Going back, for a moment, to my 4 August 2024 post here on the Off Topic Forum one of the last things in that post was my note that:  "Chinese Communist Party Demands Employees At Western Firm Show Their Support (forbes.com)

"OK, you have just a smattering of articles that cast at least a small shadow on the business of doing business with China.  If you are still mesmerized by the prospect of dating a company focused on "Turning a Chinese Brand into a European company" then you have not made it this far into my post.  I can only hope that Suresh gives more than lip service to his previous pronouncement that would essentially put in practice a China + 2 or more business practice.
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Moving on to the present, I should first say that recent efforts by POET to increase its presence in Singapore seem consistent with Suresh's verbal commitment to a China + 1 strategy, but I think it is important to remember why China +1 or China + 2, or more. is a guide for how POET should look to the future. 

The Forbes article I originally provided the link to on my 4 August post is still a good glimpse as to why China + Any Number Other Than ZERO is an important strategy for not only POET but also for any Western company to pursue.  Below is a quote and a reference 4 September article link that extrapolates on the concept of pursuing China + Any Number Other Than Zero:

"Last week, two senior US lawmakers asked the Pentagon to add Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, (CATL) to a list of companies that cannot receive US military contracts, because of its alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The company defended itself, claiming CATL "is not controlled by the Chinese government." But across the private sector in China, the distinction between the state and private firms has become blurred over the past decade. Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has methodically pursued a policy of expanded control and oversight of the private sector. Today, the party has a much greater ability to monitor and influence the decision-making of private Chinese firms. Such influence has profound implications for the United States and other Western governments seeking to recalibrate their economic relationship with Beijing."

"The government and party use several approaches to secure this control and oversight of the business community. CCP cells have expanded greatly inside company headquarters. Changes in corporate governance as well as party officials placed into the corporate hierarchy have elevated the party’s role in business decisions. Government subsidies and contracts increase the private sector’s dependency on Beijing. And joint ventures and mixed-ownership investments tie private firms to state-owned enterprises. CATL exemplifies all these approaches toward the growing fusion of state and private enterprises.

Although People’s Republic of China government officials dismiss accusations of party control over the private sector, the policy shift has long been recognized by some in China’s business community. Speaking in 2018, Wang Xiaochuan, chief executive of Tencent subsidiary Sogou, spoke about the implications of this policy shift for China’s private entrepreneurs:

We’re entering an era in which we’ll be fused together. It might be that there will be a request to establish a party committee within your company, or that you should let state investors take a stake, you know, as a form of mixed ownership. If you think clearly about this…you can receive massive support. But if it’s your nature to go your own way, to think that your interests differ from what the state is advocating, then you’ll probably find that things are painful, more painful than in the past."

I highlighted and boldfaced what I thought was one of the most important sentences in the above quote.  The distinction in China under Xi Jinping has gradually become "blurred" regarding SOE companies (State Owned Enterprise) vs Private companies.

The next section of the above article is titled:  The Party's Relationship With Business Under Xi Jinping.  For anyone interested in that section please go to the following link:

Chinese Communist Party Moves Inside China’s Private Sector | CNA

See the full article for a more detailed analysis of the distinction vs non distinction in China between SOE and non SOE.  The two are no longer so "distinct" and it appears that the concept of SOE vs non SOE is more rapidly merging into one entity instead of two.

Just something to keep in mind about why we need to "broaden our horizon" beyond the Middle Kingdom to include countries where the CCP, the Politburo and the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party do not pull the strings, either behind the curtain or in front of the curtain.

Just My Opinion

Old Chinese Axion:  Sometimes it is better to assume that the flame will burn your finger rather than questioning that warning and sustaining charing of your whole arm in the flames. 

China + Any Number Other Than ZERO!

Okiedo