Over lunch an English friend of mine asked whether I had noticed anything different about how I was being looked at by Chinese people; I wasn’t sure that I had but it was one of many comments on the rising tension that is building up in Beijing as Chinese see foreigners as undermining their national credibility. What had started out as an Olympic year full of promise is turning out to be one of potential PR pitfalls for China and international governments alike. 
In the gym two old ladies were overhead talking of boycotting Carrefour due to their affiliation with Nepal, and the other remarked, “what shall we do, all of the goods they sell are made in China.” I heard Jack Perkowski, author of ‘Managing the Dragon’ and the financier in the ‘Mr China’ book, speak of the auto industry growth in China. In the Olympic year China will manufacture over 10m cars, he claimed, and for the first time ever will manufacture more cars than the USA. In 2002 China manufactured 2m cars. New models were on show at the Autoshow here this week which attracted 82,000 visitors on the first day and apparently 16,734 domestic and overseas journalists from around the world. Jack, who has built auto parts manufacturer Asimco explained the ‘lower cost perspective’ of Chinese manufacturers. He explained how Chinese businessmen view the value of the RMB100 bill the same as an American views the US$100; both the maximum denomination but one worth 15% of the other. His key message: employ Chinese management to get the best performance out of your business because they view value from a fundamentally different perspective; one of low cost. I raised the question of whether the Chinese companies would be able to compete internationally in service based firms like accounting and management consulting, and he felt that they would. In my view the examples of Japan and Korea would suggest that Asian ‘lower cost perspective’ works excellently for products but not for managing people; we have yet to see an Asian Ernst & Young or PWC. Let’s see if these companies have a quicker passage than the cars do in Beijing as we lead up to the Olympics some 100 days away. Declaring the closure of 264 km of central roads Xue Jiangdong, commissioner of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications claimed "The average vehicle speed of Olympic lanes will be no less than 60 kph during the Beijing Games. This compares to 20 kph for ordinary roads and 35 kph for urban expressways," not much faster than bicycles used to zoom around. Another slowdown is in the area of Visa’s with the suspension of Visa free periods beyond 15 days for Singaporeans and Visa’s not being issued with durations beyond 30th June. The stated reason was originally a ‘computer glitch’ but a senior British official told me that the authorities were supposedly ‘rectifying’ the situation. Along with the requirement for any foreigner to register with the local police station within 24 hours and non-Beijing residents apparently to be subject to a curfew, the sense is that the authorities are trying to stem any influx of troublemakers. Apparently these computer glitches have been fixed for the Olympic ticket booking system that crashed in the first round of ordering and there are ‘thousands’ of tickets available for events. The question now is whether foreigners will still want to come even if they can get their visas and what will be their reception when they arrive. The decision of the Paris Mayor to honour the Dalai Lama prompted Chinese office workers to change all their MSN icons to the Chinese Flag and talk of boycotting YSL and Vuiton, and came on the back of Sarkozy’s assurance last year to the Chinese government that he would not interfere in Tibet. A senior British diplomat explained that British PM Gordon Brown, by contrast, had told Wen Jiaobao that he would talk with the Dalai Lama, and that the Chinese should engage in dialogue with him. Apparently, the Chinese have been offended not by the actions of the French, but by the percieved duplicitous nature of them. However, the idea of changing the name from French Fries to Freedom Fries contains its own PR challenge. News of a Chinese COSCO ship en-route to Zimbabwe stacked with arms created another PR fiasco, although not if one were to read the Chinese press. The news of a new Sino-Middle east initiative to create an antidote to perceived western media bias is an interesting development. 
The issue for us at EASTWEST is that the international relations and restrictions are making business harder. Three of our staff left us in May; Zhanghao to a client, Caroline to the USA and Xiaolei to tend to her mother in law. Mark and Joan, two Singaporean staff, were unable to get their Visa’s extended beyond June 30th. I am not alone in finding staffing the business an issue just as we start to gain traction and have added three new clients. The British Business Awards are taking off and raising our profile, although I wonder sometimes how sensible I have been in launching a non-profit venture when EASTWEST requires such time. As I look out over the vast number of new offices nearing completion I wonder who is going to fill them; perhaps Chinese companies who are excelling at taking advantage of the ‘lower cost perspective.’ Certainly I am struggling to see my way to benefitting from the lower costs of business in Beijing. News that guide dogs will now be allowed inside public places for the 12.5m visually impaired Chinese is excellent; I am wondering if my office qualifies. Manzou. Jim
In the gym two old ladies were overhead talking of boycotting Carrefour due to their affiliation with Nepal, and the other remarked, “what shall we do, all of the goods they sell are made in China.” I heard Jack Perkowski, author of ‘Managing the Dragon’ and the financier in the ‘Mr China’ book, speak of the auto industry growth in China. In the Olympic year China will manufacture over 10m cars, he claimed, and for the first time ever will manufacture more cars than the USA. In 2002 China manufactured 2m cars. New models were on show at the Autoshow here this week which attracted 82,000 visitors on the first day and apparently 16,734 domestic and overseas journalists from around the world. Jack, who has built auto parts manufacturer Asimco explained the ‘lower cost perspective’ of Chinese manufacturers. He explained how Chinese businessmen view the value of the RMB100 bill the same as an American views the US$100; both the maximum denomination but one worth 15% of the other. His key message: employ Chinese management to get the best performance out of your business because they view value from a fundamentally different perspective; one of low cost. I raised the question of whether the Chinese companies would be able to compete internationally in service based firms like accounting and management consulting, and he felt that they would. In my view the examples of Japan and Korea would suggest that Asian ‘lower cost perspective’ works excellently for products but not for managing people; we have yet to see an Asian Ernst & Young or PWC. Let’s see if these companies have a quicker passage than the cars do in Beijing as we lead up to the Olympics some 100 days away. Declaring the closure of 264 km of central roads Xue Jiangdong, commissioner of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications claimed "The average vehicle speed of Olympic lanes will be no less than 60 kph during the Beijing Games. This compares to 20 kph for ordinary roads and 35 kph for urban expressways," not much faster than bicycles used to zoom around. Another slowdown is in the area of Visa’s with the suspension of Visa free periods beyond 15 days for Singaporeans and Visa’s not being issued with durations beyond 30th June. The stated reason was originally a ‘computer glitch’ but a senior British official told me that the authorities were supposedly ‘rectifying’ the situation. Along with the requirement for any foreigner to register with the local police station within 24 hours and non-Beijing residents apparently to be subject to a curfew, the sense is that the authorities are trying to stem any influx of troublemakers. Apparently these computer glitches have been fixed for the Olympic ticket booking system that crashed in the first round of ordering and there are ‘thousands’ of tickets available for events. The question now is whether foreigners will still want to come even if they can get their visas and what will be their reception when they arrive. The decision of the Paris Mayor to honour the Dalai Lama prompted Chinese office workers to change all their MSN icons to the Chinese Flag and talk of boycotting YSL and Vuiton, and came on the back of Sarkozy’s assurance last year to the Chinese government that he would not interfere in Tibet. A senior British diplomat explained that British PM Gordon Brown, by contrast, had told Wen Jiaobao that he would talk with the Dalai Lama, and that the Chinese should engage in dialogue with him. Apparently, the Chinese have been offended not by the actions of the French, but by the percieved duplicitous nature of them. However, the idea of changing the name from French Fries to Freedom Fries contains its own PR challenge. News of a Chinese COSCO ship en-route to Zimbabwe stacked with arms created another PR fiasco, although not if one were to read the Chinese press. The news of a new Sino-Middle east initiative to create an antidote to perceived western media bias is an interesting development. 
The issue for us at EASTWEST is that the international relations and restrictions are making business harder. Three of our staff left us in May; Zhanghao to a client, Caroline to the USA and Xiaolei to tend to her mother in law. Mark and Joan, two Singaporean staff, were unable to get their Visa’s extended beyond June 30th. I am not alone in finding staffing the business an issue just as we start to gain traction and have added three new clients. The British Business Awards are taking off and raising our profile, although I wonder sometimes how sensible I have been in launching a non-profit venture when EASTWEST requires such time. As I look out over the vast number of new offices nearing completion I wonder who is going to fill them; perhaps Chinese companies who are excelling at taking advantage of the ‘lower cost perspective.’ Certainly I am struggling to see my way to benefitting from the lower costs of business in Beijing. News that guide dogs will now be allowed inside public places for the 12.5m visually impaired Chinese is excellent; I am wondering if my office qualifies. Manzou. Jim