about cmc - Chinese marketing & communications

Who We Are  and What we believe

Chinese Marketing and Communications, CMC, Chinese Made Clear. Communicate clearly, interpret the wider environment first, then get down to brass tacks. It’s the Chinese natural order, and key to successful collaboration with Chinese partners in whatever field.

Chinese Marketing and Communications now the third oldest workers co-operative in Manchester was originally formed as an outgrowth of a community-based welfare, interpreting and publishing project in Chinatown founded in 1984.

Since then, CMC has become one of the UK’s foremost specialists in Chinese language communications, responsible for a number of groundbreaking media initiatives.

Publishing (1984 – 2007)

SiYu- Chinese Times - known once as “Silk Words”, SiYu was the first general interest magazine for Chinese people living in the UK. Published by CMC between 1984 and 1997, it grew from a small regional bulletin to a nationally distributed, bilingual monthly magazine with a readership of over 25,000.

Chinese Business Impact - CBI was the first UK-based magazine devoted solely to coverage of Chinese business, Sino-British trade and investment and economic ties between China and the UK. Published bilingually, CBI sought to bring together British and Chinese business in a shared community of interest.

YingZhong Weilai - UK-China Future, launched in 1997 this was the first Chinese language magazine designed to consolidate official British initiatives in China. Nationally distributed. CMC came up with the concept, name, design and much of the editorial. It was so successful, it was taken over by the China British Business Council.

English Café - Launched in 1998 by the China Daily group, English Café was the first publishing joint venture between a UK SME and a state-owned Chinese publishing house. It continues to reach an audience of over five million readers every month. For more details, see here.

All of which adds up to a deal of experience which a number of major European clients have utilised to find their publishing feet in China.

Media Networks

Similarly, CMC maintains strong working relationships with major Chinese broadcast and web media, including China Central Television, Beijing TV, Phoenix CNE, Sina, Sohu, Tom and Netease. Whether supporting the clients or the campaigns we care about, we find and engage with the producers, editors and journalists on grounds of mutual interest and concern. Sometimes we make money; always we make friends. After all, we do want to influence people.

What for?

For the sake of a habitable environment, bilateral understanding, peace - never forgetting our clients without whom we don’t exist.

CMC has initiated a number of conferences and highly focussed study tours on key areas of shared environmental concern. These include Urban Transport and the Environment with University College London and the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu and Chongqing; and Sowing the Seeds, an initiative to stimulate exchange with the State Environmental Protection Administration for China and the Environment Agency in the North West of England.

Since the early days of China’s reform and opening up process saw many local authorities form twinning arrangements with cities and provinces in the PRC. And these in turn helped pave the way for the great expansion in civic and commercial contacts that has happened since then. CMC was instrumental in bringing a number of local authorities together including Manchester and Wuhan, Chorley and Lanzhou, Salford and Chengdu, Halton and Tongling, and Oldham and Xishan.

Together with the Cultural Office of the Chinese Embassy we came up with the China and Britain New Era Campaign. We support the work of the British Association of Chinese Studies, and value equally our rapport with the Chinese Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and All Party Parliamentary Group on China. We play an active role in the 48 Group Club too.

In addition, CMC has provided interpreting, translation, language training and consulting services for companies of all sizes, government and NGOs.

CMC’s aim throughout has been to facilitate understanding with China through informed thinking and improved communication. If we don’t know the immediate answer to a strategic or practical problem, like as not we’ll know someone who does. However you need to talk to China, you can always talk to us first.