Richard Dayoub in China
Blog from abroad:

Friday 3-20-09 - Friday morning, March 20th, 7:30 a.m., Soujou, China time, Thursday evening in El Paso.  We are preparing to depart for Shanghai Pudong Airport which is about an hour north of us.  It is one of the most beautiful airports in the world and has clearly been designed for much anticipated growth.  With the upcoming World Expo, no doubt, the Chinese will be prepared to receive the estimated 70 million visitors, 95% of whom will be coming from within China.  The past 8 days have been an incredible experience for all of the Chamber CEOs who participated in this first Chamber mission ever conducted and for all of our family members.  Everywhere we went, we were greeted as though we were dignitaries.  From airport arrivals to visits with the Mayors of each of these very large and dynamic cities, we were met with welcoming banners, musical and dance performances, official speeches, gifts, and most of all an incredible outpouring of warmth and kindness.  In Beijing and Shanghai, our visits were covered by the Chinese News Service.  On a humorous note, since none of us speak Chinese, everywhere we went, we were led by our guide with a bright sign on a pole that he held up for us to follow throughout the neighborhoods and facilities.  Now, we can truly appreciate why we see these same images at many of our tourist sights in the United States. If any of us became separated from our group, we would be hard pressed to find someone with enough English speaking skills to help us find our way again.  That said, many of the educated business and political leaders speak English beautifully.  The single most important thing that I have learned from this trip is how different my impression is now compared to my preconceived notions prior to this trip.  The Chinese are an amazing people.  They are gracious and kind and resilient.  So many of them face challenges similar to our own but on a much grander scale but they are incredibly optimistic and warm.  It is very clear to me that they want what we want:  to work together and prosper together as friends and business associate.  I am so impressed with what we share in common with them and the opportunities we have to work together, that I will be working with our leadership to host a “Discover China” mission for our members and their families later this Fall and/or the Spring of 2010.

Thursday 3-19-09 -  We spent the last two days in two of the six ancient Chinese capitols: Hang Zhou (hung joe) and Sou Zhou (sue joe).  Hang Zhou is known for its world famous Buddhist Temple that is more than 700 years old and its beautiful West Lake region.  These beautiful ancient sights are in contrast to the dynamic and progressive development occurring in the area with modern sky scrapers and beautiful new highways.  SouZhou is known for Leaning Buddhist Temple over 1,000 years old.  It rivals the Leaning tower of Pisa in Italy.  SouZhou is famous for its silk industry.  The finest silk in the world is made here.  It is also known for the canal which dates back nearly two thousand years and is part of the world’s longest canal which extends from Beijing to the north to Shanghai in the center of the country’s eastern coast (over 600 miles).  The journey to China has inspired me to begin making plans to take a delegation of our members back sometime in the next several months.  Look for details on the itinerary over the coming months. 

Tuesday 3-17-09 - This morning, the American Chamber of Commerce CEO group met with Ms. Brenda Lei Foster, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.  The program is one of the most insightful and direct presentations providing a candid view of the Chinese business climate and the challenges and opportunities for American companies considering China for expansion and growth.  This trip is timely given that China will celebrate later this Spring, the 60th Anniversary of the formation of the Peoples Republic of China.  It is also the 30th Anniversary of Normalized Relations between China and the United States. It is also timely given the state of the world economy and the effects each country is feeling.  While the US economy has not reached the bottom yet, it is down about 15.  In contrast, Japan is off by 30%, India between 15 and 20%, China’s economy is flat.  Since the Chinese have been accustomed to significant double digit growth over the past decade, even a flat rate is cause for significant concern.  The Chairman announced recently a $600 billion economic stimulus package to try to turn their economy around sooner.  In preparation for the 2010 World Expo, China is investing $70 billion in new infrastructure in Shanghai.  The investment is visible everywhere from the expansion of the high speed train system (bullet trains), to some of the most beautiful highways to found anywhere.  Most of the new hotels were already built to accommodate the needs for the 2008 Olympics.  Chinese leadership has already made a very public statement that their goal is to make this Expo the best and largest that has ever been held in the world.  While China has been known for its success in providing low cost labor and manufacturing for United States companies and other countries around the world, it is obvious that they have changed their focus in a very meaningful way.  Today, 75% of U S manufacturers with a presence in China are here to take advantage of the domestic market.  Some other examples of the shift that is occurring in China’s economy are:  53% of Shanghai’s GDP comes from the service sector; 224 regional headquarters of foreign companies are located in Shanghai today growing rapidly; 250 R and D technology headquarters are in Shanghai.  Chinese leadership is now recognizing that the trade deficit that currently exists between China, the U S and other countries can no longer continue if China is to realize its potential as a competitive world market leader.  Foreign direct investment only represents $60 billion.  China’s trade with the U S is $338 billion.  Through recent talks with U S, there are several planned strategy meetings that will be led by our State Department aimed at improving opportunities for U S companies to increase foreign direct investment in China.  As well, there will be a great deal of focus on many of the issues that currently present enormous risk for U S companies, not the least of which is Intellectual Property Rights.  Also human resource constraints, transparency in the rules/laws that govern and control foreign business, licensing issues and the enormous bureaucracy that impedes opportunity will be addressed. The American Chamber in Shanghai and in Beijing has committed to assist us with future opportunities.  They have offered to host an El Paso/Ciudad Juarez delegation of interested business men and women in the near future. 

Monday 3-16-09 -  This falls under the heading of “it’s a small, small world”.  At the airport in Shanghai, waiting for our luggage, I met a group of high school students along with their chaperone and teacher from Alicia Chacon International School in El Paso, Texas.  So here we are 8,000 miles away from home but still connected to our community.  It was a great surprise.  I believe they will be returning to the United States on the same flight with us this coming Friday.  Tomorrow, we begin the day with meetings with the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. We will be discussing trade opportunities for US companies to China.   Shanghai is a beautiful city with one of the most beautiful and modern airports in the world.

Sunday 3-15-09 - After arriving very late Friday night, actually Saturday morning, we began the day with meetings with the United States Embassy, Business Development officials, and the President of Oshkosh China.  Both presentations focused on guidance in preparation for launching business development in China as an American company.  The sessions were extremely helpful and eye opening to say the very least.  That afternoon we met with the Vice Mayor of Beijing who happens to be the individual credited with the idea of China vying for the 2008 Olympics.  Remember that Beijing is a city of 14,000,000 people and another 6,000,000 that are undocumented.  Since it is the capitol, the Mayor of Beijing, holds a tremendous position of power in the Communist Party.  I would compare the meeting with that of a foreign head of state.  He was gracious and well spoken and is now the proud owner of a Star Pin and the Chamber’s military coin.  The meeting room was clearly used for some very important meetings with microphones at every station and interpreters at the ready.  On Monday, we head south to Shanghai for meetings with State officials and tours of the most significant business parks in the region.  We have been asked to consider bringing a delegation from El Paso/Ciudad Juarez to visit in the late Fall or early Spring.

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