22 October, 2018, Bengaluru: “It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white; as long as it catches mice, it’s a good cat” – Deng Xiaoping.
I murmured the above lines by visionary politician Deng Xiaoping to myself as I began my return journey by the maglev train to the Shanghai airport. As a student of business, I was very eager to know more about China and its impact on the world economy. I wanted to experience China close up and IIMB, being the only Indian member school of the Global Network for Advanced Management, a powerful and prestigious network of 32 top global B-schools, provided me that opportunity.
Fudan University School of Management, where I spent my Global Network Week, took us on a Shanghai city tour followed by a networking dinner with 53 participants of 17 nationalities a day before the official launch of the programme. The Bund, Yu Garden and Nanjing represent a unique coexistence of old and new in this city.
The course, designed by Professor Joy Pan, covered FDI in China, market entry strategy and the current wave of entrepreneurship in SME.
We also learnt that Fudan School of Management’s first batch, in 1985, had only nine enrollments as managers at that time did not have the opportunity or the environment to explore innovative strategies due to strong regulation.
The faculty who taught us at Fudan also highlighted China’s rise after leader Deng realized the importance of FDI and convinced the government to change its foreign policy. “Infrastructure improved and FDI flooded the country, but till date most foreign companies see China as the manufacturing hub for export and not as a consumer market,” we were told. This is primarily because local consumers trust local companies and have inhibitions trying foreign products which explain the accelerated rise of Alibaba, WeChat and Baidu. These companies have created a complete ecosystem of convenience and locals are totally dependent on these apps for everyday functioning. China still works as: ‘By China for China’.
To make entry easy, foreign brands form JVs with local companies, yet are seldom successful in China. The concept of GUANXI (closest English meaning is ‘social connection’) explains how important it is for companies to establish trustworthy relationships with community, partners and Governments.
Guest speakers told us about about how China is encouraging small scale entrepreneurship by creating entrepreneur cafes for co-working in the initial stages. InnoSpace is one such place we visited. The course ended with certification and group photos with newly-made friends from around the world.
I understood facets of Chinese culture and business. It is commendable how Shanghai manages its 24-million population due to its strong transportation and infrastructure network. This is also the reason for foreign companies to prefer China to India. The China of today is working on balancing the right mix of socialist ideology and shared economy.
I am delighted that the Global Network for Advanced Management gave me the opportunity to access many countries and forge networks with students from B-schools around the world.
As I bid farewell to China, I bring home first-hand experience of this unique land
