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The Great Wall of China

by Ailish M. Nic Phaidin
Brevard Technical Journal

It seems so long ago now that the late President Ronald Reagan uttered his impassioned plea to President Gorbachev at the Berlin Wall, "Mr. President, tear down this wall." Shortly thereafter, sure enough, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. And what a tumble.

In spite of the efforts of every U.S. President since Nixon first warmed the cockles of our hearts towards the Chinese, and the cockles of Chinese hearts towards us, their market remains part enigma, part fear, part cultural misunderstanding, and then some.

In mid-January 2006, a large delegation of over 200 business and educational interests, lead by Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, left Ireland for a week-long business trip to China. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by his Ministers for Education, Communications and Agriculture.

For a tiny island nation, that's a hefty number of people. However, China is a vast and burgeoning nation where hefty people are welcomed - given the correct protocol procedures and standards being assiduously followed by everybody. (Requesting copious pints of Guinness will doubtless have been scratched from everybody's agenda, unless, of course, stealthily cornered in the Irish Ambassador's residence by a few curmudgeons.) My understanding is that all the companies and educational institutions embarking on this trip are indigenous, and the entourage does not include foreign companies, their agents, subsidiaries, or representatives.

Apparently Ireland predicts the current Chinese expenditure of over sixty million euro by over 2,900 Chinese students, will double by 2008. These are impressive numbers and are probably not the musings of a leprechaun.

Our balance of trade deficit with the Chinese is somewhere up there bordering on shock and awe.

A few weeks ago I had a discussion with several business entities in the SE Florida region about the possibility of expanding their businesses into the Chinese markets. The usual fears about a lack of language capability, cultural differences, business ethics - including the possibility of bribes (which is illegal for U.S. businesses), lack of availability of government and business senior executives, food differences, the global political situation and the security of U.S. corporate representatives all arose in varying hues of color, magnitude and importance.

Most of the business leaders at the meeting expressed degrees of hesitation in doing business with China because of what they perceived as an anti-U.S. sentiment out "there" in the global marketplace. Gosh, we've been successful global traders for centuries. Should we allow a few media pundits (masquerading as experts), government agencies giving travel warnings (they have to do that to protect themselves - a kind of "I told you so" syndrome), and other incendiary couplings speechifying about the big bad U.S. of A.

There are risks to one's physical being in foreign travel. But, heavens above, there's risk to one's physical being taking a shower! Living in Central Florida (the lightning capital of the world), you could get electrocuted in your ablution.

Aside from a sense of facetiousness, the serious business of doing business with any nation - but particularly getting in at the cutting edge of the vast Chinese market is now an urgent matter.

You might feel a little less "conspicuous" if you travel to China - or indeed, any other foreign market as part of a foreign delegation, particularly if your perception is that your U.S. citizenship is a hindrance to your success. I see some of you leaping up and down and screaming at the page, "We're not afraid of anybody. We can go where we like. We don't need to ferry ourselves on the coattails of anybody else,"or some such pronouncements. Well, get off your duffer and do it!

My meeting with the business leaders has led me to believe that their feelings on the subject were quite real to them. So, if you have an agent, representative of a subsidiary, friend or contact in, e.g. Ireland, and that nation is sending a delegation to China - or indeed, any other country that you're interested in - then find a way to attach yourself to that delegation. In my opinion, it doesn't much matter how or with whom you attach yourself, as long as the outcome for your company is in the realm of positive contracts in the bag. And, you'll never know until you seek out contacts where they might lead, including other members of the delegation. Seek and you may find, don't seek and you won't find.

Some executives may also want to consider taking a well-versed European or other region party as part of their delegation, particularly if they are going on a business excursion without the aid of either a U.S. or overseas delegation, to "cushion" the perceived impact of their U.S. citizenship.

I'm very much in favor of partnering with foreign governments and companies on overseas trading trips. There's some synergistic opportunity for cross-pollination of ideas, contracts, contacts and education.

The WWW is a great place to start your search. You know, probably better than I, how to search for your individual needs. Let's see if we can't tear down the Great Wall of China through partnerships, collaboration, and friendships. I'd love to hear your outcome.