Items Tagged With Beijing Olympics

The old saying in politics that there are no permanent enemies or friends —- just permanent interests —- also applies to business. That's particularly true when it comes to U.S.-China relations.

I admit, the above statement when read without any built in first hand experience of China or understanding of me, probably sounds like a quote from the pages of a cold hearted capitalist. Words can be deceiving when taken out of context and so can people. Anyone who knows me has probably figured out by now that despite being the founder of a new company called The China Business Network, I don't live in China at the moment (used to) and am much more concerned with building a network for connecting those that do business in China instead of running a business in China and making a ton of money for myself. (i'm stupid, i know)

However, I've been involved in doing business in China since I was 19. My first initiation internship there was spending an entire summer in 1995 getting a crash course on building a clothing manufacturing and retail operation in China courtesy of my parents who were among the first wave of foreign companies in 1990 to enter the market shortly after Tiananmen in '89.

I was an undergrad at BU at the time and lucky enough to have had the experience of studying China during the academic year and then living in China during my summer vacations. In hindsight, it's the best summer course anyone who was an International Relations major could have.

Ok, so now that I've established some sort of China street cred with you hopefully it gives you a better understanding of why the next quote of this op/ed piece really jived with me:

The permanent interest of business, though, is business. And, in the ordinary course of international commerce, U.S. companies should relentlessly, though quietly, act as change agents while pursuing the trade that benefits many here. To expect much more from companies angling for market share in China's rapidly growing economy is a bit naive.

This my friends, is why I founded The China Business Network.

I stupidly got myself into a pointless debate with a torch tackler on Twitter a few weeks ago who accused me of being a "pro-China zealot" -- for doing business there. Um, ok. Many of us doing business in China may come across to this year's crop of bandwagon protestors as a bunch of capitalist running dogs suffering from some variation of China Stockholm Syndrome but where were the torch tacklers the past 7 years while Beijing was preparing for this year's event while many of us have been on the ground watching the country continue to change and evolve around us first hand. We're actually looking forward to the Olympics and we were also looking forward to seeing the international community come take a first hand look themselves at a country that has kept many of us involved with its change for the past 2 decades.

While I can understand the need for those who haven't walked a few miles in the China expat's shoes to group us into the sleeping with the enemy category for the purpose of being able to draw a line in the sand, you need to scratch the surface and get a feel for where we're coming from.

I've always said that the true international language that all Chinese understand is not English, it's BUSINESS. Like the word or not, that's what gets heard loud and clear above all else as the country continues evolving, developing and modernizing. It's what readily brings people to the table. It's where common ground is created and relationships are built from. Business is what brings many foreigners -- along with their influence -- to China and what keeps them there.

I hate business. Honestly, I do. But I use business for the purpose of doing my little part in building a much needed bridge between China and the outside world because let's face you, many folks really doesn't have much to go on by way of understanding China if CNN isn't getting it. Simply put, IMHO China is too complex to even try and apply convenient labels to people who support engagement with China for the sake of categorizing what side of the line in the sand they stand on.

Example

• The Greenpeace protester outside of China who points to China's environmental issues.
• The foreign journalist who writes an expose on China's environmental problems.
• The investor who is investing in green technology in China
• The NGO founder in China who is advising China on green initiatives
• The entrepreneur in China who is developing sustainable housing projects
• The podcaster who interviews people involved in China's green sector

Who is greener than who in this case? All play a role as an agent of change but IMHO, those on the ground within China stand the chance of playing a more effective LONG TERM role in creating positive change than those pointing fingers from the outside. Unfortunately, it's the ones who make more noise on the outside who are heard and followed more, yet only as long as their stories and protests are in the media spotlight. Those of us who are social entrepreneurs involved in China business for the long term are not often seen or heard, but I can tell you we are making more of a positive impact from within and will continue to do so when the stadium lights shut off after the Olympics.

Yup, it's business as usual and that's not necessarily a bad thing if you take a long term view.

I'll end this post by sharing some Seesmic insight from those who were answering the most recent question from Vin Vin and Giselle's show: