To that end, Wal-Mart recently brought together more than 1,000 of its leading suppliers, in Beijing, to tell them that big changes were in store. All of the suppliers in Wal-Mart's universe--not just those from China--were soon going to be held to higher manufacturing and operations standards, to "build a more environmentally and socially responsible global supply chain" at Wal-Mart, announced company executives.

: "A company that cheats on overtime and on the age of its labor, that dumps its scraps and chemicals in our rivers, that does not pay its taxes or honor its contracts--will ultimately cheat on the quality of its products. And cheating on the quality of products is the same as cheating on customers," Scott told the crowd of Wal-Mart suppliers, Chinese government officials and other attendees.

"We will not tolerate that at Wal-Mart," Scott stated.

The specifics of the new policies, requirements and deadlines for what Wal-Mart called its "Global Responsible Sourcing Initiative" were equally as bold, and most were targeted at suppliers based in China.

A new supplier agreement, for example, sets out the requirements: