Archive for the ‘China’ Category
I arrived without incident in Shanghai Tuesday afternoon after a 14 ½ hour flight from Newark. The flight was just the way I like them – nice and boring. Before leaving I had decided to take the train to my hotel since daytime traffic in Shanghai can make the trip more than an hour by taxi. When I mentioned taking the train to both Americans and Chinese people I was met with mostly surprised reactions. It seems there are still a fair amount of successful New Yorkers and Shanghainese that do not take the subway.
As it turns out I took a Maglev train (8 minutes from point to point to go 30KM or about 18 miles), then connected to the subway line and took the subway to a stop near my hotel. The entire trip took about 40 minutes and was one-fifth of the cost compared to taking a taxi. I was impressed at how easy it was. The one moment I had when I was a bit confused as to which subway stop I should take was met with a Chinese person ready to help and in broken English (and my basic Mandarin) I was able to buy my 4 RMB (U.S. $ .70) ticket to the right station. From there I was able to easily walk to my hotel – one that I stayed in on my last trip to Shanghai (love the Marriott Executive Suites near People’s Park).
So far even thought I speak at least a little Mandarin now, I have noticed that English is prevalent and widely spoken here in the PRC. Street signs are in both English and Mandarin. It is remarkably easy to get around. Today after meetings I will head to the Hongqiao train station by subway to catch a fast train to Hangzhou – a city renowned for its physical beauty, the wealth of its denizens, and also the home of many successful companies.
Spending the next ten days here in China I am very focused on making this a successful business trip. This is my fifth trip to China (ok 4th as the first trip was to Hong Kong) in a little over 18 months. As yet I have not been able to generate a substantial engagement with a Chinese company looking for marketing expertise and campaign executions in the U.S. The phrase ‘That’s China’ is for some responsible for my slow progress. While I am well aware of cultural differences in doing business in China versus the U.S., I will not use that as an excuse. Nor should the Chinese use that excuse either. It’s too easy to hide the real reasons for not engaging with a western company behind a westerner’s inexperience.
To some degree the whole idea of marketing and branding is partially responsible for the problem. The Chinese are cautious in general and particularly so when dealing with foreigners. While that caution is understandable using a cultural barrier as a reason for not doing business is a bad policy and something the United States and other western countries have come to avoid.
Things are ever-changing in China – and that’s China.
Every time I go to China the days and nights are long and interesting. As I noted in a prior post tea flows freely during the day and night, and alcohol flows freely at night as does engaging conversation. The Chinese like to get out and do things. While staring at a computer during the day has to be part of everyone’s routine to a certain degree getting out and having great eating experiences is a big part of life in China.
I met with many senior executives while in China lunch and dinner meals are banquet style starting with soup and then dish after dish is brought out and put on the revolving glass table. Chicken, fish, beef, greens, vegetables and some things that would make many Americans a bit squeamish, (I like eating chicken feet but chicken heads not so much). The meals last for 90 minutes or (most often) longer, and at night they are accompanied by constant toasting and laughter as well as serious conversation about what’s going on in and out of China. I have even developed a liking for a potent Chinese liquor called Mou Tai.
To me it appears that there are not nearly as many overweight Chinese as there are Americans. I’m not exactly sure why since the quantities consumed at these meals are eye-opening. But the food is mostly healthy and desserts normally consist of fruit.
Breakfast is by far my least favorite meal in China which is too bad since I really like breakfast. At least in a hotel you get some western style options like bacon, French toast (sometimes), omelets and cereal. But other places I’ve been have only Chinese food for breakfast – greens, noodles, soup and lousy coffee.
I experienced KTV for the first time during this trip. It’s basically Karaoke Chinese style. Here’s a video from a few years ago that is somewhat close to what it’s like – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7g5hUKSAZo. It was a ‘can’t say no’ invitation and I am glad I experienced it as it gave me another viewpoint of Chinese people. I will consider doing it again.
I was watching television one evening with my friend in Hong Kong and we saw a story on a new fad in China – Kung Fu volleyball, which is somehow called Sepak Takra. Here is a link to a video and it looks pretty crazy and amazing – I would get seriously injured if I even tried it just once.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7g5hUKSAZo
I also was invited to tour a city in Shanxi province (which literally means mountain west) where they are famous for their fruit as a very wealthy and a successful Chinese businessman is interested introducing some of his juice products to the US market. I really hope to make the trip next time as it is a much different part of China (colder and more wooded) than I’ve been to before and I want to experience a little bit of life, food, and play there as well.
Work hard and play hard. Two of the reasons why I enjoy going to China so much.
I have learned a new expression on this trip to China from people that live here – ‘Life is cheap in China’. This has been said to me by westerners and Chinese alike. The recent high speed train crash was an example of that as the controversy over the death count continues as does the way those that perished are being buried. If you follow the news in China you see examples of this every day – people perishing in strange accidents on the roads, on escalators and other public venues. While there are more than 1.3 billion people in China that should not be an excuse to cheapen the value of people’s lives.
And while the above may be the case with life in China, most other things in China are becoming more expensive. The cost of food, shelter, and clothing are all skyrocketing as the Chinese government tries to keep a lid on the worry of runaway inflation.
When it comes to business I have found that Chinese companies are not yet accustomed to the idea of paying for consulting services. The Chinese corporate focus is so strongly based on making money fast that hiring and paying experts seems unnecessary to them. After all many Chinese companies are still finding great success and growth in their businesses without implementing western expertise and best business practices (or as they say in still British influenced Hong Kong – best business practises).
Yet in many of the Chinese factories I visited on my trip this week (I think it was something close to ten), there was an increasing understanding of the idea that perhaps the Chinese companies are not experts outside the China marketplace. Things that worked prior are not working as well now and there are signs that new practices and strategies have to be implemented. It will cost more than the Chinese have ever paid before – but paying something when you are accustomed to paying nothing will always be a hard pill to swallow.
Doing business in China is very different than any place I’ve done business before in the west. The cultural aspect weighs heavily in everything that occurs. One example is tea. It’s a good thing I like tea because in nearly every meeting I would consume not three cups of tea (apologies to Greg Mortenson author of the controversial best seller ‘Three Cups of Tea’) but 10 cups of tea and then on to the next meeting where the same thing would occr. There were days that I drank thirty cups of tea! I sometimes felt that the expression ‘all the tea in China’ was underrated.
Things will continue to get more expensive in China as the overall living standards increase. I’ve noted before that the U.S. will become more competitive as the Chinese and the rest of the world’s standards of living rise. Yes there’s still a long way to go in many parts of China and the world for that matter.
So while things get more expensive in China I am hoping that the most precious thing of all – life itself, also gets more expensive and soon. I will be leaving Hong Kong in the morning but know I will be back in China very soon. Xian zai, zai jian Zhong guo.
It’s been 6 days since I came to China this trip and I am more convinced than ever that China is racing forward on all fronts to be the leader in anything and everything it can lead. The recent news of the high speed train crash is some evidence that China may be overlooking some very important issues in her effort to reclaim (in the eyes of the Chinese) her rightful place at the top of the world (remember the world’s highest mountain, Mt. Everest, is in China).
I had another amazing dinner tonight with some more new friends who are executives for very successful companies. I was amazed to hear them talk about the reports of the train crash and how the Chinese government is holding back on information. The official report is that 38 people died in the horrific crash over the weekend. My colleagues feel the number is closer to 800 and that eventually the real story will have to be told. And the reason for the crash may be linked to China’s rush to get their high speed rail system up and running while in the process leaving out some very important safety guidelines.
Things are happening fast here in China. Cities are built in rapid fashion, at times without a notion as to who actually could afford or be interested to live there. People work 100 hours per week although at times the lines between work and fun are blurry. The need to get to know business partners before any business engagements is different in China than anywhere else I’ve ever been.
Driving a car (or in my case riding in the back seat) in China is a true adventure. People cut off other people constantly and talk on their mobile phone. They also cross four lanes of heavy traffic to exit all with only horns blowing but no gestures of ‘friendship’ like you would see in the U.S. This may be due to the fact that most of China’s drivers are new and not yet as cynical as they are in the U.S. By the way – China made 2 million cars last year which makes China the world’s largest car manufacturer, yet only 1 in 100 Chinese own an automobile.
It’s as if China is experiencing what the U.S. went through from 1950-2000 but they are doing it in less than half that time. There are bound to be problems when you consider the scale issue of a country that is more than four times the current population of the United States.
Every day I do business in China there are so many meetings (and I drink so much tea my eyes are floating all day as seemingly every company has a tea set and the first that happens is the host makes tea – it’s extremely civil BTW – but it’s good thing that I really like tea), that I have to make notes as I go and write them all down at the end of the day. Having four or more meetings in a day over a period of 15 hours is not unusual.
Yes China has grown up in a hurry and is moving so fast it is nearly vibrating. It’s exciting, nerve wracking and I am thrilled to be here and am sorry to be leaving so soon even though I will have been gone for nearly ten days. Two weeks in China is barely enough. It passes at the speed of light.