoming the first pillar of TCL Group.Stimulated by the "jewel mobile phone" effect, domestic mobile phones flocked up, and the mobile phone industry once again reproduced the scene that happened in the color TV, air-conditioning and other industries. Over 60%.However, the good times only lasted for two or three years, and domestic mobile phones without any technical development capabilities soon fell into price and concept wars.At the time when domestic mobile phones were most prosperous, experts had foreseen their inevitable fate.

The models and core modules of 90% of the mobile phone manufacturers in the country are imported from South Korea and Japan, and 80% of the manufacturers choose the fastest direct OEM.Compared with multinational brands, the average repair rate of domestic mobile phones is twice as high, which is 6%, and some brands even reach as high as 40%.By 2004, domestic mobile phones with no competitive advantage other than huge production capacity and fancy advertising gimmicks were finally at the end of their battles. The sales and profits of TCL mobile phones fell at an average annual rate of 50%. Li Dongsheng was forced to remove the former hero Wan Ming. firm.In the following two years, the mobile phone business became the biggest loss black hole of the group, and all the profits of more than one billion yuan it had earned before were all spit out.

In addition to the Achilles heel in technology, another major industry change that has taken place in the home appliance industry in the past few years is the emergence of professional and powerful store channel providers, the most representative of which are Gome and Jiangsu, founded by Huang Guangyu, a Chaoshan businessman. Suning was founded by businessman Zhang Jindong.Huang Guangyu left his hometown Shantou at the age of 17 to start a business in the north. In 1987, he opened an electrical appliance store with an area of ​​less than 100 square meters in Zhushikou, Beijing. Relying on the secret of small profits but quick turnover, he gradually gained a little fame in Beijing in 1993. In 1999, Huang Guangyu started a national chain. He insisted that the store area should not be less than 1,000 square meters, and quickly occupied the market with bombarding advertisements and resolute low-price strategies.Almost at the same time when Gome was successful in the north, Zhang Jindong in Nanjing also gave up his original wholesale business to focus on chain retail, and Suning expanded rapidly in the south of the Yangtze River.

With the rise of Gome and Suning, the era of "channel is king" in the home appliance industry has come, and the "throats" of manufacturers are firmly stuck, their market initiative is completely lost, and the profit margin is getting smaller and smaller. In July 2004, Gome and Suning Electric were listed in Hong Kong and Shenzhen respectively. On the Hurun "China's 100 Rich List" in 2004, Huang Guangyu was promoted to "China's richest man" with assets of 10.5 billion yuan.With the expansion of Gome and Suning, the protagonists of the big stage of China's home appliance industry began to change. At the end of 2006, Gome acquired Yongle, another home appliance chain company in Shanghai.Huang Guangyu said, "I have been able to control the retail price of the home appliance industry." As soon as this remark came out, all the leaders of the manufacturing industry fell silent.Years of mutual killing in price wars have found their destiny here.Even Li Dongsheng, who is as smart as Li Dongsheng, cannot resist the general trend of "channel is king".It was against this background that Li Dongsheng took the risk and went on an expedition to Europe in armor. His strategic purpose was very clear, that is, to get rid of the "China's Red Sea" or "China's Sea of ​​Bitterness" and export the advantages of scale and cost to the outside world through acquisitions. The way to achieve two major effects, one is to achieve brand alliances, and the other is to directly enter the mainstream sales channels in Europe and the United States.This seemed to be the only active strategy available at the time. In Li Dongsheng's own words, "The path of globalization must be followed. If you don't take it today, you will take it tomorrow."

This kind of panoramic view did not attract people's attention in early 2005.The M&A news of Lenovo and TCL is so dazzling. Under the situation that China's macro economy continues to strengthen, people are more willing to associate them with the rise of Chinese companies. This spectacular scene is easily reminiscent of Japan's The company's past history of a large number of mergers and acquisitions of European and American companies.People prefer to believe that miracles are sometimes self-fulfilling.This year, the merger and acquisition news of Lenovo and TCL complement each other, and Taiwan's IT star company BenQ announced the acquisition of the mobile phone business of Germany's Siemens. On June 8, 2005, the BenQ-Siemens merger case was exposed.This is a seemingly "economical business". Siemens bears the loss of 500 million euros in the mobile phone department, and what is transferred to BenQ is the mobile phone assets without liabilities. At the same time, Siemens provides a cash "dowry" worth 250 million euros to BenQ. , and purchased BenQ shares for 50 million euros.After the merger, BenQ's mobile phone production and sales exceeded 50 million units, making it the fourth largest mobile phone brand in the world.By September 2006, Taiwan's BenQ, which was fully invested but weak in revitalization, announced the abandonment of BenQ Germany's mobile phone company and filed for bankruptcy in the local court.During the merger period, BenQ injected 840 million euros into the mobile phone project, and its book losses accumulated to 600 million euros. BenQ's stock price fell from a peak of 35.10 yuan (Taiwan dollars) to 18.20 yuan, and its market value evaporated by more than 30 billion yuan.The failure of the BenQ-Siemens M&A case highlights the huge risks of cross-border M&A. "Made in China", which emerged in 1998, has finally exploded in recent years with a competitive advantage that is irresistible to the world.In 2001, when China joined the WTO, the scale of China's foreign trade was US$500 billion. By 2004, it had exceeded the US$1 trillion mark, surpassing Japan in one fell swoop. The figure in 2005 will reach US$1.4 trillion.With Chinese goods pouring out of the country like a tide, European and American consumers find that "Made in China" has become an indispensable part of life like air. On January 1, 2005, Shari Bongani, an economic journalist living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, made a "crazy" decision that she and her family would not use "Made in China".She said that the idea came up during the Christmas period a few days ago, because she suddenly found that every corner of the house, from the TV to the tennis shoes, to the Christmas light bulbs, to the Western dolls on the floor, All are "Made in China".What she didn't expect was that "this decision turned out to be the beginning of big troubles. Things that seemed simple in the past have turned into painful things." First of all, she had to change her son's Chinese shoes.In order to buy low-priced products, she went to a nearby European product discount shoe store, but because of poor business, the store has closed down.As a result, my 4-year-old son had to wear the $68 Italian sneakers he found in the catalog.In addition, toy stores and stores are also full of Chinese goods. Therefore, her son’s friend’s birthday party will make her wallet more and more flat, because every time she has to buy Danish-made Lego toys for her son as a gift.Household items can't be repaired even if they break down because the parts are all made in China despite being ostensibly "Made in America."The dust filters in the vacuum cleaners are all Chinese products, and as a result, they can only be accompanied by "garbage".From the mousetrap that once helped a suburban family catch pesky rats with ease, to the lights that light up outside homes, birthday candles, firecrackers and more, it's hard to find products that aren't made in China. A year later, Bongani wrote her experience into a book called "A Year Without "Made in China"" (A Year Without "Made in China"). She concluded that: "Americans are completely Can't get rid of 'Made in China'." She declares at the end of the book: "I originally wanted China to disappear in my life, but then I realized that China has penetrated into my life, which surprised me. My family and I Decided to compromise with reality, otherwise the inconvenience and cost of living for this would be too great.” When shopping in the future, as long as she feels that Chinese products are “more practical” than products from other countries, she will buy and use them. No other story can illustrate the reality better than Bonjani's experience. Cheap, cheap, or cheap, this is the only weapon for "Made in China" to win, and it is also the most irresistible competitiveness for the world.The other side of the fact is that under the impact of Chinese goods, the manufacturing industries of various countries have been fatally challenged, and trade frictions have followed.According to the data of the World Bank, China is the country that suffers the most anti-dumping among WTO members. One of the seven anti-dumping and trade remedy cases in the world is against China, and China loses 50 billion U.S. dollars in trade every year.Various anti-dumping cases emerged one after another, becoming the most eye-catching international political and economic issue in recent years. At the beginning, Chinese public opinion regarded the anti-dumping of various countries as a kind of "discrimination", and some people even used the "eight-nation coalition" to describe the encirclement and suppression of Chinese goods by various countries.In a sense, resistance to anti-dumping has become a manifestation of patriotism.At this time, the Wenzhou businessman, who had always been known for making cheap goods, was once again a national hero. At the end of June 2002, the European Union announced an anti-dumping investigation on lighters in Wenzhou, China, which was considered to be the "first anti-dumping case" after China's accession to the WTO.At that time, hundreds of lighter companies in Wenzhou produced 90% of the world's metal casing lighters, and their manufacturing cost was only one-tenth of that of Japanese lighters.The Wenzhou Smoking Set Industry Association organizes key enterprises to respond to the EU. The survey provided by the association shows that the low "Chinese price" mainly comes from labor costs. The annual income of Wenzhou workers is 20 times lower than that of European workers.The conclusion is that "Chinese companies do not trade at a loss".The lawsuit was finally withdrawn by the European Union, and domestic public opinion was very proud for a while. Wenzhou businessman Huang Fajing, who was the most active in responding to the lawsuit, was elected as "CCTV China's Economic Person of the Year" in 2003. The world trade order, and most importantly, he -- won." The victory of the "Battle of Lighters" did not stop the surging anti-dumping wave.Throughout 2003, more than 540 anti-dumping cases were initiated around the world against Chinese products, ranging from energy-saving lamps, color TVs, washing machines, wooden furniture to steel and textiles. Around Christmas in 2003, Lin Dafu, a 62-year-old shoemaker from Wenzhou, accompanied his boss to Elche, a small town in the east of Spain, to inspect the market.In the European Union, Spain is the second largest producer of footwear after Italy, and Elche is the cradle of the country's footwear industry.Lin Dafu saw that Wenzhou shoes had a good momentum there, and had already occupied more than 80% of the market. The price of Chinese shoes of the same grade was 30%-50% lower than that of local shoes. For example, a pair of women's long Chinese companies sell boots for 9.8 euros, while Spanish companies sell them for at least 20 euros.Lin Dafu's boss was very happy. He called Wenzhou media reporters and declared, "Wenzhou shoes have completely defeated European shoes by virtue of their quality and price advantages, and won glory for the country." Lin Dafu didn't think so. Sixty percent of Elche's shoe factories have closed down, and the unemployment rate of workers has increased by 30%.On the plane back home, the old shoemaker said to his boss, "I had a hunch that something would happen sooner or later." A few months later, something really happened. On September 16, 2004, the violence of burning Wenzhou shoes broke out in Elche. Hundreds of Spanish shoemakers rushed into the cargo terminal and burned 16 containers full of Wenzhou leather shoes worth 1 million US dollars. Shoes warehouse.A week later, another demonstration against Chinese businessmen broke out in Elche. Thousands of people took to the streets in a small town with a population of only 200,000.China Central Television reported the incident on "News Network", which caused an uproar across the country. Italian shoemakers also protested against Wenzhou shoes.According to statistics from the Italian Footwear Federation, in the past two years, more than 250 million pairs of Chinese shoes have entered Italy, and its market share has soared by 700%. The country's shoe imports exceeded its exports for the first time.For this country, which has always been proud of its shoe industry, this is tantamount to a fatal blow.Italian public opinion blames Chinese shoes for all downturns, and believes that Chinese shoes have led to the collapse of the local Italian shoe industry, causing nearly 8,000 shoe workers to lose their jobs.By 2005, this kind of antagonism against Chinese goods began to spread in European countries. In order to appease local manufacturers, the European Union even designed a "not made in China" label. Chinese experts and officials are trying to resolve this embarrassing situation from their own standpoint. On May 3, 2005, Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai went to Paris, France to participate in the "Sino-French SME Cooperation Fair".In those few days, more than 70 million pieces of textiles were stranded in major European ports, unable to enter the EU market. The European Commission decided to investigate and impose sanctions on nine types of textiles imported from China. The local mainstream media showed a one-sided tendency.When asked about the Chinese government's attitude towards this, the eloquent Minister Bo gave an example of the low profits of Chinese textiles, "You may not have calculated that China can only import an Airbus 380 if it sells 800 million shirts." A related statistic is that in the past two years, China has purchased 30 Airbus aircraft, 5 of which are the expensive "Airbus 380". Trade friction wars keep coming and going.At the same time that Bo Xilai was negotiating with Europeans over shirts, South Korea was attacking Chinese companies over kimchi. In September, members of South Korea's National Assembly determined that kimchi produced in China was suspected of being dumped at low prices and of poor quality, and demanded anti-dumping.The Ministry of Commerce of China came forward to negotiate with officials of the South Korean trade department. However, at the negotiating table, Bo Xilai got a fact that he didn’t know how to deal with——90% of the kimchi enterprises in China are related to South Korea, or It was invested by Korean businessmen, either with their shareholding or holding. "Who are they going to make trouble with?" Bo Xilai asked. The investigation by the reporter of "2l Century Business Herald" is as follows: In the past few years, a large number of Korean enterprises have moved their production bases to China, where the cost of raw materials and labor is lower, and formed large-scale production bases in Qingdao, Shenyang, Chengdu and other places. Kimchi production and export base.Statistics show that in 2001, China exported only 393 tons of kimchi to South Korea, but in 2004, it reached 72,600 tons, a full increase of 185 times in four years, and the momentum is still rising.The influx of cheap kimchi has not only made those Korean kimchi companies that have not moved to China feel overwhelmed, but even the prices of related agricultural and sideline products have fallen sharply. Naturally, cabbage and radish, the main ingredients of kimchi, bear the brunt.As a result, some members of Congress representing the interests of farmers launched this trade war against Chinese kimchi, and their opponents are actually another group of Koreans who run businesses in China.What is even more surprising is that the kimchi turmoil suddenly subsided two months later, because the Korean companies that initiated the incident found that the quality of "Korean kimchi made in China" has seriously affected the dynamic sales of kimchi in the international market. , in supermarkets in Europe and the United States, Korean and Chinese kimchi were withdrawn at the same time.The fact that the cross-border trade war has reached this level has already made people dumbfounded. How to deal with the anti-dumping incident full of problems has become a difficult problem for Chinese economists to answer.In September of this year, Professor Xiang Bing, Dean of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, put forward a surprisingly bold proposal - "Why don't we buy Wal-Mart?" The shareholding is only 3.51%, and the combined market value of the top five shareholders is only 24 billion US dollars.Xiang Bing said, "It's a great idea to spend 24 billion U.S. dollars to be the largest shareholder of a top company in the world and let others work for you." In the words of Professor Xiang Bing, "Although we cannot absolutely require Wal-Mart to purchase Chinese products, as shareholders of the board of directors, we can at least influence Wal-Mart's procurement strategy so that More mainstream Chinese products have entered the mainstream markets in Europe and the United States.” A fact that can support Xiang Bing’s point of view is that since 2002, Wal-Mart China’s total exports of goods purchased by China have continued to increase significantly, and by 2005 it was close to 18 billion US dollars.Among Wal-Mart's 6,000 global suppliers, Chinese companies account for 80%! Xiang Bing's proposal may be the most daring, creative, and controversial business idea this year. The Times' attention.The reporter of the newspaper said in a comment, "This may be a good idea for a country with few global brands but a huge number of products to climb up the value chain." When making this suggestion, all officials smiled and nodded without comment. This "good idea" seems to lack a practical "good method". When Chinese products encounter anti-dumping troubles overseas, those prominent multinational brands are also having a hard time in China. This is really a very interesting reflection. Since 2005, Procter & Gamble, Sony, Nestle, Dell and other international companies that have always been regarded as models for learning have encountered public relations crises in China. Some people call 2005 the "problem year" for multinational companies in China. On March 7, Lu Ping, a consumer in Nanchang, Jiangxi, sued Procter & Gamble, the world's largest daily chemical company, for false promotion of high-end cosmetics SK-II.Procter & Gamble declared in a product manual: "SK-Ⅱ is the most effective technology to fight against fine lines and rough and loose skin... 10 minutes after use, a miracle will appear, and fine lines and wrinkles will be significantly reduced in two weeks. Continuous use for 28 days Days, 47% reduction in fine lines and wrinkles, 12 years younger looking skin.” These terms were deemed to be in violation of the Advertising Act.The lawsuit quickly aroused widespread reports in the domestic media. Procter & Gamble showed incredible arrogance when responding. On the one hand, it provided a large number of proofs that SK-II did have the effect of "12 years younger". The demands of the lawsuit fell on deaf ears, implying its "malicious hype" and "impure motives", and took a stance of rejecting the media, only willing to admit that "the definition is not clear enough" and the "description is not comprehensive enough". This way of handling caused dissatisfaction and bombardment from many media, and some reporters revealed that SK-II was found to contain corrosive ingredients in the Japanese market, and asked the relevant state departments to investigate and deal with it. On September 14, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced that a number of cosmetics of the SK-II brand from Japan were found to contain banned substances chromium and neodymium.Procter & Gamble fell into an unprecedented reputation crisis.The next day, Procter & Gamble issued a statement, insisting that there was nothing wrong, but "consumers in need can go through the return procedures of related products at authorized counters of SK-II."At the same time, it requires consumers to meet four conditions: "The product to be returned is within the scope of the 9 products inspected this time; the consumer has a history of allergies, and at the same time issued a relevant certificate from the hospital; holds a shopping receipt or electronic At the same time, the product cannot be returned across special counters; the remaining quantity of the returned product is not less than one-third of the total amount of the product.” When returning the product, consumers also need to fill in a form called “Non-health-related non-product quality issues Complaint Express Return Handling Simple Agreement.The agreement reads: "Although the product itself is a qualified product and there is no quality problem, in line with the attitude of being responsible to consumers, we have decided to return the product for you and agree to refund after mutual agreement. This processing plan is for this case One-time finalization." This attitude and conditions are like adding fuel to the fire, pushing P&G further and further away from consumers and public opinion, and the voices of crusade and rejection are endless. On September 22, the Shanghai Quality Inspection Bureau announced that three SK-II products had been found to contain prohibited substances. So far, Procter & Gamble had to announce that "SK-II has been completely withdrawn from the cabinet and temporarily withdrawn from the Chinese market. All consumers can return the products unconditionally." .A news observer named Zhang Xiaohui commented in the "China Business Times", "On the surface, this crisis public relations is the childishness of Procter & Gamble's public relations system, but in essence, it shows that a large multinational company is dealing with consumers and consumers. Pride and prejudice on the public's right to know." When Procter & Gamble was suffering from the SK-II turmoil, Heinz and KFC, the world's famous food companies, were also caught in a more dangerous major crisis.In February of this year, the British Food Standards Agency urgently ordered major supermarkets and stores to recall 359 brands of food, including Heinz and Unilever, which were suspected to contain the carcinogenic pigment Sudan Red No. 1.The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China immediately issued an urgent notice, requiring local quality inspection departments to strengthen the inspection and supervision of foods containing Sudan Red No. Red, 300,000 bottles of the product were destroyed in public. On March 16, the media revealed that KFC's seasoning was also found to contain Sudan red ingredients, and all KFC restaurants in China stopped selling it.KFC is the most successful multinational fast food company in the Chinese market. Since it entered China in 1987, it has successively opened 1,100 chain stores in various cities. Its most loyal consumers are children and teenagers.Therefore, the discovery of carcinogenic ingredients in KFC seasoning immediately caused panic and sensation. The "Sudan red incident" became a topic of national concern for a while, which aroused the public's attention to food safety, and at the same time caused people to have doubts about the multinational brand that they have always admired. On March 31, the People’s Daily, which has always been cautious, questioned in a commentary, “It’s intriguing why KFC only has Sudan Red in China. Could it be that naive Uncle Sam thinks we are a ‘safe island’ for Sudan Red? ?” In addition to Procter & Gamble, KFC and Heinz, several other well-known consumer goods companies have also fallen into crisis one after another. On April 17, many domestic media reported in a prominent position that according to the latest research by American scientists, Colgate toothpaste contains carcinogenic chemicals. As soon as this news came out, the market reacted strongly, and Colgate toothpaste was taken off the shelves in various places.In a survey conducted by Sina.com, 88.4% of Internet users said they trusted the Colgate brand in the past, but only 9.84% of Internet users are willing to use this brand of toothpaste now.Afterwards, it was revealed that the news was suspected of being mistranslated, but the brand of Colgate still suffered a great impact. On May 25, the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Industry and Commerce said that the "Nestlé" Gold Medal Growth 3+ milk powder produced by the world-renowned food company Nestle exceeded the iodine limit.Two days later, Nestlé withdrew the problem product from the cabinet, but refused to disclose the production quantity and which markets it sold to.Subsequently, similar problems were found in Beijing, Kunming and other places.Nestle has not given a further answer on the recall or return, resulting in most consumers having no way to return. On June 5, Nestle China executives apologized to consumers for the excessive iodine in its milk powder. On June 8, the National Standards Committee publicly stated: "The production and sale of infant formula milk powder that does not meet the standard requirements for iodine should be prohibited." On June 16, the Shenzhen Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau Luohu Branch received a report that an underground processing factory was producing the famous Haagen-Dazs ice cream cake.The law enforcement officers went there quickly, thinking that what was going to be taken away was a counterfeit den, but they were surprised to find that this unlicensed, unlicensed underground workshop with a messy sanitary environment turned out to be an authentic Haagen-Dazs Shenzhen brand-operated store. "Processing plant", and one workshop supplies the supply of goods for all 5 brand-operated stores of Haagen-Dazs in Shenzhen.The next day, the general manager of Haagen-Dazs Greater China rushed to Shenzhen to deal with the matter, acknowledging that the investigation and news reports by relevant departments were "basically true." Scandals at multinationals are not limited to consumer staples.In April of this year, Dell, the world's largest PC manufacturer with a good reputation, was caught in an "email scandal". The cause of the incident was a letter between a sales manager of Dell in the United States and the target customer of the public relations.The sales manager wrote in the letter, "I am just looking at IBM's future prospects, not attacking competitors. As you all know, Lenovo is a Chinese government-controlled company that has just recently acquired IBM's desktop and laptop business .Although the US government has approved the Lenovo-IBM deal, everyone must understand that every dollar people spend on IBM products will directly support or fund the Chinese government. Please think about it.” After this email was exposed by the media, it caused an uproar.Most domestic public opinion believes that the slanderous remarks made by Dell employees in competing with Lenovo for customers seriously violated the principle of fair competition.Liu Chuanzhi also expressed dissatisfaction in a public occasion, saying, "A serious enterprise should not do things that violate morality, but should do serious things." On July 27, more than 500 employees of Toshiba Dalian Co., Ltd. went on strike. The cause was that the Dalian Labor Supervision Department found that some Toshiba employees worked more than 36 hours of overtime per month as stipulated in the "Labor Law". Rectification Notice".However, in order not to reduce production capacity, Toshiba increased the speed of the production line, compressing each workflow from 20 seconds to 14 seconds.Although the working hours are shortened, the labor intensity is increased accordingly.And after "cancelling" overtime, employees' salaries are reduced. On the 27th, some employees protested with a strike, and the Japanese managers immediately announced the dismissal of the participants.This move angered all Chinese workers, and the whole factory shut down 3 hours later.The strike alarmed the local government. In the end, the Japanese side compromised and agreed to increase wages by 150 yuan per month. During the factory celebration, each employee was rewarded with 1,000 yuan, and the workers returned to work. In October, Fuji Xerox Industrial Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., jointly invested by Fuji Film Co., Ltd. of Japan and Xerox Corporation of the United States, was reported to be suspected of major smuggling.The customs investigation found that a DT6135 high-speed black-and-white printing system with copying function should be declared as a copier or printing machine according to regulations, but Fuji Xerox declared it as a laser printer with zero tariffs, and one machine evaded taxes by at least 4.5 In the past year or so, Futu Xerox has imported hundreds of such machines.For other color printing machines, Fuji Xerox also declares to the customs according to this method.In addition, Fuji Xerox was also found to have a bad behavior of dumping second-hand equipment. It refurbished the old machines in the Japanese market and resold them to Chinese companies. In December, Sony, the Japanese home appliance company considered to be the best performer in the Chinese market, broke out three scandals in a row.At the beginning of the month, the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Industry and Commerce reported that 30 batches of digital cameras of 6 models of Sony had problems such as imaging uniformity and automatic exposure, and were comprehensively judged as unqualified by the National Camera Quality Supervision and Inspection Center.Sony (China) Company first denied the statement, and then admitted the result a few days later, apologized to the public, and agreed to accept the consumer's return request.月中，索尼新面市的5款液晶电视被发现存在软件缺陷，公司被迫对在中国市场上已出售的1．7万台问题电视进行软件升级。月底，北京市统计局通报经济普查数据，并曝光部分违规企业，索尼被列其中，该公司被查出“商品销售总额”指标瞒报18亿元。 这真是一个“丑闻的季节”。在2005年之前，尽管也有“奔驰车被砸”等事件，2002年12月，武汉森林野生动物园有限公司购买一辆奔驰SLK230轿车，不足3月接连出向方向机漏油、动力明显不足和警示灯闪亮等问题。该车前后修理5次均改善不大，消费者要求退车，奔驰公司拒绝。2001年12月26日，武汉森林公园在热闹的武汉广场举行“砸车仪式”，5名工人挥舞木棒、铁锤把奔驰车砸得面目全非。该事件轰动一时。但是，如此众多的跨国公司陷入公众丑闻危机却是前所未有。它既体现出消费者、各级政府及传媒的日渐成熟，也显示出另外一个现实，那就是国际公司已经渗透和参与到了中国市场的各个层面，成为万马奔腾、尘土飞扬的中国经济的一部分。日本三菱电池中国区域前任市场总监文少波这样描述他的老东家：“跨国企业早就对中国的国情和商业潜规则熟稔于胸，'灰色交易'对他们来说也是一种合理的腐败行为。而且，他们进入中国时一般都制定了应对东窗事发的措施。在业绩突出的表象下，跨国企业都心安理得。” 6月6日，中国股市跌至冰点。上证指数无比冷酷地停在998．22点，多年来首次失守千点，曾经被人们批驳或视为笑谈的“千点论”，终于在欲哭无泪的投资者眼前应验。不过，这30年的中国改革历程一再证明过那句中国古话“否极泰来”，所有的苦难都是一段新高潮的起点，两年后，人们将顿悟到这个规律。正是在跌无可跌的低潮期，一场霹雳改革迎来了最好的启动时刻。 这场呼唤了多年的改革就是股权分置。中国股市自创建以来，由于制度设计上的缺陷，存在很古怪的流通股和非流通股两种股权，而且非流通股股东持股比例较高，约为2／3，并且通常处于控股地位。其结果是，同股不同权，上市公司治理结构存在严重缺陷，极易产生“一股独大”、甚至“一股独霸”现象。 它不但使流通股股东特别是中小股东的合法权益遭受损害，还非常容易滋生丑恶的庄家现象，吕梁、唐万新、宋如华等人便是通过控制非流通的法人股而肆意操纵股价的。十余年来，这一现象一直遭到专家的猛烈诟病，然而由于既得利益集团的强大，改革方案屡提屡废。2001年6月13日，证监会曾经郑重宣布国有股减持办法即将出台，市场预期向好，第二天沪指就创出2245点的历史最高点，然而，减持方案迟迟不出台，到一年后的2002年6月，国务院发文停止执行在股票市场减持国有股，改革流产。2004年之后，宏观调控突降，沪深两市全面崩盘，所有的大小庄家均自食恶果。随着股市昏迷不醒，阻力陡然瓦解，改革竟成顺势可为之事。2005年4月29日，证监会发布《关于上市公司股权分置改革试点有关问题的通知》，标志着股权分置改革试点工作正式启动，它被定义为“中国股市的第二次革命”。 第一家改革试点企业是湖南的三一重工，这是一家由民营资本控制的上市公司。根据董事会的决议，该公司以4月29日总股本2．4亿股为基数，流通股股东每持有10股流通股将取得3股股票和8元现金，非流通股股东所持有的原非流通股将获得“上市流通权”。三一重工的股改被认为是一次“破冰之旅”。 Since it was launched during the low tide period, the smoothness of the share structure reform has exceeded everyone's expectations.证监会主席尚福林日后回忆说，“我们做好了最坏的准备，股市实际比预想的跌得要少。”在启动之初，股市曾经出现了持续下跌的景象，甚至在6月份跌破了千点大关，但是随着一批又一批的改革试点公司接踵出现，股市很快企稳。用复旦大学经济学教授华生的话说，“这是中国经济体制改革以来，时间最短、进展最顺利、对改革成效争论与分歧最小的重大制度变革。”到一年多后的2006年，已有1151家上市公司进入或者完成了股改程序，公司股改市值占股市总市值比重达到92％。新华社在当月的评论中宣称，中国股市目前可谓已步入“股权分置改革后”的时代，股市中面临的最大瓶颈问题已基本得到妥善解决。也就是从那时起，中国股市从熊市中猛然苏醒。 股权分置改革的历程颇似20世纪80年代后期的物价闯关及90年代后期的企业产权变革，它体现了中国这场改革运动的“不争论特征”：每当某一重大改革被激烈争辩和强行推进的时候，往往成效甚微、陷于流产，甚至可能造成社会的动荡和舆论的紊乱，而当所有争论者都已经精疲力竭的时候，改革却会在最不经意的时刻取得突破，其演进的路径选择往往小于人们之前的猜想。 股改不但解决了资本市场的陈年顽疾，也带来了众多企业经营者的财富暴涨。以三一重工董事长梁稳根为例。他持有三一重工39%的股权，睡着非流通股份的上市及其后的股价上扬，他的资产水涨船高，在2005年的胡润“中国百富榜”上，梁稳根的个人财富为22亿元，到2007年已经暴增到202亿元，位居全国富豪第24位。 与梁稳根相比，王石是另外一种财富受益者。作为中国最著名的地产企业创始人，王石从一开始就放弃了资本权的争取，他只持有六十多万股的万科股份。在2003年，他对记者透露，“我的年薪目前大约60万元人民币，有价证券不到200万元，我只甘愿作为中产阶层。”在本次股改中，很多上市公司纷纷推出了针对管理层的股权激励方案。根据万科公司2006年度的激励方案，王石将获得从二级市场购得的2491万股万科股票中的10%，即249万股，他持有的万科股票，上升至311.9万股。以当时市值计算，王石财富增加5000万元左右。媒体评论说，“王石之所得，与他对万科的贡献不成比例，跟其他地产业者比更是有天壤之别，不过，股改至少让他得到了一次公平补偿的机会。” 除了财富的重组之外，股权分置改革还给中国的商业社会带来了一些“意外”而陌生的气象。被释放的资本力量天然地具有趋优的市场选择力，它自由而民本，一开始就显得无比强劲而清新，它的诞生具有更为深远和值得记录的价值。 在股改过程中，一直任人宰割的小股东第一次展现了自己的力量。10月下旬，以地产为业主的金丰投资启动了股权分置改革，提出非流通股东向流通股东10送3.2股，以获得全流通资格。此方案遭到流通股股东抵制，一个叫周梅森的著名作家连续发表了三封公开信：《我愤怒——致全国流通股东的一封公开信》、《凯撒的归凯撒，人民的归人民——致非流通大股东的公开信》、《谁对“人民资产”负责？——致管理层并证券决策部门的公开信》。 周梅森是江苏省作协副主席，文笔之犀利自然非同寻常。他写道：“毫无疑问，我们正作为牺牲者在亲历历史。这也许使中国证券史上最残酷的一页历史。将来的证券市场研究者们也许会这样记录：2005年5月，中国股东先天不足造成的历史原罪无法追赎，新的剥夺再次发生。上市公司等相关利益集团以其天然强势挟持了股改，中国股市已到了最危险的时候。全国七千万股民在亏损累累额的情况下，继续在股改中血流成河。已参加股改的上市公司大部贴权，非流通大股东'赏赐'的那点可怜的对价已变成泡沫随着指数的下滑化为乌有！……面对资本强权，我们是弱者，所幸的是政府和管理层给了我们否决权股民朋友，千万珍惜您手上的否决权，不论它是金丰投资还是银丰投资，当他们的股改严重不公，再次侵害了您的利益时，您一定到行驶好您宝贵的否决权，一定要去投票！哪怕只有一百股，您也要大声地告诉资本强权：我愤怒了，不能再容容忍了，我的一百股反对！” 周梅森的口吻宛若草根资本在开口呐喊，三封公开信惊起了千重波澜，舆论反响热烈。在一个月后的方案表决中，参与投票的流通股股东中约41%投了反对票，从而使该股改方案被否决，也使得金丰投资成为第一家因中小股东维权而遭方案否决的上市公司。 股改的另一个“意外”成果是，它拯救了一些面临深渊的市场型企业家。这年前后，出生于1945年的珠海格力电器朱洪江正踏在一条命运叵测的生死线上。年初，刚好60周岁的他对国资主管领导说，“我已经随时做好了些退休申请的各种准备。” 朱洪江是格力的创始人，这是一个看上去很内向、实则气血方刚的南方人。从1991年起，他出任珠海一家濒临倒闭的电扇小厂厂长，很快在刚刚趋热的空调行业站稳脚跟。1996年，格力电器上市，格力空调则从这一年起连续11年产销量和市场占有率均居行业第一。也是在这之后，朱洪江与上级主管发生了矛盾。格力电器在资产上隶属于珠海特区经济发展总公司，这是一家带有强烈行政特色的国有企业集团（与之类似，万科集团当年亦隶属于深圳特区经济发展总公司，王石与深特发之际的争执是万科创业初期最重要的矛盾点）。随着格力空调的壮大，珠特发重组更名为格力集团，成为凌驾于上市公司格力电器之上的“婆婆”。它拥有格力的品牌、重大决策及人事任免权，其治理架构与科龙完全一样，朱江洪为集团的副董事长和上市公司的董事长。 随着华南地区的潘宁、李经纬等创业家的相继离职、陨落，朱洪江深感体制之困，多次要求梳理集团与上市公司的资产和管理关系，他与上级的关系也随之紧张。到2003年，格力的体制矛盾公开化，朱洪江和集团董事长水火不容，并被媒体迅速热炒成“父子之争”。在其后的三年里，格力集团连换三任董事长，每个都与朱洪江神貌两离，控制权的争夺空前激烈。2003年12月，《奥港信息日报》刊发了一篇署名仲大军的文章《格力再现褚时健式人物》，矛头直指朱洪江有侵吞国有资产之嫌。朱洪江认为此文是对他的诽谤，因而将作者告上法庭，并最终打赢了官司。一个有意思的细节是，仲大军是当时格力集团董事长的同学。到2004年，格力电器又因营销矛盾与国内最大的家电零售连锁企业国美电器一刀两断，市场营销出现重大变局，而朱洪江本人也逼近60岁的退休大限之日。据他后来披露，珠海市有关领导已经找他谈话，暗示他随时做好退任的准备。对这场格力风波持续关注的财经媒体均对朱洪江的前途颇为悲观，大多预测他将成为“潘宁第二”。 “神奇大逆转”发生在股改期间。这年9月，就当朱洪江身处去留岔口的时候，格力电器启动股改方案，珠海市政府组织一个班子专门到深圳、北京和上海等地考察并拜访持股的证券公司，每到一地，基金经理提出的第一个问题都是：“朱洪江还能留任吗？”有人甚至直言：“格力股改的具体条件窝囊不太感兴趣，我们最感兴趣的是朱洪江能不能不走。”来自资本市场的压力让政府意识到了企业家的分量，就这样，市场资本第一次开口说话就救了一个陷入乱局的企业和它的创业者。最终，在格力集团递交的股改方案中明确了一条，“支持朱江洪继续担任格力电器的董事长。”到2006年8月，朱洪江被任命为格力集团的董事长、法定代表、总裁和党委书记，历时数年的“父子之争”以十分意外和戏剧化的方式终结。 朱洪江的这段经历可谓惊险、偶然而不无悲哀，在一个体制转型的时期，很多理性的结局都充满了非理性的色彩。 如果没有互联网，这部企业史也许会失掉一半的激荡。这个从实验室里窜出来的精灵，一开始就如此的虚幻，渐渐地它披上了资本的金翅膀，染上了商业的气息，渗透到社会生活的每一个毛孔。跟几年前相比，这个世界再一次改天换地，网络游戏、博客、视频、互动社区，新概念一个接一个地耀眼爆炸。 以新闻为主要人气元素的门户网站被新兴的浪潮超越，它甚至遭到了后起者的资本狙击。在过去的两年里，中国网民人数超过1亿，盛大、前程无忧、腾讯、携程、TOM在线、e龙、空中网、金融界、灵通和九城等十多家互联网公司接连在海外上市，中国互联网公司股票市场价值总和达到了100亿美元，这是一个带有“元年”意义的时代。 这年最得意的互联网英雄是盛大游戏的陈天桥。这个靠50万元起家的神奇小子在2004年8月10日名满天下，盛大网络在纳斯达克上市，31岁的陈天桥所持股票市值达到了11.1亿美元，身家超过比他年长两岁的浙江同乡、网易创办人丁磊，成为《福布斯》版本的新晋中国首富。在短短5年的创业时间里，他的财富飙升了1.8万倍。人们突然发现，在年轻的陈天桥之前，上海已经很久没有出“企业家”了，对于中国最大的商业城市，这也许是一件带有讽刺意味的事情。 2月19日，陈天桥又做出一件让互联网世界闹翻天的大动作。这一天，盛大宣布在纳斯达克的公开市场上购得19.5%的新浪网股价，一跃成为这家中国最大新闻网站的第一大股东。有报道称，当身处巴黎的陈天桥打电话向新浪CEO汪延告知这一消息的时候，后者对此一无所知，而有意思的是，汪延此时也在巴黎。新浪在第二天发表强硬声明，对盛大的恶意收购表达不满，一场争夺控制权的舆论大战一触即发。为了阻止盛大的进入，新浪甚至启动了所谓的“毒丸计划”，也就是所有新浪股东都将获得一份购股权，如果盛大继续增持新浪股票致使比例超过20%，股东（当然除盛大之外）就可以凭着手中的购股权以半价购买新浪增发的股票。很显然，“毒丸计划”一旦启动，结果将近乎于玉石俱焚。这起并购大战的结果是，盛大停止增购股份，而新浪也只有默请陈天桥进入董事会。 此役内幕重重，众说纷纭。在操作手法上，这是一种标准的华尔街收购方式，著名国际投资银行摩根士丹利认为是“首例遵循美国法律进行并购的中国案例”。在中国互联网史上，仅此一役，原本由新浪、网易和搜狐把持的“门户时代”宣告终结。 如果说，陈天桥让人们对网络新势力刮目相看的话，那么在这年夏天，李彦宏和他创办的百度则让世界又一次震惊。8月5日，号称全球最大中文搜索引擎公司的百度在纳斯达克上市，首日挂牌股价高达120美元，以破天荒的高达354%的涨幅创造了美国股市213年以来外国公司首日涨幅的最高纪录。在接受《华尔街日报》采访时，李彦宏说，“当今纳斯达克最热的两个名词，一是'中国'，二是'搜索'，百度凑巧都搭上了边。” 他说这段话的时候轻描淡写，背后却好像有一个历史的巨轮隆隆地飞滚过来。耶鲁大学经济学家教授陈志武甚至认为，“在对科技进步的激发作用上，我认为'神舟六号'的作用还不如百度上市来得大。”“神舟六号”是中国第一艘执行“多人多天”任务的载人飞船，与2005年10月12日成功发射。“神六升天”是当年度最重大的中国新闻之一。他在接受《南风窗》记者采访时说，“这几年，很多中国IT公司到纳斯达克上市，就是利用全球化的机会，把许多年轻人的创造力在短期内变成了财富。百度上市，李彦宏一夜之间成了拥有9亿美元的富翁。不仅如此，百度员工中身家达到1亿美元的有7个，1000万美元的有100多个，而这些人中，很多都是三四年前菜大学毕业的年轻人。媒体对这些事情的广泛报道，会激发很多年轻人对科技的兴趣，让他们每个人都意识到通过创新自己也可以是下一个李彦宏，创建下一个百度。互联网和资本市场对实现财富速度的加快，其能力真是令人激动。”这年，在纳斯达克上市的重要公司还有中国最大的户外视频广告运营商分众传媒，7月13日，上市市值为6.8亿美元，创始人江南春的身家为2.72亿美元。由于占据中国楼宇视频广告市场98%的份额，分众传媒被华尔街看好，到2007年11月，市值46亿美元。 如同所有进入青春狂飙期的产业一样，与热情激越相伴随的往往是百无禁忌的野性，特别是狂热资本的炙烧下，种种没有道德底线的行为开始侵蚀互联网经济的单纯性，这样的景象其实在当年的保健品、家电等行业中都一一上演过。在某种意义上，创业家的草莽色彩一致贯穿整个30年。在这一年，流氓软件和血腥暴力的网络游戏成了公害。 一个叫连岳的专栏作家讲述了一个故事：我有个朋友装了某地中国电信的ADSL，奇妙的事情就发生了，每当他往浏览器的地址栏输入Google的地址时，就会跳出两个网页，上有两点“温馨提示”，一是声称此网站部存在，二是断定“你可能是要找3721”。3721是一家网络搜索引擎公司，创办人是周鸿祎研制出一种软件插件，它随时可能在电脑中弹出，让电脑用户无比烦恼。连岳写道，“在网络时代声称Google不存在，就像说太阳只是虚构的，需要多么大的撒谎勇气。” 9月10日，第五届“西湖论剑”在杭州举办。论坛期间，一位愤怒的中年妇女突然站起来，控诉暴力、血腥的网络游戏让他的儿子沉迷其中、不能自拔。他指着台上的丁磊说，“要是我在外面见到你，我非杀了你。我儿子就是玩网络游戏上瘾了。”丁磊喃喃地问他儿子玩的是什么游戏，妇人说，“是。”满面通红的丁磊忙说：“那是陈天桥的东西。” 发生在2005年的所有经济事件和公司新闻，都像硬币的两面一样，互相依存而对立矛盾，彼此的坚硬和光泽正映衬出世事的荒诞。关于“荒诞”，美国荒诞新闻学的教父亨利·汤普森有一段名言，“我们很难看清楚历史，因为那都是一些过期的垃圾，但是即使不了解历史，我们绝对有理由相信，一个时代的能量会在一阵耀眼的闪光之后趋于成熟，为何如此，当时没有人了解，事后回顾，也没有办法解释清楚。”汤普森于2005年2月20日在家中饮弹自尽。 开始于2004年春天的宏观调控，再一次将中国经济增长和制度变革的深层矛盾以最激烈和戏剧性的方式呈现出来。在3月初的全国两会上，经济学家、全国政协委员吴敬琏谈及，“中国变革已进入'深水区'，每前进一步都会触及一些人和一些部门的既得利益，遭到现有利益格局的反对，因而必然遇到阻力，延缓改革的进展。”他的发言引起共鸣。在很多人听来，“深水区”的比喻有多层含义，它既指改革向更为艰难而未知的深处推进，也意味着利益冲突的复杂性与多元化——有人甚至改用法国大革命时期罗兰夫人的那句名言感叹，“改革，改革，多少利益假汝之名以行之。”此外，“深水区”的比喻也表明我们正在进入一个纵深广阔、十分陌生的商业时代。 对于很多中国人来说，过去已经是另一个国家。即使在海外的观察家看来，中国变革的丰富性也让人难以给出一个确定的评价。英国《金融时报》的首席评论员马丁·沃尔夫在一篇评论中写道，“也许今天我们每一个人所议论的中国，都是另一个国家。”6月27日出版的美国《时代周刊》在过去80年里第六次以已故的中国政治家毛泽东主席为封面，毛的服装上耐人寻味地印上了著名服装品牌LV的标识，周刊的主文标题是《静静的革命》（The Quiet Revolution）跟过去很多年来的观察文章一样，它再一次宣称物质化的时代已经降临中国。 11月11日，在美国旧金山附近的小城克莱蒙特，当世界最伟大的管理学大师彼得·德鲁克在酣睡中悄然去世，终年95岁。此刻，与他同时代的那些伟大思想家正聚集在天堂的门口一起等待这位最后的迟到者，马尔库塞已经等了26年，萨特等了25年，福柯等了20年，连长寿的卡尔·波普和哈耶克也分别等了10年和13年，至此，二战之后出现的思想巨人都已成为历史。在过去的10年里，这位以“旁观者”自居的管理学家与通用电气的前CEO杰克·韦尔奇是最受中国企业家追捧的商业智慧人物，人们从他那里学到了创新、科学管理、知识工人等新名词，但是大家到底听懂了多少他讲的话确实另一回事。他的去世让商业界的观察家们很是沮丧了一阵，“德鲁克死了，接下来轮到谁来提我们思考管理？”德鲁克在晚年开始关注遥远的、他从未曾到达过的中国。在去世前的一个月，他还写下了“欢迎加入彼得·德鲁克研究会西安企业家联谊会”的祝词，那时，他的身体已经极度衰弱，每天昏睡超过18个小时。 客观地说，没有一个人的去世会让世界停止哪怕一秒的进步。就在人们为德鲁克悲伤的时候，新闻记者出身的《纽约时报》专栏作家托马斯·弗里德曼适时地转移了话题，他在这一年出版了一书。它迅速成为全美最畅销的商业图书，微软的比尔·盖茨十分罕见地成为该书的忠实拥泵，他认定这是所有决策者和企业员工的一本必读书。弗里德曼的观点和简单：柏林墙的倒塌、互联网的崛起和开放源代码运动共同创建了一个“平坦”的全球政治、经济和文化景观，使过去与权力和财富中心无缘的人得以直接参与赚钱和制造舆论的活动——只要他们有能耐、有胆识、有宽带连接就行。很显然，这种无比乐观的“全球化宣言”让人心生愉悦，面对这样的判断，美国人与中国人会读出不同的感受，前者觉得自己将征服这个“平的世界”，后者则信心十足地认为自己将从边缘迈向“已经被辗平的世界的中心”。