In the aftermath of devastating earthquakes in China, Wal-Mart was quick to donate about $430,000 to relief efforts. After receiving some harsh criticism for donating so little while gaining so much from China, Wal-Mart upped its donation to around $3 million (nearly 2 weeks later). Now, the Chinese government has called out Wal-Mart, and several other companies. The Ministry of Commerce put out a report questioning whether major companies actually donated as much as they said they would after the quakes. It was clear to us from the beginning that Wal-Mart was attempting to get some cheap PR by donating. Even $3 million is pocket change for a company that rakes in more than $300 billion in sales a year. It is also an insultingly small sum for a company that gets 70% of it's goods from China.

And what was Wal-Mart's response to the allegation that they didn't give as much as they said they would?

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mou Mingming said she hoped the ministry would contact companies directly to confirm the contributions. "In fact, we made two initial corporate donations. We sent out at least 3 million yuan in materials to the quake areas soon after the disaster," Ms Mou said.

"In all, our donations will be at least 20 million yuan. But the report has confused the public and created misunderstanding about Wal-Mart."

Notice that she said "our donations will be" suggesting that they have not in fact given that much money yet. So the government is right, Wal-Mart hasn't yet donated the full 20 million yuan. But don't worry, they will, and as we all know, you can always trust Wal-Mart's word.

Read the full article from the South China Morning Post here.