Ni Hao
Ni hao. That was basically the only Chinese I knew before visiting the Red Dragon. Most of us only know the People’s Republic from items in the news, articles in news papers and magazines, all kind of literature we bumped into during our studies at Vlerick or prior at university or work or even just from watching the olympics back in 2008. But what does it mean to do business in China, to trade with Chinese partners, be a professional in this more than ever connected world? Frankly, we didn’t know what it really ment.
Our boot camp on International Management and Emerging Markets had the ambition to immerse us in one of the world’s fastest growing economies and enhance our curriculum with a real-life experience in China. Taking us to three totally different cities in over 10 days gave us three totally different perspectives on China.
Beijing was the place of take-off for us, with a first deep dive into doing business in China, Confucianism and economic policies from the People’s Republic trough different lectures at Beijing University. Company visits included technology driven ABB, CreditEase and Chinese owned LeTv.
A few days later, the night train took us to our next stop: Shanghai. Besides visits to Lear, digital marketing agency Createc and Belgian owned Chinafloors, we had the unique opportunity to attend an evening organised by the Belgian Chamber of Commerce where Tim Condon, Managing Director at Asia ING Financial Markets, gave us his views on the development of the Chinese economy.
Our last stop was Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient. Part of China but not really Chinese, we discovered the city’s unique relationship to the mainland and had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong Univeristy, one of the best universities in Asia.
Through a mix of lectures, company visits, challenges and cultural explorations we discovered how business is done in emerging markets. But China showed us much more. It enabled us to unravel a little more of what the world has to offer for us. And that’s what we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
Bram Jaques
Masters in General Management (MGM)