As Wal-Mart yesterday celebrated the grand opening of its new Wal-Mart Supercenter Danxia Road Store, its first store in China's Fujian Province, it re-emphasized its commitment to corporate social responsibility in China.

In a prepared statement, the company says it believes in "Respect for the Individual, Service to Our Customers, and Strive for Excellence." Wal-Mart says its direct and indirect procurement from China exceeded US$18 billion in 2004, making tremendous contribution to China's economy and foreign trade development.

Wal-Mart re-iterated that it actively contributes to various Chinese charitable and social welfare programs. Since 1996, when Wal-Mart first entered the China market, the company 's donations to various charitable organizations have reached over RMB23 million. At the end of 2005, Wal-Mart employed nearly 32,000 staff in China with a total investment of RMB1.7 billion. Wal-Mart has also paid taxes of over RMB 1.5 billion.

Leaders from the Zhangzhou Municipal Government joined executives from Wal-Mart at the opening ceremony for the new store. Stanley Yu, Vice President & COO of Wal-Mart China, said that Wal-Mart has become a favorite destination of more shoppers thanks to its good customer service and high quality merchandise at Every Day Low Prices.

The Zhangzhou store is the 62nd store Wal-Mart opened in China and the first one in Zhangzhou. Wal-Mart is confident that it will be well received by Zhangzhou residents and will contribute to Zhangzhou's economy.