The following testimonial is from MBA student Justin Lueger describing his experience at the recent China Connection: Strategies for Entry and Operation study abroad program organized by the KU School of Business. Justin and 10 other KU students travelled to Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai from May 17-30, 2008.
The chorus of car horns signaled the beginning of three minutes of silence. It was 2:28 p.m. on May 19 in Beijing, and it was my first full day in China. An entire nation, nearly 1.3 billion people, stopped what they were doing – no matter what it was – and stood solemnly. My fellow classmates and I stood silently with them – all of us honoring the victims of the Sichuan Province earthquake that shook the country one week earlier.
Although the reason we were standing was grave, it provided me with my first real lesson in China: The Chinese people are every bit as proud, loyal and united as we are in the U.S. That single kernel of knowledge goes a long way in explaining the rapid rate of growth and positive change occurring in China today, which was the focus of our two-week study abroad trip.
Along with 10 of my classmates, I traveled to China for two weeks to understand why the country is capturing the world’s attention and how it could quite possibly develop into the most powerful economic force on earth. To comprehend those matters we met with government officials, industry executives and business professors. It was an intense two weeks, and the learning curve was incredible.
China is one of the most dynamic places on this planet. The rate of change is phenomenal. Someone in China told us that there are more than 10,000 construction cranes in Beijing alone. I haven’t found any evidence to support this hypothesis, but I doubt any other city in the world has more construction sites – aside from maybe Dubai.
The numbers in China are staggering. Let me offer some perspective. There are more smokers in China than there are men, women and children combined in the U.S. About 18 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Despite being nearly the same size as the United States in terms of land mass, China has six times more people. And finally, the pace of GDP growth in China in 2008 will likely be nine times higher than that in the U.S. No wonder the world can’t stop talking about the place.
We visited three cities in China: Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. Each city provided unique opportunities to discover facets of Chinese business and culture that could only be gleaned through firsthand observation.
KU Business Professor Tailan Chi traveled with our group and arranged much of the trip. He has deep connections in China, which allowed us to meet with the Ministry of Commerce, renowned professors of business and economics, and executives from KPMG, Black & Veatch, EDS, and from subsidiaries of Koch Industries and YRC Worldwide.
It was a fascinating time to study in China, especially in light of the political posturing being displayed today by both the Chinese and the United States governments. While the U.S. chastises the Chinese for moving too slowly in appreciating the value of the Yuan, the Chinese criticize the U.S. for allowing our dollar to drop so sharply. China holds about $1.8 trillion – that’s with a “t” – in foreign exchange reserves, most of which is parked in dollar-denominated assets. These assets are diminishing in value with every drop in the dollar. Talk about the relative currency valuations of the Yuan and U.S. Dollar seemed to creep into every discussion we had in China.
We also discussed timely topics such as intellectual property rights, or lack thereof. I read a statistic recently that said 70 percent of all pirated goods come from China. I can’t speak to the veracity of that claim, but even if it’s wrong the point remains, China has a significant problem with protecting intellectual property rights. In fact, in our meeting with Black & Veatch, Jim Radda, director of production, said his company made a strategic decision to not bring a patented technology to China specifically because of piracy fears. Fortunately, the latest report by the American Chamber of Commerce, People’s Republic of China – another organization we visited while in Beijing – states that companies in China believe the IP issues are getting better, though more progress is needed.
We also discussed issues relating to savings rates, inflation, labor costs, investment vehicles, and even the business ramifications of the 2008 Olympics. The last issue is a biggie considering certain factories around Beijing are being told by the Chinese government to shut down for several months during the Olympics in an attempt to clear the smog in the air. It will be an interesting environmental case study to see what happens.
It wasn’t all business, though; we studied the culture too. For instance, our group walked the Great Wall. Never in my life have I been more impressed with a human-created structure. Without seeing the Wall in person, it is tough comprehend the size and the amount of time and manpower it took to construct the edifice. I was amazed.
We also spent a day touring the Terracotta Warrior site – another one of the most remarkable displays of organized labor that I’ve ever seen. Experts estimate that more than 8,000 clay-molded warriors and several hundred clay horses and chariots, some of which are still buried, were placed in this mausoleum to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang upon his death. That was in 210 B.C. The fact that tourists can see the figures today is a marvel.
The biggest surprise for me in our two-week stay in China was that I never felt out of place – not once. The country is actually quite accommodating since many Chinese speak, or at least can understand, English. Regardless, I can’t think of a fourteen-day stretch where I’ve learned more.
In China, seeing is believing. My professors have talked at length about the emergence of China and the impact it will have on the world. But it wasn’t until I visited the country that I fully understood why.
For more information on KU Business study abroad programs, visit:
http://www.business.ku.edu/International
