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R 130733Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 011568 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB, R, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL 
STATE PASS USTR 
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, CELICO, DAS LEVINE 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD EINV KPAO ELAB CH
SUBJECT:  Short March: Innovation and IPR in Huizhou -- TCL 
Communications and Huizhou University 
 
 
(U)  This document is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
protect accordingly.  Not for release outside U.S. 
Government channels.  Not for internet publication. 
 
REF: A) Guangzhou 11352 and previous, B) 05 Guangzhou 20435 
(notal) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: TCL Communications -- part of embattled 
color television and cell phone giant TCL and one of the 
largest domestic manufacturers of fixed line phone 
equipment in China -- is itself struggling to find some 
greater room in a highly competitive environment for a 
relatively low technology commodity, but it is nevertheless 
embarking on further R&D to expand and improve its product 
line and taking some steps to protect its intellectual 
property rights as well.  Afterwards, Huizhou University 
students demonstrated their good understanding of the 
importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) in 
establishing an innovative culture in China.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In Huizhou, our way station rest stop on the way 
back to Guangzhou from our "short march" to eastern 
Guangdong (ref A), we arranged to meet with executives of 
color television and cell phone giant TCL -- Huizhou's 
largest enterprise and, after merging its color TV 
operations with those of France's Thomson, the largest 
manufacturer of cathode ray tube sets in the world.  We had 
previously visited TCL, but senior executives had almost 
been "too busy" -- perhaps because the company's fortunes 
have not been particularly rosy (ref B).  But this time, at 
the intercession of municipal authorities, TCL made 
available Yuan Yuncheng, Chief Operating Officer of TCL 
Corporation.  We had also hoped that the meeting would have 
been directed at TCL's color television or cell phone 
operations, but instead the meeting was at TCL 
Communication Equipment, even though the CEO of that branch 
company, Gu Gong, also received us. 
 
TCL Communication 
----------------- 
¶3.  (SBU) Gu said that TCL Communication builds phone 
equipment, cell phones, and networking equipment, both 
wired and wireless, and the company is the largest 
manufacturer of conventional, fixed line phones in China. 
This was the original product of the parent corporation, 
TCL, and was the basis for TCL's initial rise as a whole. 
Although TCL Communications' primary market is China, 
Europe is their main export market.  The company is also 
increasing its presence in Southeast Asia and India. 
 
From Traditional To the Newfangled 
----------------------------------- 
¶4.  (SBU) Gu noted that despite its dominant domestic 
market share, TCL Communications is in a tough competitive 
environment because its products have largely been 
commoditized.  To meet the challenge of that environment, 
the company has recently broadened the types of products it 
manufactures, including VOIP phones, ADSL and WLAN 
equipment, and a fixed line CDMA-compatible phone.  The 
company is shifting its focus on developing the broadband 
and wireless markets and moving away from the cutthroat low 
margin industry of conventional phones, of which 85% are 
built in China. 
 
IPR Even For Commodities 
------------------------ 
¶5.  (SBU) Knowing that a focus of the Consulate during the 
"short march" was on IPR, Gu noted that the company has had 
problems with inferior copies of their phones being sold at 
lower prices by counterfeiters.  TCL Communication now 
employs an IPR department and a law firm to enforce its 
IPR.  Parent company COO Yuan added that IPR problems for 
TCL were not limited to the fixed line phone company 
division alone but extended to the company as a whole, and 
TCL aggressively pursues the protection of its interests. 
(Huizhou Science and Technology Bureau Deputy Director and 
IP Office Director Chen Tian, who accompanied us to TCL and 
who participated in a separate meeting with Huizhou 
Secretary General Ye Zexiong, told us that because Huizhou 
 
SIPDIS 
 
GUANGZHOU 00011568  002 OF 003 
 
 
is the home base to many major Chinese and foreign-invested 
consumer electronics firms, the city and its business 
associations were very active in brand protection and 
seeking to root out counterfeiters, including those from 
other areas in China.) 
 
TCL Needs to Innovate 
--------------------- 
¶6.  (SBU) COO Yuan turned the conversation to the need for 
TCL as a whole to continue improving its products in order 
to compete in a very challenging market place.  In that 
respect, it has enhanced its research facilities in Chengdu 
and Xi'an due to the high quality engineering universities 
located in those cities.  TCL's engineers and researchers 
are predominantly Chinese and fairly young (under 30 years 
old), most going directly to TCL after graduation.  There 
are few engineers and researchers with previous work 
experience, especially work experience in foreign companies 
or overseas.  Yuan introduced Liu Bingyun, a Vice General 
Engineer of the parent company and the General Manager of 
the R&D Center for TCL Communications, as typical of the 
quality staff that the company has hired to spur further 
innovation. 
 
Envisioning the Future 
---------------------- 
¶7.  (SBU) In response to a question about whether TCL, like 
some U.S. high technology firms, has "skunk works" or 
"brainstorming mosh pits" to come up with new ideas or 
products, Yuan said that the TCL company encouraged a lot 
of interaction between the R&D centers and the production 
and marketing offices.  Asked about a TCL vision of the 
future of consumer electronics, Yuan said he envisioned one 
in which consumers who traveled frequently would seek a 
small, single multi-functional device incorporating phone, 
messaging, e-mail, web-browsing, photography, and audio 
video but at the same time, homes would feature much larger 
standalone devices -- personal computer, phones, cameras, 
televisions, and/or home entertainment systems.  Yuan 
expressed confidence that TCL would play a role in 
manufacturing products for such markets. 
 
Comment on TCL 
-------------- 
¶8.  (SBU) In Guangzhou's "Tele Tale Harts" message (ref B), 
we assessed the prospects for three south China consumer 
electronics companies adopting different strategies for 
success -- TCL as a Samsung wannabe competitive across all 
product categories, XOCECO wanting to be a mini-Sharp 
focused solely on high-end products such as flat panel 
televisions, and upstart Amoi focused on being, well, 
upstart and full of buzz in its products.  Of the three, 
TCL, with its bumpy joint ventures with Thomson (in the 
increasingly obsolescent production of cathode ray tube 
(CRT) color televisions) and Alcatel (in cell phones and 
other telecoms products), has been the big fizzler, losing 
RMB 692 million (US$ 86.5 million) in 2005 compared to a 
RMB 373 million (US$ 46.2 million) net profit in 2004. 
Still, the company is still scrappy and enjoys a lot of 
support from both Huizhou and provincial authorities. 
Unfortunately, such support doesn't translate directly into 
product sales, especially since TCL faces huge competition 
in every one of its product categories. 
 
Huizhou University Students 
--------------------------- 
¶9.  (SBU) At Huizhou University, an audience of 250 
students enthusiastically commented on Congenoffs 
presentations on IPR and American innovation culture.  They 
clearly drew the connection between the notion that IPR 
violations constituted theft and could have far reaching 
safety and other consequences, although there continued to 
be arguments that watching illegal DVDs was all right in 
the absence of genuine products or that China needed an 
opportunity to catch up in IP before a more effective 
enforcement regime could be put into place.  On innovation, 
audience members clearly understood that the successful 
American experience was one of incredible dynamism (in 
being able, for example, to discard outmoded ways of doing 
 
GUANGZHOU 00011568  003 OF 003 
 
 
things without hindrance by entrenched interests 
potentially hurt by rapid change) and diversity and 
openness -- with many students wishing that China could 
follow a similar path. 
 
Looking Ahead to the "Long March" 
--------------------------------- 
¶10.  (SBU) This is last of Consulate Guangzhou's "short 
march" messages, and soon we will be transmitting our 
series on cities visited during our "long march" into the 
Hakka and Minnan "heartlands" in northeastern Guangdong and 
southwestern Fujian Provinces. 
 
Dong