The American Chamber of Commerce in China represents more than 2,000 U.S. companies in China. AmCham Chairman Gilmoreman said the chamber's companies have donated 457 million yuan, with the number of donations increasing daily. U.S. companies have also provided services and in-kind donations, such as food, medical equipment, drinking water, tents and logistical services.
U.S. troops loaded and shipped donated supplies to the Chinese township
Gimmerman said the U.S. companies involved in the donations ranged across a wide range of industries, from machinery manufacturing, computers and automobiles, to sportswear, restaurants and tobacco.
Gimmerman said, "For example, Caterpillar, Ford, McDonald's, Philip. Morris and other companies that are very involved with China. They live and work here and consider China their home. It's very important for American companies to give back to the community."
In addition to AmCham China, AmCham Shanghai, which has 3700 members, and AmCham South China, which has 1200 members, also donated 368 million yuan and 300 million yuan, respectively. In other words, the three AmChams' donations have totaled more than 1.1 billion yuan.
Gimmerman said AmCham China has posted on its Web site more than eighty multinational companies that have participated in the donations. But there is also a large group of U.S. companies that do not want their names published.
According to a list of donors published last week by Southern Weekend, U.S. companies accounted for 24 of the top 54 joint ventures or foreign companies that made donations. Companies that contributed more than 20 million yuan included International Business Appliances, Intel, General Electric, Amway, Caterpillar, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola. Other foreign companies came mainly from Japan, Finland, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Britain.
McDonald's, a popular U.S. fast-food restaurant in China, has offered multifaceted assistance from the start. So far, McDonald's China has donated 12 million yuan, said Howard, a spokesman for the company. Of this amount, 10 million yuan has been used for the reconstruction of schools in the disaster area, 1.5 million yuan has been donated to the Red Cross Society of China, and 500,000 yuan has been used for food service. In addition, McDonald's China employees have donated seven hundred thousand yuan."
Howard said McDonald's has supplied much-needed food and beverages to the front in many times of crisis, and this is no exception. She said, "Our support for the affected areas initially started with the distribution of food and drinks. We provided about 34,000 servings of food to survivors, rescuers, police, military and medical workers."
McDonald's delivered fried chicken nuggets, pineapple pancakes, beverages and bottled water to the Mianyang Gymnasium and Deyang Hospital, where victims were housed, and provided food to people who volunteered to donate blood. McDonald's also sent holiday gifts to children living in "tent cities" in the disaster area on June 1, Children's Day.
According to Howard, McDonald's locations throughout Sichuan were closed for only a short time after the earthquake and quickly resumed business. Some volunteers and employees, despite having their own homes destroyed in the quake, kept working.
Ford's donation was very practical. As of May 30, Ford and its Chinese partners*** had donated 7 million yuan in cash and in kind, said Xu Guozhen, the company's vice president for China.
The ambulances donated by Ford were sent to several counties in the disaster area last week so they could be used for disaster relief," said Xu. These counties are more familiar to everyone, including Mianyang, Deyang, Jiuzhaigou and these areas."
*Foreign companies' iron chicken list has no basis in fact*
Despite the Chinese government's gratitude for the donations from foreign companies, articles criticizing foreign companies for making money in China instead of donating it appeared on the Internet shortly after the quake struck, with some websites even publishing a "foreign companies' iron chicken list".
At a news conference held by the State Council's New Affairs Office, China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming tried to do justice to foreign companies. He said the claim that so-called multinationals are a dime a dozen is "completely without factual basis." The Ministry of Commerce posted on its own Web site a list of foreign companies based in China that have donated money to the quake-stricken areas and figures on the donations.
Official media also published articles explaining to the public the differences between the foreign donation system and that of China. The article in the Global Times said that the United States has always been a society that holds charitable donations in considerable esteem, and that more donations in the United States actually come from private charitable organizations. The article said that the U.S. government initially donated half a million dollars to the disaster area, while the total amount of donations from all sectors in the U.S. has exceeded 23 million dollars.
An aircraft carrying one hundred and fifty-three large tents donated to the Sichuan people by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency arrived in Chengdu on the afternoon of May 28, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The total value of the relief supplies, including shipping costs, is nine hundred thousand dollars. The U.S. government's earthquake relief assistance to China now totals 3,985,000 U.S. dollars.
Also according to Xinhua, China's State General Administration of Sport revealed on May 31 that the US Olympic Committee donated 1,000 relief tents worth US$270,000 to the earthquake victims.