FEBRUARY 2005 BROADSHEET -
Doing Business in China
There
was one notable reason why the CETC’s first seminar of 2005 was such a
success. Members and attendees
managed to raise over £300 for the Tsunami disaster appeal.
The CETC felt that it was appropriate to donate the registration fees
(augmented by donations from members) for the seminar, given that the topic
turned our attention towards the
Far East
.
After an oriental style buffet, the panel of expert speakers, assembled
by retiring CETC Chairman, Roy Cuthbert, informed the audience of
over 60 people about a wide range of aspects to “Doing Business In China”.
Ke
Yang,
Business Service Manager of CIPUK ( www.cipuk.com
), opened proceedings with a talk about
China
’s history and culture.
Ke summarised major events over 5,000 years, from the establishment of
the Central Empire Xia Dynasty to the implementation of
‘reform and opening’ policy by Deng Xiaoping, which has resulted in
an impressive growth of foreign investment in
China
’s economy.
Ke described how the development of Chinese culture has been closely
associated with the traditional Chinese religions of Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism and how Confucianism has had a significant influence on business
culture. Ke explained about
“Guanxi” (which means ‘relationships’ or ‘connections’ and
which is the central concept in Chinese business culture) and “Face” (the
mark of personal pride, which is essential to successful business in
China
). Ke finished with a guide to
various social customs and etiquette that are important to doing business
successfully in
China
.
Simon
Rodwell
of
the China-Britain Business Council confessed that he has been doing
business in
China
for 26 years, but that, despite
also being a qualified interpreter, he is still learning about the subject.
Simon began his talk with an economic overview, before going on to
explain the various types of corporate structure via which foreign organisations
can operate in
China
, ranging from direct outsourcing
through joint ventures to so-called “Woofies”, which allow overseas
businesses to manufacture and sell in
China
.
Simon also set out some important thoughts on how to handle Intellectual
Property issues, before offering advice on how to negotiate Chinese-style.
Dr Brian Cox
of Shelford Business Consultants outlined some pros and cons of doing
business in
China
, partly based on his experience
of running a 650-employee Sino-Swiss engineering company.
He reminded the audience that many SMEs are now global organisations and
that it is not just the big PLCs which are doing business in
China
.
Brian believes that
China
should be considered as both a
selling and a buying opportunity. He explored the problems of manufacturing
there. He cautioned that costs are
not automatically lower; it depends upon the product and the way in which it has
been designed. That said,
China
has the advantage of an educated
and well-motivated work force, who work for very low wages compared with the
West. However, not all production
requires a large input of labour and there are plenty of small, family-owned
businesses in
China
who are keen to do business with
overseas companies. Brian warned
that there are human resources and taxation issues to master.
The
seminar was preceded by the CETC’s Annual General Meeting, at which Roy
Cuthbert announced that he was standing down as Chairman, after 5 years in
the role. (Last year at the annual Garden Party, the CETC had marked
Roy
’s 10th year on the Committee
with the presentation of an inscribed salver).
Dr John Read, an existing Committee member, was proposed and
universally accepted as the new Chairman. Ken
Dickson retired from his post as Hon Treasurer and the Club showed its
appreciation of his considerable efforts with the presentation of a bottle of
malt whisky. The Club is still
looking for a new Hon Treasurer and would welcome volunteers.
Simon Kite also announced that he was retiring and, at the
subsequent Committee Meeting on 3rd February, the Club acknowledged
Simon’s 4 years on the Committee with the presentation of a book.
Ke Yang was proposed and accepted as the new Committee member.
The Club is very fortunate in benefiting from the sponsorship
of the following organisations:-
