The American Chamber of Commerce in China represents more than 2,000 American enterprises in China. Jimoman, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, said that the enterprises affiliated to the Chamber of Commerce have donated 457 million yuan, and the number of donations is increasing every day. American companies also provide services and donations in kind, such as food, medical equipment, drinking water, tents and logistics services.
The U.S. military sent donated materials to China Township.
Zimmermann said that American companies involved in the donation covered a wide range of industries, from machinery manufacturing, computers and automobiles to sportswear, restaurants and tobacco.
"For example, Caterpillar, Ford Motor Company, McDonald's, Philip Morris and other companies that have deep contacts with China. They live and work here and make China their home. For American companies, giving back to society is very important. "
In addition to AmCham China, AmCham Shanghai with 3,700 members and AmCham South China with 1200 members also donated 368 million yuan and 300 million yuan respectively. In other words, the total donations of the three American chambers of commerce have exceeded 1 1 billion yuan.
Zimmermann said that the American Chamber of Commerce in China published more than 80 multinational companies participating in the donation on its website. But there are also a large number of American companies that are unwilling to publish their names.
According to the list of donated enterprises published by Southern Weekend last week, among the top 54 joint ventures or foreign-funded enterprises, American companies accounted for 24. Companies that donate more than 20 million yuan include International Business Appliances, Intel, General Electric, Amway, Caterpillar, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola. Other foreign companies mainly come from Japan, Finland, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
McDonald's, a popular American fast food restaurant in China, provided all kinds of help from the beginning. Howard, a spokesman for McDonald's in China, said that so far, China District has donated12 million RMB. Among them,10 million yuan was used for school reconstruction in the disaster area,1500,000 yuan was donated to China Red Cross, and 500,000 yuan was used for catering services. In addition, employees of McDonald's China District also donated 700,000 RMB. "
Howard said that McDonald's has provided much-needed food and drinks to the front line in many crises, and this time is no exception. She said: "Our support for the disaster area began with the distribution of food and drinks. We provided about 34,000 food to survivors, rescuers, police, soldiers and medical workers. "
McDonald's sent fried chicken nuggets, pineapple cake, drinks and bottled water to Mianyang Gymnasium and Deyang Hospital where the victims were resettled, and provided food for people who volunteered to donate blood. On the occasion of Children's Day, McDonald's also sent holiday gifts to children living in the "tent city" in the disaster area.
According to Howard, after the earthquake, McDonald's branch in Sichuan was closed for only a short time, and then it resumed business soon. Some volunteers and employees continue to work, even though their homes were destroyed in the earthquake.
Ford's donation is practical. Xu Guozhen, vice president of the company in China, said that as of May 30th, Ford and its China partners had donated 7 million yuan in cash and in kind.
Xu Guozhen said: "The ambulance donated by Ford was sent to several counties in the disaster area last week for disaster relief. These counties are familiar to everyone, including Mianyang, Deyang and Jiuzhaigou. "
* The iron cock list of foreign companies has no factual basis *
Although the government of China thanked foreign companies for their donations, shortly after the earthquake, articles appeared on the Internet in China criticizing foreign companies for only making money in China, and some websites even published the "Iron Rooster List of Foreign Companies".
At the press conference held by the State Council Office, Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce of China, tried to clear the name of foreign-funded enterprises. He said that the so-called statement that multinational companies are penniless is "completely unfounded." The Ministry of Commerce published on its website the list and amount of donations made by foreign companies in China to the earthquake-stricken areas.
The official media also published articles explaining the difference between foreign donation system and China. The article in the Global Times said that the United States has always been a society that advocates charitable donations, and more donations in the United States actually come from non-governmental charitable organizations. The article said that the US government initially donated 500,000 US dollars to the disaster area, and the total donations from all walks of life in the United States have exceeded 23 million US dollars.
According to the press release issued by the US Embassy in China, on the afternoon of May 28th, a plane carrying 153 large tents donated by the US Defense Logistics Agency to Sichuan people arrived in Chengdu. Including freight, the total value of this batch of relief materials is $900 thousand. So far, the US government's earthquake relief assistance to China has reached US$ 3.985 million.
According to Xinhua News Agency, China's State Sports General Administration revealed on May 3 1 day that the US Olympic Committee donated 1000 disaster relief tents worth 270,000 US dollars to the earthquake-stricken areas.