Celebrating 25 years of excellence: A tribute to Alex Wu’s legacy at Asia Base

In a little over one month from now, on December 24th 2024, Asia Base turns 30! An achievement I will address in another post. Stay tuned for that.

But today, November 15 2024, marks a significant milestone in the history of Asia Base and a personal one for me. Our colleague and friend, Alex Wu, celebrates his 25th anniversary with our company. As we reflect on the journey that Alex and Asia Base have traveled together, we can’t help but feel immense gratitude for the countless contributions he has made to our success.

When Asia Base was founded in December 1994 in Suzhou, our mission was clear from the outset: “help foreign companies establish in China at near-Chinese cost levels, but with Western-quality standards”. We understood that China was on the verge of becoming the global manufacturing powerhouse it is today, and we wanted to help our clients tap into that potential while maintaining their commitment to quality.

Our first five years were an exciting and often challenging time. After surviving the Asian financial crisis in 1997, "demand finally caught up with our overcapacity". In 1999 we made the decision to expand again. One critical move was hiring a strong Chinese lawyer to enhance our legal capabilities.

A new chapter: Alex Wu joins Asia Base

In 1999, when Asia Base was only five years old and still finding its footing in the fast-changing Chinese market, we brought Alex Wu on board to strengthen our legal team. Alex had graduated from law school in June 1989. Those of us with “longer memory” remember that 1989 was a year marked by profound political and social upheaval in China.

Alex's intellect and resilience were evident early on. Before joining us, he had worked for the local Suzhou investment authorities, where he participated in developing and planning the incentives and policies that would make Suzhou one of the biggest recipients of foreign investment in China. In fact, Suzhou would go on to surpass even Shanghai and Shenzhen in terms of FDI inflows.

Alex’s transition from government to privat enterprise was a natural one. Having helped build the regulatory environment that fostered foreign investment in Suzhou; he was now involved, hands-on, in ensuring that the very foreign businesses he once worked on attracting would also thrive in real life, in China’s rapidly evolving market.

Alex’s First major challenge: A case of complexity and crisis management

Alex’s first major project at Asia Base was a "baptism by fire". A truly high-stakes case that would test his legal prowess and problem-solving abilities. We were tasked with rescuing a large German joint venture that had failed terribly due to fraud and embezzlement. A challenge typical of the early joint ventures that were set up when China still didn’t allow wholly foreign-owned enterprises (WFOEs).

I’ll never forget finding a perfectly written legal note in English on the printer during one of Alex’s early days at Asia Base. The note was outlining a really smart resolution plan for this critical project. I assumed the note had been written by one of my American colleagues, Brent Beery. But when I asked him how he had managed to pull off such good legal analysis, he said, "It’s not me! It’s our new lawyer, Alex Wu." I was stunned. His command of English was incredible, and his legal acumen was second to none. It was this case that not only safeguarded the foreign capital of our client, but also solidified Alex's role as a key member of our team.

Helping clients navigate fast growth and crisis

As Asia Base grew, so did the complexity of our clients’ needs. The late 1990s and early 2000s brought rapid IT and mobile phone industry growth in China, as well as the fallout from the IT bubble. Alex played a pivotal role in managing these challenges and helped us shift from being a generalist consultancy into a specialized law consultancy.

In the 2000s, Alex was instrumental in helping over 150 companies establish operations in China - some from scratch and others through M&A. Without mentioning any names, I can reveal that our reference list grew to include large scale projects for multinational clients in industries such as “pharmaceuticals, cement, wind turbines, pumps, thermostats” as well as “a major establishment project for famous Danish toy manufacturer”.

Alex and I often spent considerable time at client premises abroad, conducting interviews with key stakeholders across various departments - legal, finance, quality, R&D, manufacturing, HR, engineering, and more, to gather essential input for development of business cases and feasibility studies. After returning to China, we worked closely with the clients to implement their unique projects, navigating the bureaucratic, legal, financial, and operational challenges to ensure successful establishment and growth in the Chinese market.

Weathering the global financial crisis and beyond

Asia Base weathered the global financial crisis of 2008 thanks to the strong foundation we had built in China. Alex's ability to safeguard our clients’ investments while identifying new opportunities for restructuring, downsizing, and relocation was critical in helping our clients survive and thrive.

As we entered the 2010s, our client base nearly doubled. Some of our early entrants needed to expand; others relocated. Meanwhile, some clients faced the reality of Chinese companies that had caught up with Western quality standards without quite matching Western cost levels.

The 2020s: Rising to the challenges of COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, the world was thrown into disarray, and we expected a downturn in our business. However, we soon found that the inability of Western companies to travel to China opened up new opportunities for Asia Base. With myself caught up abroad, unable to re-enter China for several months, Alex took charge in leading our clients through a wave of downsizing and restructuring.

With these projects our scope of services, and Alex’s expertise, came full circle, helping companies with everything from entry to exit in China.

A heartfelt congratulations to Alex Wu

Today, we celebrate Alex Wu - a colleague who has been with Asia Base for 25 remarkable years. From the early days of mass-entry to guiding clients through periods of growth and crisis, Alex’s contribution has been nothing short of extraordinary. His dedication, intelligence, and commitment to excellence have shaped not only Asia Base’s success but also the success of every client we’ve helped along the way.

Alex, thank you for being a guiding force at Asia Base. Without your legal expertise, unwavering professionalism, and ability to turn challenges into opportunities, there’s no telling where we would be today - perhaps we would have even ceased to exist at some points during the many crises we’ve faced.?

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Looking ahead, Asia Base remains determined to continue supporting client businesses in China, despite the current geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges.

If you want to safely enter, grow, restructure, downsize, or even terminate operations in China, Alex, myself, and the rest of our amazing team are here for you.

Here’s to another 25 years of success and collaboration!

www.asiabase.com

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