I spend so much time in the lower, less rarified atmosphere of Jian Wai Soho and small business that it was a delight to get a glimpse of China from a helicopter, and the view of the European Union Trade Commissioner on what he terms, “The Grand Bargain.” 
CCTV producer & cameraman Qi Kejun is a pioneer in helicopter photography, and has championed ‘Pole to Pole’ and ‘Across China’ documentaries, and shared his views on the state of Chinese TV production and also the essential difference between Western and Eastern view of human drama. An urbane gentlemen who looked as at ease in front of the camera as behind it, Qi told the assembled 7 westerners how he has flown at 300 feet across China filming for a CCTV documentary, falling in love with the undeveloped West of China for it’s wide open spaces and simplicity of life. Unfortunately it was around Xinjiang, the farthest west city, which he also flew into a tree, which curtailed that shoot but not his appetite for filming in HDTV; a format that he assured me the state broadcasters are now ready to broadcast for the Olympics. “As I film a documentary of the Tang Shan earthquake,” Qi explained, “as a Chinese I am concerned about the spirit of survival. The western producers, like the Discovery Channel, are always concerned with creating suspense, and detailing the sequence of events using an eye witness. In my view, eastern production is more concerned about the person.” In a country of over 1.3bbn people individual attention seems to be the last thing anyone can receive, but Qi’s earnest humanitarian values are a regular refrain among celebrities in China, which contradicts the opinion that human rights are constantly flouted in the middle Kingdom. It is one of the many incongruities which leads me to believe the longer I am here, the less I really know. 
Peter Mandelson, formerly a key influencer in United Kingdom politics, was in China on Thursday on his 5th visit and delivered a short speech following his meeting with Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection. With a hint of bravado the EU Trade Commissioner told the western and Chinese audience, that he had told Bo, “An Open Europe requires China to be Open to Europe.” He continued, “I call this the ‘Grand Bargain. China has comparative advantage and Europe has competitive advantage, and China must allow our companies to operate here and to protect our IPR in doing so.” The choice of questions or starting dinner was met with silence, and then a bearded septagenarian German chap on my table bellowed, “It’ is all bullshit, let’s eat.” At which Mandelson dismounted the stage. I asked a couple of the embarrassed-looking Chinese on our table their view on American and EU forceful advances on so many issues such as China’s burgeoning trade imbalance. In reality foreign-funded companies, which represent 3% of the total number of companies in China, accounted for 57.3 per cent of China's overall exports in 2005 and 87.89 per cent of the total exports of high-tech products. Of course statistics lie but these numbers imply to me that China is already rather ‘open,’ and the majority of the Chinese at the dinner were overseas Chinese and returnees; all of whom are benefitting from the role of cultural interface between east and west. The awkward silence, once the German gentleman had drawn his conclusions, was diplomatically brought to an end by the arrival of the beef maincourse, but I think not British. Our latest client, Coding Technologies, will need some of the 50 IPR offices that the Bo Xilai promised and that Mandelson described as “very encouraging,” and I can’t help but to feel that at ground level where I operate, the arrival of Coding will give us the fuel to take off. To register EASTWEST Beijing I signed in 14 places on 45 pages of documents for the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce and now have to wait another 4 weeks according to Jessie at Lee & Lee. Meanwhile Judy is proving to be a gem, and along with Mrs Lee the cleaner, demonstrates an integrity of character that again runs counter to the largely held view by westerners that ‘Chinese buy and sell your soul like no other race.’ Mrs Lee brought me S$20 that she had found in my trousers while doing laundry, Judy ‘refunded’ me money when I lost track of her wages. Judy’s main worries are that she is not doing things quickly enough and that there is not enough work to keep her busy; a dilemma I am working to overcome by spending a dedicated 30 minutes each morning together with her, and the rest of my day on business development. On Friday evening, charged with the success of the week, I ran from Jian Wai SOHO to Tiananmen Square, a brilliant clear night with a full moon and the walls of the city lit with a light bulb for every soul in China. As I looked at the huge painting of Mao over the gate to the Forbidden City, I raised my arms and embraced the energy radiating from the seat of Chinese power since 1406, feeling that slowly but surely some of it is flowing into the business. 
By Saturday it was time to take a break and watch the first match of the World Cup, delighted that Coding Technologies will form the basis for EASTWEST China. It is strange that having won so many large clients over a decade, and with over 25 on the roster in Singapore currently, this first tangible piece of business is such a relief to me – I doubt Toni Fiedler of Coding could possibly know how valuable his validation of my last 6 months is to me. This gives Judy a sense of confidence, and has allowed me to hire Weibin, the tall graduate from Guandong who studied literature in Leeds, in northern England. England, and the English, has a good reputation in China, but I fear that the World Cup may not enhance our image. News that English hooligans were denied their passports appeared in the newspapers, and reports of confrontations with police after the England vs Paraguay match also don’t help. That our win was the result of an own goal doesn’t add credibility. At the Pavillion where some 300 supporters gathered, it was a brilliant atmosphere with westerners and Chinese together. I met a Chinese girl I know and expressed surprise that she and her well dressed friends liked soccer. “We don’t,” she replied as elegantly as a Beckham free kick, “but we know western men do and we have come to watch them.” Now Mr Mandelson, who says that the Chinese are not open to Europe? Footnotes Chinese Culture Club Tang Shan earthquake in China in 1976 killed between 200000 and 800000 people. Source: Volcano World Source: China Daily 10 June 06. 'Other side of export success' China Worker says that this figure is closer to 75% www.baic.gov.cn A comment passed to Mark Day of the MPAA by his Chinese professor some 20 years ago, that has tempered his view of the Chinese ever since.
CCTV producer & cameraman Qi Kejun is a pioneer in helicopter photography, and has championed ‘Pole to Pole’ and ‘Across China’ documentaries, and shared his views on the state of Chinese TV production and also the essential difference between Western and Eastern view of human drama. An urbane gentlemen who looked as at ease in front of the camera as behind it, Qi told the assembled 7 westerners how he has flown at 300 feet across China filming for a CCTV documentary, falling in love with the undeveloped West of China for it’s wide open spaces and simplicity of life. Unfortunately it was around Xinjiang, the farthest west city, which he also flew into a tree, which curtailed that shoot but not his appetite for filming in HDTV; a format that he assured me the state broadcasters are now ready to broadcast for the Olympics. “As I film a documentary of the Tang Shan earthquake,” Qi explained, “as a Chinese I am concerned about the spirit of survival. The western producers, like the Discovery Channel, are always concerned with creating suspense, and detailing the sequence of events using an eye witness. In my view, eastern production is more concerned about the person.” In a country of over 1.3bbn people individual attention seems to be the last thing anyone can receive, but Qi’s earnest humanitarian values are a regular refrain among celebrities in China, which contradicts the opinion that human rights are constantly flouted in the middle Kingdom. It is one of the many incongruities which leads me to believe the longer I am here, the less I really know. Peter Mandelson, formerly a key influencer in United Kingdom politics, was in China on Thursday on his 5th visit and delivered a short speech following his meeting with Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection. With a hint of bravado the EU Trade Commissioner told the western and Chinese audience, that he had told Bo, “An Open Europe requires China to be Open to Europe.” He continued, “I call this the ‘Grand Bargain. China has comparative advantage and Europe has competitive advantage, and China must allow our companies to operate here and to protect our IPR in doing so.” The choice of questions or starting dinner was met with silence, and then a bearded septagenarian German chap on my table bellowed, “It’ is all bullshit, let’s eat.” At which Mandelson dismounted the stage. I asked a couple of the embarrassed-looking Chinese on our table their view on American and EU forceful advances on so many issues such as China’s burgeoning trade imbalance. In reality foreign-funded companies, which represent 3% of the total number of companies in China, accounted for 57.3 per cent of China's overall exports in 2005 and 87.89 per cent of the total exports of high-tech products. Of course statistics lie but these numbers imply to me that China is already rather ‘open,’ and the majority of the Chinese at the dinner were overseas Chinese and returnees; all of whom are benefitting from the role of cultural interface between east and west. The awkward silence, once the German gentleman had drawn his conclusions, was diplomatically brought to an end by the arrival of the beef maincourse, but I think not British. Our latest client, Coding Technologies, will need some of the 50 IPR offices that the Bo Xilai promised and that Mandelson described as “very encouraging,” and I can’t help but to feel that at ground level where I operate, the arrival of Coding will give us the fuel to take off. To register EASTWEST Beijing I signed in 14 places on 45 pages of documents for the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce and now have to wait another 4 weeks according to Jessie at Lee & Lee. Meanwhile Judy is proving to be a gem, and along with Mrs Lee the cleaner, demonstrates an integrity of character that again runs counter to the largely held view by westerners that ‘Chinese buy and sell your soul like no other race.’ Mrs Lee brought me S$20 that she had found in my trousers while doing laundry, Judy ‘refunded’ me money when I lost track of her wages. Judy’s main worries are that she is not doing things quickly enough and that there is not enough work to keep her busy; a dilemma I am working to overcome by spending a dedicated 30 minutes each morning together with her, and the rest of my day on business development. On Friday evening, charged with the success of the week, I ran from Jian Wai SOHO to Tiananmen Square, a brilliant clear night with a full moon and the walls of the city lit with a light bulb for every soul in China. As I looked at the huge painting of Mao over the gate to the Forbidden City, I raised my arms and embraced the energy radiating from the seat of Chinese power since 1406, feeling that slowly but surely some of it is flowing into the business. 
By Saturday it was time to take a break and watch the first match of the World Cup, delighted that Coding Technologies will form the basis for EASTWEST China. It is strange that having won so many large clients over a decade, and with over 25 on the roster in Singapore currently, this first tangible piece of business is such a relief to me – I doubt Toni Fiedler of Coding could possibly know how valuable his validation of my last 6 months is to me. This gives Judy a sense of confidence, and has allowed me to hire Weibin, the tall graduate from Guandong who studied literature in Leeds, in northern England. England, and the English, has a good reputation in China, but I fear that the World Cup may not enhance our image. News that English hooligans were denied their passports appeared in the newspapers, and reports of confrontations with police after the England vs Paraguay match also don’t help. That our win was the result of an own goal doesn’t add credibility. At the Pavillion where some 300 supporters gathered, it was a brilliant atmosphere with westerners and Chinese together. I met a Chinese girl I know and expressed surprise that she and her well dressed friends liked soccer. “We don’t,” she replied as elegantly as a Beckham free kick, “but we know western men do and we have come to watch them.” Now Mr Mandelson, who says that the Chinese are not open to Europe? Footnotes Chinese Culture Club Tang Shan earthquake in China in 1976 killed between 200000 and 800000 people. Source: Volcano World Source: China Daily 10 June 06. 'Other side of export success' China Worker says that this figure is closer to 75% www.baic.gov.cn A comment passed to Mark Day of the MPAA by his Chinese professor some 20 years ago, that has tempered his view of the Chinese ever since.