From the Chicago Tribune:
China firms clamor to go kosher
Businesses covet certification that lets them tap $150 billion market
By Evan Osnos
BEIJING — Rabbi Shimon Freundlich picked up the phone in Beijing, and a Chinese factory boss launched his pitch. He wanted to join the growing ranks of Chinese exporters who have earned a kosher seal of approval.
He promised to follow the rules and to welcome surprise inspections. So, the rabbi asked, what’s the product?
“Tables and chairs,” came the reply.
A bit more enthusiastic than knowledgeable, China’s factory owners are clamoring to go kosher. In an odd-couple embrace that only global commerce could produce, more than 2,000 Chinese plants have been certified in the past decade under Jewish dietary laws in hopes of tapping a world trade estimated at $150 billion a year…
Some of the people mentioned in this story are featured a Danwei TV show about the opening of a Jewish ritual bath in Beijing: A Jew Brew.