This week I possibly did more networking than a presidential candidate, and by Sunday evening felt as though I just wanted to park myself on the 19th green at the marvellous Riverside Golf Course links. Since arriving in Beijing I have 
been making great efforts to get linked into the business community, and this week it seemed as though everybody was desperate to have one last function before escaping the growing heat of Beijing for the summer holidays. On Monday I went to the Mobile Monday event at the RBL Ice house, so named as Emperors of the Qing Dynasty stored ice there several metres below the city. At Mobile Monday, an international group dedicated to making handphones an even greater threat to face to face interaction, the CEO’s of two China mobile blogging companies talked of the challenges of allowing open expression to attract users while conforming to the Government rules on free speech. “Of course we monitor every conversation, we are after all proud of our Country,” answered Xiang Li, the CEO of www.pdx.cn, which is a fair achievement for a company that claims 2million subscribers of which 5% are mobile bloggers. I visited the wapsite of Princess only to discover google earth photos locating her school and camera photos of her living room, all at ankle level. I can’t help wondering how PDX.cn and operators of PICA.com can hope to track, on behalf of the Government, this ever growing number of increasingly mobile people. The group at the European Chamber of Commerce function at the Centro Bar are engaged in decidedly more traditional businesses, perhaps an accurate reflection of the state of European mobile development. European networking functions, like the British Chamber ones, are more of a refuge for westerners in the guise of business. In Centro a jazz band plays and champagne flows across the black marble bar on expense accounts, and stories are exchanged about the trials of doing business in China. So far I haven’t had any business from these functions as a review of the business cards reveals petty entrepreneurs like me or people providing real estate, recruitment or wealth management services; none of which I require. The people that require wealth management are the ones that might meet playing golf in China. As I was going to play at the Riverside Golf Beijing Golf Club on Sunday I went to buy some clubs. Apparently all the big American brands, except Ping, make their clubs in southern China, of which 70% end up back in America – an industry worth some US$2.8bn. At Bob’s Golf emporium I was offered a ‘real set of Calloways’ or the set made by the enterprising Bob and his wife Jenny, for the princely sum of RMB1,500 (US$190)- about the price of one genuine putter. Same bag, same detail on the shaft, but without a hallmark on the base of the driver, the clubs were an identical match although of inferior materials, with rumours of club heads flying off further than the balls they strike making me shy of buying a full set. I elected to buy a decidedly inexpensive ping putter and well meaning Adidas remakes, realising when I got home that the box for the shoes had deftly been reclaimed by Jenny, no doubt to make a home for some new shoes from Guangzhou. The first golf links were built in China in 1984, and apparently China now ranks fifth in the world and second in Asia in terms of the number of courses. In 2004 there were more than 200 operational golf links, with 500 to 1,000 more are already under construction, even though more than half of the operational links were losing money. At the Riverside, some 1.5 hours due east of Beijing, a massive clubhouse modeled on a French Villa stands proud on agricultural land, a haven for expatriates who can afford the RMB500 (US$62.5) green fees. In my case a day of driving balls into several reservoirs cost me RMB1000 (US$125); the weekly wage of young Ben in spite of his Masters Degree earnt in England. Needless to say there were legions of young people to help carry, clean, pour, and otherwise help me to overcome my guilt at spending so much and playing so badly. My only consolation was that by striking more than 100 shots I got good value per stroke. Golf is a rich man’s sport in China, but I also wonder about how popular the Sunday game will be when most Chinese that I know aim to spend Sunday with their families in the large tabled restaurants around Beijing. Perhaps the imminent arrival of Tiger Woods at the HSBC classic in Shanghai in September, with prize money of US$5m will continue to drive the popularity of what my Australian friend Phil calls ‘cross country billiards.’ I felt pretty snookered by the time I got home, having spent really no time during the week simply relaxing, and realised that it is 6 months since I landed in Beijing, and 6 months without a proper base. News of an imminent approval by the AIC of our company registration, the beginnings of submitting proposals and the morning arrival of Ben and Judy to 0504 Jian Wai is giving me a deeper sense that the tide is turning in our favour. Each day I try to spend time sharing our best practices with Ben and Judy, and they are responding marvellously to what must seem a strange pursuit – starting a business from one’s apartment. Ben has come to each of the networking sessions, and appears to excel at it as he speaks some French and German, which makes him a natural foil for Europeans whether at Mobile Monday or Centro. When I think back to all the books that I have read on business, none talks about making links, and yet without these, there is no business – whether selling fakes or the genuine article. Finally, I now have a blog very ably set up by Michael Switow to whom I owe a debt of thanks for all his hard work. Do please take a look and let me know what you think, as guess what, it is blocked in China! http://www.jimjames.cn FOOTNOTES: The Qing Dynasty lasted from 1644-1911 AD Source: Pssst... Wanna Buy Some Clubs? Source: Asia Times Online
been making great efforts to get linked into the business community, and this week it seemed as though everybody was desperate to have one last function before escaping the growing heat of Beijing for the summer holidays. On Monday I went to the Mobile Monday event at the RBL Ice house, so named as Emperors of the Qing Dynasty stored ice there several metres below the city. At Mobile Monday, an international group dedicated to making handphones an even greater threat to face to face interaction, the CEO’s of two China mobile blogging companies talked of the challenges of allowing open expression to attract users while conforming to the Government rules on free speech. “Of course we monitor every conversation, we are after all proud of our Country,” answered Xiang Li, the CEO of www.pdx.cn, which is a fair achievement for a company that claims 2million subscribers of which 5% are mobile bloggers. I visited the wapsite of Princess only to discover google earth photos locating her school and camera photos of her living room, all at ankle level. I can’t help wondering how PDX.cn and operators of PICA.com can hope to track, on behalf of the Government, this ever growing number of increasingly mobile people. The group at the European Chamber of Commerce function at the Centro Bar are engaged in decidedly more traditional businesses, perhaps an accurate reflection of the state of European mobile development. European networking functions, like the British Chamber ones, are more of a refuge for westerners in the guise of business. In Centro a jazz band plays and champagne flows across the black marble bar on expense accounts, and stories are exchanged about the trials of doing business in China. So far I haven’t had any business from these functions as a review of the business cards reveals petty entrepreneurs like me or people providing real estate, recruitment or wealth management services; none of which I require. The people that require wealth management are the ones that might meet playing golf in China. As I was going to play at the Riverside Golf Beijing Golf Club on Sunday I went to buy some clubs. Apparently all the big American brands, except Ping, make their clubs in southern China, of which 70% end up back in America – an industry worth some US$2.8bn. At Bob’s Golf emporium I was offered a ‘real set of Calloways’ or the set made by the enterprising Bob and his wife Jenny, for the princely sum of RMB1,500 (US$190)- about the price of one genuine putter. Same bag, same detail on the shaft, but without a hallmark on the base of the driver, the clubs were an identical match although of inferior materials, with rumours of club heads flying off further than the balls they strike making me shy of buying a full set. I elected to buy a decidedly inexpensive ping putter and well meaning Adidas remakes, realising when I got home that the box for the shoes had deftly been reclaimed by Jenny, no doubt to make a home for some new shoes from Guangzhou. The first golf links were built in China in 1984, and apparently China now ranks fifth in the world and second in Asia in terms of the number of courses. In 2004 there were more than 200 operational golf links, with 500 to 1,000 more are already under construction, even though more than half of the operational links were losing money. At the Riverside, some 1.5 hours due east of Beijing, a massive clubhouse modeled on a French Villa stands proud on agricultural land, a haven for expatriates who can afford the RMB500 (US$62.5) green fees. In my case a day of driving balls into several reservoirs cost me RMB1000 (US$125); the weekly wage of young Ben in spite of his Masters Degree earnt in England. Needless to say there were legions of young people to help carry, clean, pour, and otherwise help me to overcome my guilt at spending so much and playing so badly. My only consolation was that by striking more than 100 shots I got good value per stroke. Golf is a rich man’s sport in China, but I also wonder about how popular the Sunday game will be when most Chinese that I know aim to spend Sunday with their families in the large tabled restaurants around Beijing. Perhaps the imminent arrival of Tiger Woods at the HSBC classic in Shanghai in September, with prize money of US$5m will continue to drive the popularity of what my Australian friend Phil calls ‘cross country billiards.’ I felt pretty snookered by the time I got home, having spent really no time during the week simply relaxing, and realised that it is 6 months since I landed in Beijing, and 6 months without a proper base. News of an imminent approval by the AIC of our company registration, the beginnings of submitting proposals and the morning arrival of Ben and Judy to 0504 Jian Wai is giving me a deeper sense that the tide is turning in our favour. Each day I try to spend time sharing our best practices with Ben and Judy, and they are responding marvellously to what must seem a strange pursuit – starting a business from one’s apartment. Ben has come to each of the networking sessions, and appears to excel at it as he speaks some French and German, which makes him a natural foil for Europeans whether at Mobile Monday or Centro. When I think back to all the books that I have read on business, none talks about making links, and yet without these, there is no business – whether selling fakes or the genuine article. Finally, I now have a blog very ably set up by Michael Switow to whom I owe a debt of thanks for all his hard work. Do please take a look and let me know what you think, as guess what, it is blocked in China! http://www.jimjames.cn FOOTNOTES: The Qing Dynasty lasted from 1644-1911 AD Source: Pssst... Wanna Buy Some Clubs? Source: Asia Times Online