Timeless Words of Wisdom

Welcome everyone to another edition of my China Tech Law Newsletter.? Some of you may know that in addition to this blog, I host a podcast called the Asia Business Podcast .? I was recently listening to some old episodes and decided to pull some great quotes from them.

Kimberly Kirkendall, CPA in her episode here talked about culture differences especially when China was first reforming and opening up again, but also still relevant today:

"And typically factory business owners in China can be very vulnerable and open about their business and their challenges. And you wouldn't find that in the U.S. in the same way.”

Kim also had a great quote later in the same episode about challenges facing Chinese companies in the US:

"It's a big undertaking to get into the U.S. and the process and the cycle is very objective and detached and financial metrics driven, which is not how they have done business in China typically. So I actually think it's harder for Chinese companies. I feel like they're even less prepared to go to the US as Americans are to go to China."

Another great interview was with Gabor Holch for his book, Dragon Suit – The Golden Age of Expat Executives in China:

"The way things used to be, the way things are changing for expatriates are part of the broader changes that China is going through.? And the expatriate community here in the business sense, the value that they still continue to play here for Chinese and multinational companies bridging the cultural gaps in the business world, is immense.”

Yingying (李莹莹） Li adds to that idea very succinctly in her quote from the episode here:

"And remember, cultural exchange isn't just about sharing food, language, or traditions. It's about exchanging ideas, challenges, and solutions. It's about learning from each other's ways of thinking and approaching problems."

Gabor concludes the general point:

“And very often we operate, companies themselves operate, and sometimes the expat as well, operates on stereotypes about Chinese culture that it's a culture of harmony, it's a culture of people obediently following omnipotent leaders and so on. And very often we find out it's not like that at all. The places where usually expats go like Shanghai and Shenzhen, people know what they want, they are ready to fight for it, they are very dynamic environments."

It really has been a joy to host this show.? I’d encourage everyone to check it out if you haven’t already.? This is just the tip of the iceberg of timeless wisdom shared by the guests who have joined the podcast over the years.? Many of their teachings have also indirectly been an inspiration for this blog.?

That’s it for a short blog post today.? Thank you for reading and thank you for subscribing!? See you back here next week!