By ChinaCSR.com Editors This past week marked some of the first indicators in China this year that corporate social responsibility practitioners are already confronting the effects of the global financial crisis.

While some companies around the world are responding to the financial crisis with job cuts, the newly issued 3G licenses in China have caused Ericsson to plan a hiring spree of several hundred new employees in China in 2009.

China Mobile has initiated a green packaging system adopting recyclable wood substitutes in the packaging process of its communication products.

Ericsson and United Nations Development Programme have signed an agreement to explore ways for mobile telephony and networks to improve access to health, government, education and financial services in rural China.