Mission to China
I participated in an Economic Trade mission with Junior Team Canada (www.gvconnects.com) to strengthen trade relations between Canada, China and Hong Kong. An equally important task was to experience a new culture, have fun and discover another part of this world. For many years China has been a place of great ancient history, a place where dynasties and emperors have ascended and fallen. It is a place where traditional customs prevail and where the Great Wall stands the test of time.
Today, China is set to become a world power. It has caused major shifts and ripples in the world economy and it will only continue. It is a place where a shattering 1.3 billion people live and where the average income is $120 dollars Canadian per year.
In order to keep this e-mail engaging and straightforward, I have divided the following e-mail into four parts; First, background information, second, pre-departure training in Ottawa, third, Beijing, and third, Hong Kong.
The selection process
Throughout the year, a global team from Ottawa visits each province and territory and sets up a training centre. I missed the training centre in Toronto and decided to fly to St. John’s Newfoundland in June. I spent three days demonstrating everything from teamwork stills to cross-cultural sensitivity. Think of it as a three day interview where 34 individuals from across the country would compete with over 600 applicants. At any rate, once selected the real work began!
I was required to raise $4000 in six weeks in order to cover my share of the cost. At the time I was taking three university courses and writing up a business plan. I must say that there were many sleepless nights. However, by the 6th week I was very close to my target and was super charged to fly to Ottawa.
Ottawa:
On August 1st, the thirty four successful candidates from across Canada flew to Ottawa. With a mix of undergrad students, high school seniors and law students our team was happy to finally meet each other. As a team, we represented Canada and were accompanied by a Canadian federal minister who recently received the Order of Canada.
One week prior to our departure, we attended intense cross-cultural training and pre-departure briefings from the Department of International Trade and Foreign Affairs proceeded. Our days were packed with many networking opportunities with the Canada China Business Council, Castle and Blakes attorneys, China’s Power Corporation, professors, commercial trade officers, IBM and more. Collectively, we networked among each other and developed the synergies required to gain market intelligence.
Beijing:
After surviving the long 23 hour flight with 5 stopovers the plane safely landed in Beijing. Being surrounded by mountains and the Great Wall of China was a moving experience. Beijing is very rich in history and it is where Chairman Mao is buried. Chairman Mao is largely accredited from bringing China together under a communist regime and writing the constitution. Every morning at 5:00am more than 7,000 thousand people gathered to a place only 10 minutes away from our hotel to see a flag raising ceremony and participate in the national anthem.
I had a difficult time adjusting to the food and language. I managed to learn a few words and try new dishes. Beijing is modernizing rapidly. Preparations are underway to use English signs as the Summer Olympics approach in 2008. Still, there were many times in Beijing where taxi drivers spent more than two hours driving without knowing where to go. Neither of us could communicate to each other and at one point, I had to get out and ask some local people for directions. But rather than just giving up, I decided not to get frustrated, but be amused. That’s all that I could do in a situation as odd as this.
There was another incident in Beijing that I will never forget. I was in a cab returning to my hotel after meeting with some V.P’s of a state owned enterprise. Rain started to pour and within minutes it seemed that all the taxis in China were being used. Four lane roads quickly swelled to six or seven lanes. As you can imagine the traffic stalled.
All the busses, cars and taxis were jammed on the road and I felt that we were moving slower than the tectonic plates beneath the earth. Thirty minutes passed and I was still waiting. I decided to jump out of the taxi and hop on to the back of a bicycle. So here I am on the back of a bicycle with an umbrella in my hand and we’re flying right by the stalled traffic. It felt great! For a 20 minute ride, the cost was about 1 dollar Canadian. At that point, I realized that in China it’s always a good idea to leave ample time for unexpected things such as lost taxi drivers or a six lane road.
It is estimated that 30 million people from West China move into the major cities annually. That is the size of Canada and the government is under great pressures to keep with the pace. Clearly, this presents business opportunities for Canadians.
Interestingly, while on the subject of modernization, the internet access in Beijing is difficult to access. I did manage to find one or two Internet cafes, but with such a large population of users, it was difficult to get a computer to use. As I think about Beijing, I can only say that people are constantly buzzing around you and that I never saw the blue sky. This is because with so many people, there is a great deal of pollution.
Another striking difference is the homes in Beijing. Some of the homes beside our hotel were at least 1000 years old. I found this part of my visit to be very interesting, but I did not mind because that's the whole point of going to China.
From an economic point of view, the Chinese Market is largely dominated by state owned entreprises. However there are many large multinational companies and according to the Chinese Embassy, 400 of the fortune five hundred companies have set up local subsadiaries. There is a growing pool of expatriates, but it is a difficult culture to live in due to the Institutional Context’s of Bejiing.
While in Beijing, our team met with Canadian and American consultants working for Detoitte and Touche. It was a great opportunity to ask them about their careers path and develop new contacts. That same day we proceeded to the Chinese Embassy and were invited very royally to the office. We had the chance to listen to what the governments desired in trems of bilatural trade with Canada. We were seated on a huge oval table which sat 40 people and were able to engage and ask questions directly to the top diplomats. The officials were very friendly and soft spoken. It was insightfull to listen to some of the staggeting statistics on trade. In fact, growth in China began back in 1979. Since China became part of the WTO in 2000, the growth and development has increased exponentially. Some of the statistics that I read were quite different from the ones I heard from the embassy.
The opportunity to meet with the Chinese Youth Federation was great (Youth.cn). Meeting with China’s youth leaders was interesting andlead to a visit in Peking University. This is a top university in Beijing. In fact, one of our tour guides at the university was visiting from Stanford and claimed that Peking was like the equivalent to Stanford in a Chinese context. Later on that evening, the Canadian Ambasador to China hosted a dinner at his residence for our team. Having met a great deal of contacts in such a short time was amazing.
As the week came to an end, the opportunity to meet with V-P’s from some Fortune 500 companies was great. I hope to return to Beijing in 2008 during the Summer Olympics. Care to join me?
Hong Kong:
Picture being surrounded by mountains, an abyss of international brand names and a great deal of international workers from every corner of the globe. This is Hong Kong. I can not describe the utter beauty and advancement of this booming city. Let me tell you that when I arrived, my jaw dropped in awe. To say the least, Hong Kong Island is a place where the ocean collides into the towering mountains and where buildings compete to touch the sky.
I spent the second day on a private beach in Hong Kong. The Canada Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce hosted a beach party for our team. Several business leaders sailed or flew over to the private island which was surrounded by mountains. I had the opportunity to play volley ball, swim in the Pacific Ocean, and have an ocean side B.B.Q. Our team met with the chairman of Sunlife Financial, the Senior Trade Commissioner from the Canadian Consulate, the CEO for a major plastics company and many international consultants.
There is a very high quality of life and people are thriving on trade and business. Over 3000 foreign multinationals are located in Hong Kong. I personally had the chance to meet with representatives from McKinsey & Company, HSBC, Sun Life Financial, Nortel, and Kathleen Slaughter, Li and Fung and the Associate Dean for the Richard Ivey School of Business in Asia.
I love Hong Kong! Indeed it is a place buzzing with life at all hours of the day and food from every part of the world can be found. English is the second language in Hong Kong so getting around was very easy. This made it much easier than Beijing which in contrast had me frustrated inside taxi cabs all the time.
Given that I wanted to get close to the culture and meet people, I went out to where all the expatriates hang out. It was a Friday night and the timing could not have been better to be out. I ventured into the city alone exploring the city, subway, trains and ferry boats. I walked into some bars, local shops, restaurants and finally for dinner at a cool live music band called Crazy Bananas.
While in Honk Kong, our team stayed at a hotel that sits at the edge of a major peninsula. Across from the hotel, I could see dozens of ships, sail boats and cruise liners glided toward the Ocean. Then further in the backdrop, towering buildings cluster around the downtown core with lights towering into the sky. Further in the backdrop, a huge lush green mountain castles over the downtown core and inspired my imagination. No wonder Hong Kong has drawn some of the most reputable and world known brands such as Versace, Ferrari, Ritz-Carlton and of course Starbucks. I have fallen in love with Hong Kong and I strongly desire to return in the future. Will you join me? I would encourage you to take a chance.
One major distinctive factor of Hong Hong is that many people mingle together from Australia, India, South America, the U.S, Africa and many other nations. There is an interesting fusion of people. Hong Kong is such an international city that it just took my breath away. There is a thriving population of cars such as the Rolls Royce, Mercedes and Lexus. As a matter of fact, on a per capita basis, Hong Kong has the largest percentage of Rolls Royce’s in the world.
Having spent a week in Hong Kong and China, I have gained an appreciation of the Chinese culture. I must say that Hong Kong alone is at least 43-50 fifty years ahead of Toronto. There are many great development projects such as Disney Land, Cyber Port, and Technology Parks that will differentiate Hong Kong as a leading business center and tourist attraction in the world.
Having gained new skill sets and built new relationships with influential leaders in China and Hong Kong I am spending some time to absorb all that I have learned. Having gained new contacts in the far-east, I would be more than happy to share any contacts that you may want. If you know anyone that is interested in China as a potential market, please feel free to pass on my e-mail.
I hope to have enjoyed my reflection on Ottawa, Beijing and Hong Kong.
Best Regards,
Azim Lila
