BBC Newsnight and CFMCC Corporate Culture

Source: CFMCC Li Haibo

We are really impressed by looking at so many original works, said BBC Newsnight producing group on February 21st after waching those engraving works done by CFMCC (China First Metallurgical Construction Corporation) employees.
The three correspondents of the BBC Newsnight group have come to China to make a documentary on China’s 30 years of experience of reform and opening up. The group was about to shoot in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Wuhan and Shenzhen. CFMCC’s engraving works and corporate culture are important part of the documentary, which is to be aired during the BBC “China Month” in March.
Being the first Chinese large enterprise to encourage artistic engraving among workers CFMCC had seen some of its workers active in the area as early as the end of 1950s. These have been pursuing their artistic ideal by lining their perspective with the front line of construction projects. Their engraving works reflect evolving themes of the metallurgical industry at different times. They have won the favor of the employees as well as recognision of domestic and overseas engraving experts and scholars. They are praised as a splendid flower among Chinese mass arts.
CFMCC engraving works have won many national, provincial and city-level awards and some of the works have been exhibited in Japan, Germany, USA, Italy, Algeria and Hong Kong, Taiwan regions. According to a Janpanese critic, CFMCC engravings have demonstrated Chinese workers’ wisdom and creativity and added to the glory of artistic creation by international working people. A German artist said after admiring the works: “(They) have the vigor, the rugged and bold characteristics of modern industrial construction. It is only in MCC that workers are the creator of material wealth as well as spiritual wealth”.
The same was felt by BBC Newsnight producing group as well after visiting the CFMCC gallery. Through the engraving arts at different times they have seen the footprints of China’s 30 years of reform and opening up and CFMCC’s 50 years of participation in building of the country. It was these that have attracted their interests. The producing group exchanged opinions with the authors, interviewed Song Enhou and Xiao Rifu of the older generation of authors and shot footage of some award-winning works. It took them one hour more than they had scheduled to do all the interviews and shooting.
It happened to be the traditional Lanterns Festival of China the day BBC Newsnight was shooting at CFMCC. The workers were celebrating the occasion and greeting the Olympics with lion dance, lantern riddles and runing contest. The foreign guests were also shown an English documentary on CFMCC.
The producing group worked until 7 o’clock in the evening. When interviewed by CFMCC TV station, team leader Paul Mason said of CFMCC that as a large state-owned enterprise it is in the process of modernization. I am very interested in the operation, the modern enterprise system of the company. Also I am pleased to see its corporate culture and how modernized it is. This company is completely international in its structure. The CFMCC steel structure company we saw is also very international and has the international standards. Many foreign experts are working there. This company shares more and more features of a global enterprise.