US retail giant Wal-Mart is investing US$1 million to establish China's first retail research center at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University. Lee Scott, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., attended the ceremony held on the campus on Tuesday.

The event came just a few days after the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) threatened to blacklist or sue Wal-Mart for refusing to allow employees to unionize.

Some commentators see the move as the company's attempt to bolster its image as a good corporate citizen.

At the Tsinghua event, Scott declined to answer repeated questions from reporters concerning the trade union issue, according to the Beijing News.

Last week, ACFTU officials named several foreign companies that are reluctant to allow employees to establish trade unions at their China facilities. Wal-Mart, Dell, Kodak, Samsung and some KFC and McDonald's outlets were among those listed.

Wal-Mart employs about 19,000 people in China.

People's Daily reported on October 27 that when the head of the ACFTU visited Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters in Shenzhen to discuss the issue of unionization, he was told that Wal-Mart discouraged the establishment of trade unions in all of its global operations.

Shanghai Municipality refused to grant Wal-Mart permission to operate when the company refused to allow unionization, according to People's Daily.

Wal-Mart is continuing to expand its China operations, however. On Monday it opened its 40th outlet in the country, and Bloomberg News reports that it plans to open as many as 15 new stores in 2005, focusing on smaller provincial cities.

China will lift major restrictions on foreign retailers from December 11 this year, opening the doors for expansion.

In addition to retail outlets, more than 80 percent of Wal-Mart's products sold in the US are manufactured by contractors or subcontractors in China. The company estimates it spent US$15 billion on Chinese-made products last year, accounting for nearly one-eighth of all Chinese exports to the US.

The company has frequently come under fire overseas for sourcing its products from factories where workers are paid less than minimum wage, required to work excessively long hours, and which may employ underage workers or fail to meet basic safety standards.

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2004)