China: Billionaires + Billions of People
Is China about unlimited cheap labor or unlimited innovation?
China — with its surging economy and its awkward dance between state and private ownership — excites and incites all kinds of opinions on both sides of that divide.
So, is China, with its nearly 1.4 billion people, just able to up its odds for success with its seemingly infinite labor force, or is innovation ingrained in its culture?
Is censorship and lack of personal freedom defining China for this generation, or is the spirit of entrepreneurialism stoking real change?
There is hardly consensus around the world. But I’m of the mind that China’s momentum is massive and momentous. And that it is their innovation, not merely their scale, that is giving us the real run for our money.
Tom Friedman once said that in his generation his parents would tell him to finish his dinner because people in India and China were starving. He tells his daughters to finish their homework because people in India and China are starving for their jobs.
And coming back from a week in China, I get what he means about China’s thirst and drive and persistence. We don’t have to fear that China is taking over literally, although some out there on the fringe are obsessed about how the US debt to China could play out.
Nor, as we praise China’s progress, can we dismiss the human rights abuses that continue to negate and undermine it. No excuses can or should be made. And, although our own Congress continues to embarrass us as a democratic nation, we should not turn a blind eye to China’s corruptions and cruelties.
But at the same time I see something hopeful and tremendously exciting and encouraging. A culture that has a real start-up feel, a willingness to take risks and the vision to imagine new technologies brought to life with human purpose.
Look at a company like Xiaomi that has changed the game of smartphones in China, delivering a well-designed powerful smartphone at half the cost of the new “affordable” iPhone 5c.
Look at the growth and expansion of Lenovo against its struggling Western competitors.
And look who’s on the way up with Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneurs, who span an amazing array of categories.
Just last week, China formally announced its plans for a new free-trade zone in Shanghai and lifted the ban on Facebook in that zone, as well as on Twitter and the New York Times, among others.
Make no mistake, China is awake. Soaking up our culture and commerce. And making it very much their own.
What can we learn from them?
System Analyst at Transnet SOC Ltd
11 年I think in my country too much regulation makes us less competive. its hard to be creative and at the same time worry about not upseting the labour movements or gorvenmet legislation. most of the legislation that regulates trade are oppresive to startup who have to compete big businesses that are favoured by he same legislation. just an opinion of a struggling enterpreneur
Managing Consultant at ESKADA Business Consult Nig. Ltd.
11 年First of all I agree with Joseph K thst we learn their language. With the world population currently at 7billion it does not make sense that the language of a paltry 30million or so people (English) should remain popular at the expense of the Chinese languages of Mandarin and Cantonese. Secondly the west failed to recognise the fact that the different regions and peoples of the world must and will develop at their own pace. The Chinese did and do they tailor their manufacturing according to the needs of the different areas of the world. Whereas the highly developed world would accept nothing but the highest quality of products African and Asian countries are quite prepared to make do with lesser quality goods. One of the secrets of the great success of the Chinese economy is their ability to recognise this need/existing markets and fill the demands by producing first, second, and third grade products for the different zones of the world economy. When it comes to goods and services the exchange is fair to the extent that the consumer derives satisfaction from what hadbeen paid for. Perhaps one way for the west to balance the trade is to adopt the Chinese approach and provide goods and services based on local demand.
CISM, PMP
11 年I suggest the author to read the book called "The end of Cheap China" which has a fair description of what is happening in China. I also find out that many ppls in this discussion are not aware of the dramatic changes happen in China. Anyway, accept it or not, China and its culture are far from the so called western civilization. You cannot explain what happen in China by the so called "universal value". Stop judging a country that you are not familiar with, it is not wise to just repeat something that brainwashed your mind (from the media), because those so called news or research are not even close to the truth. From my experience, China is supposed to be the worst devil in the western media, why the western world are so scared of this country? Chinese used to be very rich (in our 5000 years history) and poor (in the past 100 years) , but we build up our wealth by our hand, not just sitting in some street and play around the virtual money. Hard working ppls should be respected.
Designer at Cozinhas Abel
11 年I agree both with Louis Giokas and Mike Mcgannon. China is mostly known for poor quality. And being 100% focused on low cost can hardly be called innovation even worse when plagiarism is their preferred way of acting. China's muscle is based on little or no working conditions; no respect for the workers; no fair distribution of wealth. Chinese GDP has grown an amazing 7.8% in 2012 but it is slowing down compared to the last few years. I wonder how long can this muscle work while being short in oxygen. I'm not saying this applies to all Chinese companies, there is genuine innovation in China, but taking their sheer size into account, it's a drop in the ocean. But I also believe all of us have a share of responsibility for what is happening. How many products do we buy that say "made in china"? I believe we should look beyond the price tag... it's part of our social responsibility!
Servant Leader | Culture Builder | Chief Executive Officer | Leading B2B & B2C Business Strategies | P&L Leader | Board of Directors | Keynote Speaker
11 年David, I love your optimism here, but my experience (entertainment industry only) is that the State in China consistently gets in the way and gets its way. For all the positive and innovative change the country is engaging in, there is still the old guard ruling and making the decisions at the top and that continues to be a barrier for foreign nations, like the USA, to truly engage at a productive level we hope to.