Senior figures have been reshuffled at a number of multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in China, a move experts say reflects the increasing importance of the Chinese market. Personnel changes affected companies in the retailing, auto making, information technology (IT) and telecommunications industries.

He Manqing, a foreign investment researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Co-operation, a thinktank in China's Ministry of Commerce, said: "These changes indicate that large-sized overseas companies have attached an increasing importance to the Chinese market." But in some companies, she added, the redeployment of senior figures only represented regular staff rotations.

For example, Daniela Riccardi was moved from her position in Europe to become China president of P&G, the US-based fast-moving consumer goods giant. Her predecessor Laurent Philippe has been made president of the company's West European branch.

Motorola, the world's No 2 mobile phone maker, announced in April that Simon Leung had been promoted to president of its Asia-Pacific operations. Although the company insisted the move was only a redeployment, one source said it was aimed at strengthening the company's business in China, the phone manufacturer's largest overseas market. The source said Motorola China Electronic Ltd, one of the largest foreign investors in China, was reconsidering its development in the Chinese market, and installing an official familiar with Chinese culture would increase the company's presence in the country, it was believed.

According to surveys, last year Nokia replaced Motorola as the largest mobile phone seller in China. Many multinational enterprises are conducting strategic adjustment through restructuring and redeployment, said He. "Most international giants regarded China as an emerging market when they first set foot in the country," she added. However, as the government further opens its market to foreign investors, in line with commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO), international companies are developing their branches in the country into research and development centers instead of only treating their Chinese operations as "sales offices" or manufacturing bases.

According to He, senior figures, whose skills fitted the needs of their companies' initial forays into the Chinese market, are now increasingly unsuitable as their businesses move forward. Senior officials' redeployment is sometimes accompanied with subtle changes in their responsibilities. "Several foreign automakers are undergoing such a procedure," He said, adding that during the adjustment responsibilities of the company's business in China might overlap with other departments such as Asia-Pacific headquarters. However, these companies would enforce a new and clearer China strategy when the restructuring was finally completed, said He.