The biggest question hovering over any Western business looking for partners, suppliers or distributors in China probably is whether the Chinese candidate is trustworthy, reflecting the lack of credibility and a track record system in that nation. The question plagues Chinese domestic companies as well.

The China Plastics Processing Industry Association, a quasi-governmental organization based in Beijing, has started to tackle that problem with an unprecedented "enterprise credit evaluation" program.

According to CPPIA's official documents, with the approval from China's Minister of Commerce, the trade group is working with "third-party experts" to rate plastic firms on a voluntary basis.

CPPIA said the program is not for profit, but to serve the industry. It charges a "preliminary rating fee" of 9,000 yuan (US$1,397), plus other fees in later stages, to initiate such a comprehensive credit evaluation of a business entity.

The first group of 41 companies in the program all received AAA in the preliminary rating, I assume the highest score possible. The list was posted on CPPIA's Web site for public review and comments for 10 days.