Business

A collection of 280 posts

China

SRI Shorts—learn to live with contradictions

China is where I learned that two things can be right at the same time. More importantly, it's where I realized that being able to mentally handle and professionally manage active contradictions was the best way to deal with rapid change and stark cultural differences present in China.

Thailand

Face and Leadership (in Thailand)

Larry has written one of the best books on Thai culture that I've ever read, The Way Thais Lead. His focus is face and leadership, but what is really valuable is his in-depth research combined with his lifetime of experience in Thailand. The book dissects Th

Business

The "New" China Threat

Here is the challenge, presented by Huawei to the world: If you think we're a company of (potential) spies and a security threat, then publicly prove it! Here is a not so polite, and rather hostile answer. But an answer that I factually don't disagree with.

Business

The CCP & US Policy on Chinese Immigration and Espionage, Part III--Epilogue.

This is an epilogue written in the months since the original article. Part I with the original article is here, Part II with the editor's comments is here.Increasingly, Chinese outside of China are expressing feelings of “uncomfortableness” about their perceived foreignness. The trade war is said to

Business

The CCP & US Policy on Chinese Immigration and Espionage, Part II--Editor's Discussion

UPDATE 10.12.18: From the article, Google's China Problem is America's China Problem: Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at Hoover, told me: “If you understand how China operates, it would be shocking to the point of disbelief if they were not in an organized fashion

Business

Adaptation vs Innovation? Maybe it’s the wrong question.

One of the critiques of China is that it doesn't have a creative, innovative domestic business environment. But two recent articles made me question whether that is really necessary, or even advisable, for China or other countries trying to play catch up to the US. (I don’t

Business

National Security and Chinese Businesses

National security fears.With two large Chinese projects being halted or terminate in the US this last month (ANT and Huawei), the specter of Chinese state sponsored corporate espionage was center stage. US and Chinese analysts are all pointing to a “trust gap” in the US with Chinese investors. Specifically,

Business

Questions about how do deal with a Global China (in Hong Kong)

I love to listen to the witty and very knowledgable banter of Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn over at the Sinica Podcast on SupChina. I’ve been listening to these guys for years now—long before they started SupChina when it was still hosted at Pop-up Chinese (and also

Book Reviews

Readings and other Conversations

Over the last month in Shenzhen not only have I been blessed to have a very cooperative and generous host company allow me to observe their daily work, but I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to interview another 15-20 individuals, foreign and Chinese, about their own personal experiences with

Business

What's the Difference Between a Duck? (AKA: Nonessentialized Chinenessness)

What’s the Difference Between a Duck?When I was a kid my dad used to always joke around and ask me this question. We’d be in the car or at dinner and he’d get serious and look me in the eyes and then say, without any hint

Business

5 Years Later...Back Home in Shenzhen.

After a few years in school, being back in Shenzhen, where I lived for almost a decade, has been an enjoyable readjustment. I moved back into our own home in Futian and now conduct PhD research in an office very close to where my own office was a few years

Business

Chinese Middle Class Values...anyone? Anyone?

This is an older post, from 2015, that I just found in a drafts folder today (2018) and thought I should post anyway. I wondered how much has changed in the ensuing 3 years? One of the things that continues to intrigue me about incredible rise of China is a

Business

Ah, the memories; The Made in China Diary

Wow. Wish that I'd thought of this! (h/t Wired Magazine) Kudos the to (Swiss) authors/photog's that did though. Great idea. Some really good shots of "what it's really like to manufacture in China;" everything from shops set up in the

Business

Is China a Threat? Part 20457948571-048571

Last month I was given a copy of an email from the local head of a national political party in the US with an all too common sentiment—China is a threat! We need to limit our international exposure via govt fiat ASAP. I won’t share the source or

Business

When 5%-10% more is a bargin

The background on this great idea comes from Wired Magazine. But more than the great idea, and a Utah company to boot, the look into their issues dealing with China are insightful. From the article: Davis has run billion-dollar divisions of global conglomerates with integrated supply chains and the

Business

The more things change...

...the more they stay the same.Shocker: Official and unofficial numbers for China 2012 economy are not the same!!! And, hold your breath…..the official numbers not only aren't accurate they've erred on the side of making last year's downturn less dramatic and the

Business

Creativity--It's not that they can't...

...They've just never been asked to do it before.Interesting article in the WSJ about the lack of creativity in Asian graduates. But I think that the article misses the point.The conclusion is that Asian grads aren't creative because they don't have he

Business

How to get off the negotiations carousel.

Great post by Dan over at CLB again today. Talking about the difficulty in getting your supplier/manufacturer to give you and then stick with a fixed price. Basically, it's not going to happen. But there are things that can be done about it to save both your

Business

Culture of Copy

The money quote from Bianca Bosker, the Author of Original Copies, in an interview with the WSJ China Real Times Reporter James T. Areddy: "In the West there is a sense that copy is very taboo. It’s a terrible thing. It’s a sign of a lack of

Business

Guanxi and Contracts--A Chinese explaination from the US.

Some fantastic opportunities to learn about China are more and more available in the US. While in the US this month I attended a couple of sessions of the UVU Doing Business with China seminar in Utah.First, Andrew Hupert presented a great keynote address on Guanxi. All that needs

Business

Un-Fair!

You’re playing with a stacked deck when you go to fairs and trade-shows. It’s best to do some due diligence work beforehand and keep you cards close to your vest while there.Part of the problem is that you likely don’t speak Chinese, and English may

Business

Talk with People who really know (i.e. people who are here)

Tivo is great. I can watch TV from the US on my computer in China. One of my favorite commercials from the US that I've seen while watching the NCAA Tourney at 4AM list last month is the direct TV commercial that ends, "Don't have

Business

Who do you like to work with?

Probably who you identify most easily with.A year or so ago my then 5 year-old told me, in all seriousness, "Dad I'm like Kobe, not white like you." Suppressing laughter I responded, "Actually, you're more like Yaoming than Kobe." But

Business

Chinese New Year And Other Reasons Why You’ll Be Late

If you’re starting projects this month chances are, unless you’ve already had very explicit conversations about delivery dates with your supplier, you may be shocked when your supplier (and everyone in his factory) goes on vacation in Jan and you’re left waiting around for two weeks for

Business

What China's Really Like, A Chinese Perspective.

Here's the link (h/t China Hope Live). Here's a great commentary/follow up.And here's the complete text (from the PDF at the link). 把怪物关进笼子里Caging a MonsterMurong XuecunTranslated by Jane Weizhen Pan and Martin Merz我是一个中国作家,在这里向你介绍一下我的国家。正如你们所知,在过去的三 十年里,这个国家建造了无数高楼,修了无数机场,铺平了无数道路,它的GDP位居