| News Report about a China Trade Conference(2004-04-24) | |||||
On April 9th, Consul General Peng Keyu attended a trade conference hosted by the Saint Martin's College in Olympia, Washington. He delivered a keynote speech about doing business in China. Here is a report from the News Tribute about this event.
If you want to establish trade with China, build relationships AL GIBBS; The News Tribune Last year, Gov. Gary Locke served Starbucks coffee to customers in China. "They were in awe of the name," Locke said Friday during a China trade conference sponsored by Saint Martin's College in Lacey.
But it was more than just the taste of the coffee that sold the product to the Chinese, the nation's first Chinese American governor added.
"Healthy trade relies on relationships, not just transactions," he emphasized.
China supplies 55 percent of transpacific trade moving through West Coast ports like Tacoma.
The United States is China's second-largest trading partner, and China is the United States' third-largest partner, said Peng Keyu, China's consul general in San Francisco.
Over the next 20 years, trade with China will double, noted Brendan Dugan, the Port of Tacoma's senior director of marketing and trade.
And China is rapidly changing and becoming more modern, Dugan said.
"On my last trip to Shanghai a week ago, I caught this bit of motion out of the corner of my eye," he said. "It turned out to be a mag-lev train going 200 miles per hour. That hadn't been there a year ago."
That was the reason for the trade conference, designed for small and medium-sized companies. About 250 people attended.
They got lots of tips for trading with China, the best from Joe Borich. Borich was consul general in Shanghai before retiring from the U.S. State Department to run the Washington State China Relations Council.
His tips:
* Do good due diligence. Study as much as you can.
* Get professional help, from either the United States or China.
* Choose the right Chinese partner to do business with.
* "Take a long-term view of the Chinese market," he said. Chinese culture is based on thousands of years of history. The country isn't looking for immediate successes like American companies often are.
* Be flexible. In business, Americans aren't necessarily always right. "Be prepared to compromise," Borich said.
* Pay attention to relationships. That is the one thing the Chinese prize most.
* Finally, be culturally aware. "When your Chinese host serves you a meal, assume it's the best there is," Borich said. "Don't tell him you'd like a cheeseburger instead."
Al Gibbs, 253-597-8650 (Published 1:41AM, April 10th, 2004) |
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