With hindsight, Jack Leblanc finds humor, even hilarity, in the unexpected twists and reversals during two decades of easing the way for business deals in China and Taiwan. Presumably, the eccentricities, cultural clashes, disputes and deals that faltered didn’t look so funny at the time.
A schoolteacher turned business consultant, LeBlanc gives an entertaining, potentially useful account of his experiences in Business Republic of China, Tales From the Front Line of China’s New Revolution (2008, Blacksmith Books, Hong Kong, 248 pages, US$14.95).
“Doing business in China is often perceived as a complex puzzle with opaque rules of play…. From a Western perspective, certain steps along the way are indeed taken differently in his part of the world. I learned this the hard way and had to grapple with the fact that cultural sensitivity is the key to lifting the shroud of mystery…. With common sense, a good product, a bit of luck, an open mind and a level head, anyone can succeed in China.”
Fascinated by the world’s most populous country, Leblanc, a Belgian, arrived on Chinese soil in 1989, soon after the Beijing Massacre of student protesters. He planned to stay for just two years.
“Except for some of the black and white TVs that were humming Sichuan opera, time seemed to have stood still for the last 200 years…. One week ago I was still breathing the air of grayish Brussels and now it felt as if I had walked into an Indiana Jones movie set. The vibes this place gave off were incredible. There and then I decided that nothing in the world could make me go back to Europe…”
Soon renamed Jieke (a mispronunciation of Jack), the newcomer faced a few jolts. For one thing, he expected to teach physics, but his employers insisted on English literature.
“Hadn’t they noticed my heavily-accented English? They must know that not all barbarians are native English speakers. Why would they expect me to teach literature or culture? For heaven’s sake…. A subject I hadn’t the faintest idea how to tackle and had never studied in depth before.”
Leblanc tells of tinkering in business deals, brokering to build understanding and ease conflicts between overseas investors and their Chinese partners. Veering from plate glass to pipes to dotcom intangibles, he gives a rare insider’s view.
“Successful negotiations in China require great reserves of the most precious commodity of all: time. The ability to squander it as if you had a lifetime to wait will earn you the goodwill of your Chinese partners.”
Rarely dull, Leblanc’s business meetings become fascinating spectacles: “All dragging on tar-heavy cigarettes, puffs of smoke slowly filling the room. All listening very attentively…. In the meantime, our meeting was interrupted by the noises of a marching band outside, at least 50 people snaking through the streets waving colourful flags, beating drums and shouting: ‘Long live birth control. One child is enough.’ ”
Leblanc leads his readers to factory floors, boardrooms, banquet tables, karaoke clubs and massage parlors. “About 800 workers had gathered outside. In chorus they were singing the company’s theme song while the company’s flag was being slowly lowered and folded, military-style.”
Deal-makers must enjoy the extremes of Chinese cuisine. “Then came the soft-shell turtle soup…. As the guest of honor it was my privilege to chew on the soft carapace of the poor turtle. It didn’t taste like anything in particular, and rather gave the impression that I was gnawing on a piece of rubber. In the meantime, Mr Lei was effusively explaining to me all the advantages it would bring to my manhood.”
The author stresses the need to seal deals by joining the Chinese partners to gulp down glassfuls of “rocket fuel” (strong drinks).
“The drinking now took off in earnest, every toast demanding another, more bottles opened and circulated around the table. As the empty bottles started to clutter the little trolley, the heads of some at the table transformed into a wide spectrum of colours, starting at cherry red, darkening into burgundy and finally dark purple. To me the liquor tasted like fuel capable of powering a Long March rocket to the moon.”
Readers unfamiliar with China’s business environment, with its odd blend of aspiring capitalists and ruling Communists, may learn much that surprises them. Some may be offended that the Chinese routinely call their overseas customers and investors “the barbarians”. Anyone easily angered by racial stereotypes probably should do business elsewhere.
Some problems defy prediction. “The office building where Mr Zhang was based experienced occasional loss of Internet access. Fibre-optical cables would mysteriously disappear. The problem was only solved when a clearly visible note was placed on them: ‘This cable contains no copper. Please don’t steal!’ ”
Why do the Chinese disrespect intellectual property rights? How do the guanxi networks (based on personal relationships) work? Why is corruption pervasive? Why do the overseas and Chinese partners in joint ventures often work at cross-purposes? Leblanc addresses such questions.
“Too often, we saw joint ventures created with the intention to profit from cheap labour, the gigantic local market, or a mixture of both, without any interest in what made the employees, local partner or local market tick in the first place. Too bad about all the wasted money, sweat and damage to mental health. Still, many are hopelessly attracted by the mating call of the JV beast, and insist that it’s within their power to tame it.”
The biggest critics for Business Republic of China may be business people who see nothing amusing in unexpected barriers, deals derailed or dashed expectations. These same entrepreneurs and investors, the ones taking themselves too seriously, face the biggest perils of going wrong and would benefit the most from Leblanc’s book.
“When investors believe they have every parameter in their Chinese business model under control, they’re in fact sailing dangerously close to terra incognita.”
Approval rating: 71 per cent.
For more information: www.blacksmithbooks.com
(June 4, 2008)
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