Mulally Praises Chinese Political System

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

China has become an area of tremendous potential for companies as the nominally communist country has embraced capitalism. The hybrid result, according to Ford CEO Alan Mulally, is in some ways an improvement on what’s been a pretty sluggish and inefficient democratic process elsewhere in the world.


In a Q&A with Keith Naughton and Craig Trudell for Bloomberg Businessweek’s interview issue, Mulally is effusive in his praise for the party and the government in China, where Ford’s sales are up massively.

Asked if they’re easier to work with than democracies, Mulally replied

“They are a pleasure to work with. You’re welcomed, you’re part of the fabric. ‘What can we do to help? What can we do to work together?’ There’s nothing like it in the world.”

“It’s fantastic. The working relationship between the party and the government is tight. They both have the same objective, to grow the economy.”

The obvious contrast is with Ford’s home in the United States, where some feel that politics and the government frequently serve as an impediment, rather than an economic booster, especially from the viewpoint of commerce.

The tenor of his answers might be colored by his need to maintain good relations with China’s ruling elite.

Mulally’s relationship with the country goes back a long way. In the interview, he describes taking a lead role in China in the ’70s and ’80s during his time at Boeing. The country became a key part of his strategy at Ford from the beginning, and the business has been increasingly successful.

Other companies haven’t had as positive an experience. KFC saw sales plummet massively after a government investigation into its supply chain, while British drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline is embroiled in a bribery controversy and investigation

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  • GoCougs GoCougs on Aug 10, 2013

    Mullaly is an idiot.

  • Chicago Dude Chicago Dude on Aug 10, 2013

    "The obvious contrast is with Ford’s home in the United States, where some feel..." Alan Mulally? Or other people? I thought the new TTAC was above this amateur garbage. As far as has been written here, Mulally has done nothing more than praise a specific group of people that he and his colleagues have been interacting with, not a system of government and you have offered no proof that he feels our own system of government is inferior, despite the clear implication of just such a thing.

  • Jkross22 When I think about products that I buy that are of the highest quality or are of great value, I have no idea if they are made as a whole or in parts by unionized employees. As a customer, that's really all I care about. When I think about services I receive from unionized and non-unionized employees, it varies from C- to F levels of service. Will unionizing make the cars better or worse?
  • Namesakeone I think it's the age old conundrum: Every company (or industry) wants every other one to pay its workers well; well-paid workers make great customers. But nobody wants to pay their own workers well; that would eat into profits. So instead of what Henry Ford (the first) did over a century ago, we will have a lot of companies copying Nike in the 1980s: third-world employees (with a few highly-paid celebrity athlete endorsers) selling overpriced products to upper-middle-class Americans (with a few urban street youths willing to literally kill for that product), until there are no more upper-middle-class Americans left.
  • ToolGuy I was challenged by Tim's incisive opinion, but thankfully Jeff's multiple vanilla truisms have set me straight. Or something. 😉
  • ChristianWimmer The body kit modifications ruined it for me.
  • ToolGuy "I have my stance -- I won't prejudice the commentariat by sharing it."• Like Tim, I have my opinion and it is perfect and above reproach (as long as I keep it to myself). I would hate to share it with the world and risk having someone critique it. LOL.
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