FT：Microsoft and Dell make donations to fight China coronavirus outbreak
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Big US companies have pledged millions to support relief efforts for deadly epidemic 6park.com
James Politi in Washington and Richard Waters and Gregory Meyer in San Francisco January 28, 2020  6park.com
Big US companies including Microsoft, Dell and Cargill are making donations to help contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, after Beijing encouraged assistance from corporate America to help it cope with the crisis.  6park.com
Multinationals with operations in the world’s second-biggest economy have pledged around Rmb10m ($1.4m) in cash and items to assist relief efforts during the epidemic, such as face masks and other surgical equipment, according to public statements and people familiar with the matter.  6park.com
Technology group Microsoft said it would offer Rmb1m to help relief efforts in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province, the epicentre of the contagion that has killed more than 100 and infected thousands.  6park.com
Cargill will donate Rmb2m to the Chinese Red Cross to support medical teams and to provide aid to affected communities. The Minnesota-based agribusiness company also said it would supply several hundred thousand face masks to help address a severe shortage in China. Dell, the computer maker, will also donate Rmb2m.  6park.com
Other large consumer goods and healthcare companies have made similar pledges — with the amounts expected to rise. They include PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble in the US, while the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $5m*. Europe’s Bayer, L’Oréal and Michelin have made similar pledges. Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, said on Twitter on Saturday that his company would donate to groups in China participating in relief efforts.  6park.com
    “We should be sympathetic and helpful and recall that no one is invulnerable”
    Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council 6park.com
The funds offered by US businesses are much smaller than the many millions of renminbi pledged by Chinese companies, including Tencent and Alibaba.  6park.com
But they show that even in the wake of the bruising trade war between Washington and Beijing, many US companies remain deeply attached to China where their businesses are largely profitable. The virus threatens their employees, suppliers and China’s economy, some of the donors warned.  6park.com
“We should be sympathetic and helpful and recall that no one is invulnerable,” said Craig Allen, the president of the US-China Business Council in Washington. He added that US companies were “obviously concerned” about the virus, particularly those with ties to Wuhan, a big manufacturing hub. 6park.com
Mr Allen said the Chinese embassy in Washington had contacted the council to discuss possible donations.  6park.com
“Some Chinese companies are indeed looking for quality medical suppliers in the US market so as to ensure sustainable supply to China, in particular Wuhan. Some American companies have also offered help with medical protective supplies. All of these are voluntary actions,” the Chinese embassy in the US said. It added that it had not “asked American companies for any kind of donations, but is providing necessary assistance for the relative companies”. 6park.com
US-China relations have been complicated in recent years by tensions over Beijing’s discriminatory treatment of foreign investors, including intellectual property theft and the forced transfer of technology.  6park.com
But this month, the world’s top two economies called a truce in their economic conflict via a limited trade deal due to take effect in February. 6park.com
Investors and businesses are concerned the virus outbreak could damage the Chinese economy. Any hit to demand could make it harder for China to follow through on its plans to purchase at least $200bn in goods and services from the US in the next two years.  6park.com
“People are trying to plan for the future. If they are not allowed to open their offices or factories for one week it would be one thing — if it is extended beyond that, it becomes more complex,” said Mr Allen. 6park.com
“Right now we don’t know what the status of economic life will be in China immediately following the [lunar new year] holiday,” he added. The Chinese lunar new year holiday has been extended to end on February 2 although some parts of China have increased the break by a further week. 6park.com
Additional reporting by Ryan McMorrow in Beijing 6park.com
*This article has been amended since original publication to note that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donation was $5m.