At the risk of sounding like a cold-hearted cynic, don’t you think it is a little cheesy for Wal-Mart to issue a press release trumpeting the fact that it is donating a whopping $430K in earthquake relief to ravaged China?

That’s beyond “chump change” for a company that generated $374B in revenues and earned $12.7B in fiscal '08 profit largely from the import of low-priced goods from China. Wal-Mart’s website has a running tally of how much it believes it saved American consumers since Jan. 1. That number is $110.6B and counting.

Wal-Mart’s contribution does not stack up well against the $31.6M in total compensation pulled down in fiscal '08 by CEO Lee Scott. Vice chairman/chief administration officer John Menzer earned $14.9M, while vice chairman/international Michael Duke collected $13.3M.

Wal-Mart, which has 205 retail outlets in China and close ties with the Government, says a portion of the $430K will go to China Red Cross. The rest will be donations of food, water and clothing.

The contribution will certainly bring some solace and relief to victims of the China earthquake, which the Communist Government admits to have killed more than 34K so far.

It’s commendable that Wal-Mart, a publicly traded company, is donating anything at all to the quake victims. Every little bit helps.

This blogger, however, feels a $430K donation is not press release worthy, especially when it is slated for a country that looms so large in Wal-Mart's overall strategy. It makes Wal-Mart look small. Sometimes silence is golden.

Wal-Mart got some well-deserved publicity following its efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Don’t expect a repeat in China.