China and Globalization in the Amazon Workers, Expatriates, and the Chinese Production Model

List of graphics

List of tables

List of figures

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of abbreviations

1. Introduction: The Chinese globalization and the new silk road in the Amazon

2. From Mao to a New Dawn? Fundamentals of Chinese globalization at home

and abroad

3. A Tropical Silk Road: Capital and genesis of Chinese production model in the Amazon

4. Heavy factories: The Chinese Production Model and its impacts on workers

5. From Iron Rice Bowl to açai bowl: The journey of Chinese expatriates to the Amazon

6. Conclusion: Toward a Global Chinese production model

Works cited

Index

Biography

Cleiton Maciel Brito is Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the Federal University of Grande Dourados. He was born in Manacapuru, a small town in the state of Amazonas. He earned his PhD in Sociology from the Federal University of São Carlos. He received an award for his thesis from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), an agency of the Federal Government of Brazil. He has published several articles and book chapters on globalization, the China-Brazil relationship, and Amazonian studies.

‘The economic growth of China to become the second biggest economy in the world has also meant the globalisation of Chinese investment. Researchers looking at work and employment have studied the influence of Chinese state and private capital in other parts of the world, but little has been written about South America. China and Globalization in the Amazon fills that gap admirably. Brazil as the dominant economy in the region stands out as the leading destination for Chinese investments. This book uses both qualitative and quantitative analysis, and four in-depth case studies, to examine the reality of Chinese work and employment practices in Brazil. The cases show common and divergent practices; perhaps more of the former than latter. The common themes of Chinese expats permeating the entire management and supervisory organization of these companies will be familiar to China researchers. The human resource management system is that of a Chinese enclave, which decides the local affairs on a global basis. But workers use social connections and familial bonds, to circulate around the labour market and apply pressure on this system. The high quality of interview material and analysis makes this a must read for all interested in Global China.’

Chris Smith, Emeritus Professor of Organisation Studies and Comparative Management, Royal Holloway University of London

‘China and Globalization in the Amazon is an essential contribution to unveiling the connections between two critical regions in the world: The Amazon and China. Cleiton Maciel was one of the pioneers in the study of the Chinese presence in the Amazon. In this monograph, the reader will find a good overview of current China labour issues and how the Amazon became the destiny of many Chinese factories. But mainly, the reader will come across rigorous and sophisticated primary research. The author interviewed shop floor and administrative workers, managers, policymakers, and Chinese workers. He immersed himself in the universe of four factories, and the result is an engaging account that provides an in-depth picture of the labour cultures, conflicts, and negotiations. This book is a must-read for everyone interested in issues related to labour, Chinese migration, the Amazon and China as a whole.’

Rosana Pinheiro-Machado, Professor, School of Geography, University College Dublin, Ireland

‘The rapid global expansion of Chinese capital in the last decade has started to reshape global political economy and production regimes. The book, China and Globalization in the Amazon, is among the small but rising literature that attempts to understand the behavior of Chinese multinational corporations and its impact on labor in the global economy. Based on multiple years of ethnographic research in four Chinese manufacturing plants in Manaus, Brazil, the book finds a Chinese model of production that differs from Western models in important aspects particularly the imports of almost all production inputs from China and resultant "matrix Taylorism" in the labor process. Coupled with this Chinese production model is the centralization of human resource functions and heavy use of expatriates for managerial and technical positions. These features of Chinese production and management, however, have resulted in deskilling, loss of voice, inferior pay, and precarity among the Brazilian workers. The rich details of this book greatly contribute to our understanding of Chinese investment in South America, and the findings are of important theoretical and practical implications. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Chinese investment in the global south.’

Mingwei Liu, Associate Professor and Co-Director, Center for Global Work and Employment School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University, USA

‘Professor Cleiton Maciel's research focuses on the dynamics of two crucial aspects of the present Global South: China's entry into Latin America and the tremendous changes it causes in ecosystems such as the Amazon. Through extensive sociological studies, Professor Cleiton Maciel reveals that the Chinese presence in the Brazilian Amazon is not homogenous but rather diversified and distinctive. Researchers, students, and practitioners who are interested in the effects of Beijing's industrialization on the rest of the globe will find this publication extremely useful. One of the most significant things to understand about worldwide changes today is the relationship between the environment and the development of new business models. This book is an excellent resource for studying these topics.’

Fernando Brancoli, Professor of International Relations, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

‘Cleiton Maciel's book deals extensively with the Chinese presence in the Manaus Industrial Park, as part of the context of the last few decades of Chinese companies' evolving globalization. It focuses especially on ethnographic aspects of the Chinese expatriate managers and workers who, in the Amazon, helped to implement this expansion, describing in detail the cultural impacts on both Chinese and Brazilians. I believe this is the most in-depth work that addresses the presence and socioeconomic consequences of Chinese globalization wave in Brazil and, more specifically, in the Amazon region.’

Denis Benchimol Minev, Economist and Director President of Bemol

‘The Chinese presence in Brazil, and in particular in the Amazon, is part of an overall strategy of investment expansion in South America involving geopolitical, economic and industrial interests whose lines are set out in the Belt and Road Initiative project. Cleiton Maciel's book makes a pioneering contribution to the understanding of the Chinese expansion process on a global scale by investigating how Chinese investments were made in the Manaus Industrial Park, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, and how those factories were operated and managed under Chinese control. The research conducted by the author reveals, on one hand, the birth of a Chinese model of production and management based, above all, on the process of expatriation of Chinese to Manaus. On the other hand, the impacts of Chinese factories on local workers. The book highlights both the place and the role of the Amazon in the Chinese globalization process and the adoption of a production and management model that, through expatriation, seeks cost reduction and global control of the Chinese factories scattered throughout the world.’

Izabel Valle, Professor of Sociology, Federal University of Amazonas, Brazil

‘China and Globalization in the Amazon is must read to understand China's economic expansion policy in the world scenario, especially in Brazil and in the Amazon region. Brazil, South America's largest economy, stands out as a major pole of attraction for Chinese investments in the region (around 50%), especially in the sectors such as infrastructure, mining, energy, oil and gas, technology, and direct participation in the Manaus Industrial Park, located in the state of Amazonas, the heart of the Amazon. In this book, Cleiton Maciel, a researcher and well-versed in the reality of the Amazon, his place of origin and life experience, reveals the social impacts of this process. Using a pioneering sociological survey among national workers, expatriate Chinese, and union members, the author analyzes socioeconomic data, investigates changes in production systems, and shows the social, cultural, and economic consequences of the arrival of the Chinese, such as tight control over workers, low wages, centralized decision-making in the Chinese headquarters, and clashes with Brazilian labor laws. A remarkable, engaging book, succinctly and deeply written. Not to be missed!’

José Fernandes de Oliveira, economist and former IT Manager at companies in the Manaus Free Trade Zone

‘Chinese Globalization in the Amazon is an extraordinary work focused on analyzing the Chinese investment process at the Manaus Free Trade Zone. Using a variety of methodological approaches, the book manages to elucidate this process, its logic and dynamics, as well as its implications on Brazilian workers and their relations with labor unions. Addressing issues such as salaries and benefits, working conditions, qualification, forms of organization and work management, as well as, in a prominent form, the role played by expatriate workers, Cleiton ‘Maciel sheds light on a reality that is still virtually unknown. By defending the emergence of "a Chinese model of production, with specific industrial and managerial characteristics" with significant changes on labor, the study reveals the enclave character of these investments; the companies have neither autonomy nor strong relations with the local economy. They rely primarily on Chinese inputs, while their strategy is based on precarious and rigidly managed labor, configuring what the author calls "matrix taylorism". Therefore, the study shows that, like other forms of international capital investment, the Chinese one is based on control and on simplified and poorly paid work, but it does so using its habits, culture, and traditional forms of conceiving the company and work. In other words, "China business" changes the form, but the content remains the same old over-exploitation of labor.’

Marcia Leite, Professor of the Friedrich Engels Chair, División de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, UAM Cuajimalpa, Mexico