I always get a kick out of hearing the segment of Americans who rant about how “out of control” or “loose” or “unscrupulous those Chinese are” with respect to their business style and practices.

If we view life and the world from the American short term ” what can you do for me today” and immediate gratification perspective and time line, then I guess they may be right.

But fortunately we have historians that help remind us otherwise.

If/when you look this issue over a longer period of time, as the Chinese very well know how to do with their 3,700 year history and as a good historian is trained to do, then such statements and conclusions often don’t hold up under scrutiny.

For example, check out this recently published and must read Boston Globe article titled, A Nation of Outlaws: A Century Ago, That Wasn’t China — It Was Us, written by Stephen Mihm, assistant professor of history at the University of Georgia.

The WSJ blog notes the following about Mihm’s piece:

[Mihm argues that] China’s sometimes fast-and-loose business style doesn’t necessarily reflect a distinct Chinese approach to capitalism. The U.S. itself once shocked the world with piracy, counterfeiting and food scandals.

Just as pirated DVDs and Harry Potter books abound in China, U.S. printers published British authors’ books without permission or payment, provoking Charles Dickens to repeatedly condemn the U.S. in his lectures. Hats, gin, beer, and paper made in the U.S. would be labeled as fine imports from Paris and London. An investigation into Boston food in 1859 found pickles containing copper sulphate, sugar blended with plaster of Paris, and watered-down milk bulked up with chalk.

When the U.S. became a major exporter, such practices scandalized Europe. In the mid-1880s, U.S. butter exports to Europe plummeted following the revelation that a lot of it was “oleo-margarine,” made from beef fat, cattle stomach, and ewe udders. In 1879, Germany accused the U.S. of exporting pork contaminated with cholera, leading several countries to boycott the U.S.

[Prof. Mihm further argues that] [w]hat is happening in China today happens in most newly capitalist countries, as new technologies, expanding markets, and wily entrepreneurs overwhelm systems of control designed for rural areas.

If the U.S. in the 20th-century is any guide, China’s business-practices will eventually improve under stiff international pressure, says Prof. Mihm. The landmark Food and Drug Act of 1906 was in part aimed at improving the reputation of U.S. food abroad. Also, just as U.S. copyright laws tightened as U.S. authors became popular overseas, Prof. Mihm predicts China will crack down on counterfeit DVDs if and when it has a significant movie industry of its own.

I think Professor Mihm makes an excellent point. Good work, Doc Mihm.

On the other hand, an argument can be made that he is comparing apples to oranges, in that the US at at that time was a democracy (as it is now) and not an authoritarian state like China where the unhappy populace of America was able to go to their state legislatures and the federal government demanding, and obtaining, legislation that changed the status quo. China is not yet there. And as James Mann argues, even if it continues to develop economically and we open up trade with them it may never get there (see my previous blog post on Mann’s book, The China Fantasy).

Also, it seems to me that at that during the 20th century we had much more of a free and independent press, along with several early “Upton Sinclairs” and “Ralph Naders” types in our midst acting as watchdogs to help shine a spotlight on some of the problems at issue which thereby helped accelerate the creation of a remedy to address them. That is not the case in today’s China, although I concede that given the power of the Internet this point may be debatable.

Your thoughts on this issue and debate, sons and daughters, like me, of prior American charlatans, frauds, law breakers, counterfeiters and the like? Is the state of what we see in China today simply a part of the normal economic development of a country? Or, are Chinese society and culture inherently predisposed to break what we Westerners think are “the rules of the game”?

We had a great visit to Macau on our MBA trip this year. Not only has China surpassed the US in the manufacture of most everything, but as we saw it is now well on its way to establishing itself in the service industry of gambling.

See today’s NY Times article, “Bigger Than Las Vegas? That’s Macau’s Bet.” This article has a nice discussion on the Venetian, which you heard a nice presentation about from the Sands people while we were there. Thanks to trip alumni Eric Slayter for forwarding this article to me.

Professor Carr August 30, 2007 Addendum: Great related article in the WSJ that appeared yesterday titled, “Casino Brings Vegas to Macau“. If also focuses on the new Venetian Resort in Macau. This article does a great job touching on how the scale of Chinese size and taste is different than what you see in Vegas, how gambling habits differ between Chinese and the Vegas crowd, and the important role that feng shui played in the design of the Macau Venetian.

Great stuff. Check it out. You were there.  You saw it with your own eyes.

The NY Times [subscription may be required] has put together an interesting series of articles and multimedia examining the human toll, global impact and political challenge of China’s epic pollution crisis. In particular, a good slide show, video piece and a killer interactive map of China.

Click here to check it out.

Question for the students who have been to and seen China — how is China’s current developmental stage and the environmental pollution that goes along with it different than what the US, Japan, Korea, etc. went through as part of their respective industrial revolutions?

As an aside, I still have a cough from the Beijing pollution when we were there in July.

Having said that, that will in no way stop me from returning, and soon — there are just too many interesting things to see in China (and the rest of Asia), too many interesting people to meet, and too much business opportunity to experience. My DNA can’t help but resist against the “oh, isn’t it paradise here and aren’t we wonderful” blah, blah, blah self-congratulatory provincialism of California, SLO and Cal Poly.

Yes, we are lucky and fortunate, no doubt, but criminey, let’s get over it, stop patting ourselves on the back, and let’s move on and continue to strive to step out of our comfort zones. I will go to my grave pushing back, every time, against this mentality and paradise koolaid that some drink without question or critical analysis.

There’s just too much out there that’s cool that we don’t know that’s business related that our students and the American citizenry need to see, do and experience that goes way beyond and way deeper than just seeing the Eiffel Tower at night with a girlfriend or boyfriend, having that nice, expensive pasta dinner at a sidewalk cafe in Florence, Italy, or pub hopping with buddies in London, Vancouver or Madrid — all nice, to be sure; but also too quaint, too easy, and way too comfortable for my taste.

Okay, enough venting and preaching. You get the point. Get back to the NY Times link above, click away, and enjoy those visual learning materials!

I was perusing the archives of the always helpful China Law Blog and came across the following lead from the Escape From Cubicle Nation blog titled, “How Not To Be A Knucklehead in a Globalized World.”

See also this related post from the Going Global blog, “A Cautionary Tale: No Matter How Familiar, We Are But Guests in a Foreign Country.”

Some excellent points in these posts about the perils of familiarity and comfortableness leading one to mistakenly begin to treat the foreign venue as a cultural extension of the US.

Prof. Carr December 14, 2007 addendum: See also this post I made a few days ago, The Three Types of Westerners in China, which highlight several short, very relevant and good China Business Network podcasts on this important topic.

Prof. Carr December 30, 2007 addendum: Re: the Cautionary Tale blog post noted above, several days ago the WSJ reported that the subject of that post, Eric Volz, was freed from jail in Nicaragua and he proceeded to immediately leave the country before the government changed its mind. He is one lucky young man. One can only hope that he learned from this and makes better decisions about the company he keeps in the future.

Prof. Carr May 18, 2008 addendum: See also this related post I just made, Chinese Ethnocentrism. Just As Hard To Accept As Western Ethnocentrism.

While not a major focus of our trip, whether you realized it or not you did work with “informal” interpreters throughout your journey (e.g., the Chinese students who traveled with us; Peter Wu and Dr. Wu’s translation efforts during our 21Manager.com visit, English Corner, etc.), and this was a part of the experience I attempted to place before you.

Thus, you may have seen me pop into one or more of your conversations and point out that when using a translator, you need to be sure to position yourself where the translator can clearly see your lips and hear you, be sure and talk to the the Chinese speaking person you are supposed to be communicating with and NOT the translator, try to pause to let your interpreter catch up with you, etc.

Sounds like common sense, right? Yet while some these mechanics came easily and naturally for some, other struggled.

See this must read that I just came across from the Imagethief, an excellent public relations and communications blog, titled “How To Work With Interpreters” to learn more about this very important topic.

China will likely not be the first and only place where you have to give consideration to the hiring and use of interpreters in your business career, whether it’s a foreign delegation visiting your firm here in the US, or, you traveling abroad for business.

Best to learn and practice these skills now, rather than risk coming off as clumsy when you next encounter this situation.

Submitted By:  Evelyn Ma

Everyday I hear more news about China. Whether it is good or bad, any news (especially after out trip) about the PRC catches my attention. I recently read an article from CNN, describing a recall of toothpaste made in China.

The toothpaste manufacturer is Ming Fai Enterprises International Co. Ltd. and is distributed under Gilchrist & Soames. Independent studies found that some samples contained diethylene glycol (found in anti-freeze), a kidney and liver toxin and a central nervous system depressant. A recall has occurred in numerous US and European hotels, and they have been told to destroy any inventory they may still have.

With our recent trip back from China and understanding the great efforts the country is taking to become the dominant global power, how significant is this blow to China? How do you think China will respond to this recall? With other recalls, such as lead-painted toys and tainted pet foods, how can China recover its reputation and gain consumer confidence?

Here is a link to recalled toothpaste by the FDA.

Submitted By: Lindsay Yoshitomi

Today, August 8th, begins the one year count down until the Beijing Olympics. The Chinese celebrated with massive firework displays in Tiananmen Square. After our trip, anything related to China catches my eye … an article in a magazine, a report on the news, etc.

I happened to see the news today, and thought I’d share what was reported in case you missed it. With the Olympics around the corner, there have been raised concerns about the pollution and air quality in Beijing. There is worry that the air quality will affect the athletes’ ability to compete. A few measures have been set to help decrease the pollution.

Three months before the Olympics, all industry production will be halted, to decrease the pollutants being emitted into the air. This is a procedure China does whenever important diplomats are scheduled to visit. Another measure set is the planned decrease in car usage. China plans to reduce one third of the cars driving around Beijing during these three months as well. Still, if during the games the air quality is not conducive for competition, the outdoor games will be delayed. I wonder if China will be able to significantly reduce the pollution, and how game delays will affect the Olympics. Any thoughts?

Below is a translation of the confession written by Zheng Xiaoyu, 62, former head of the Chinese State Food & Drug Administration, shortly before he was executed.  I have read it a number of times.  Each time I read it I walk away with a cold, haunting feeling.  I asked my wife, a labor and delivery nurse admittedly fascinated with the beauty of life as as it arrives in this world, if she would read it and tell me what she thought and her reaction thereto. 

Her response … ”My goodness.  That man had a family he left behind.  He was desperate to save his life.  I wonder what I would have done and written if I were in his shoes.”

Your thoughts after reading the below?   I am curious.   What would you have said or written if you were in his shoes?  If you were the judge reading the letter, would you have decided life sentence or death, and why? 

For a good background article the humanizes Zheng Xiaoyu a bit, see/read the following NY Times article [subscription may be required], “A Chinese Reformer Betrays His Cause, and Pays.” 

Some are saying the below is his work; others claim it was coerced by the government.  I have no idea which position is true.  Because his lawyers, to my knowledge, have not yet publicly spoken out against or questioned the legitimacy of the confessions authenticity, I have to lean toward assuming the words below are his own.

How I Look on My Mistakes – By Zheng Xiaoyu

March 15 and 16, 2007

“The Communist Party has criticized and educated me and told me about the policies. I started to reflect on myself seriously and painstakingly. Thinking back on what has happened these year, I start to see the problems clearly. For example, why are the friends who gave me money all bosses of pharmaceutical companies? Obviously, because I was in charge of drug administration. Another example, I’ve known these old friends for a long time, why did they give me money only after 1998? Obviously, because the State Drug Administration was established in 1998 and then I was given bigger power. Although these friends gave me money partly because of our friendship, they actually were thinking about my power. I am confessing here that I loosened self-discipline, ignored the bottom line. It is bribery if a civil servant receives money from a business.

Some money wasn’t given to me directly, but through [my wife Liu] Naixue and [my son] Hairong. Naxiue was retired and stayed at home. Hairong was just a student. So their target was still me. Indirect ways were easier for me to accept. So I agreed, consented. This was bribery.

I accepted the money, the justice of power certainly became problematic, the image of the civil servant was undermined, and the image of the Party and government was affected.

The Party and people nurtured me, trusted me and assigned me to such an important position. I didn’t live up to the Party’s expectation. I loosened ideological reform, loosened self-discipline, harmed the Party and the people, committed crimes, for which I feel regretful. Now I have to treat the issue seriously, conduct a thorough self-examination, confess my mistakes, and treat the punishment and education as an act of saving my soul.

Inspired by the policy that honest confession should be rewarded lenient punishment, I have overcome all sorts of wrong excuses and honestly confessed to the Party the fact that I accepted bribes from [pharmaceutical executives] Ge Mengya, Wang Maoxing, Du Lihua, Zhao Buchang, Xu Rongxiang and Fan Minhua; that I knew that Zheng Jun, Yu Wenyong, Wang Xianyu had given bribes [to my wife and son]. I am willing to promise to the Party again that I will help retrieve every penny. If what has been retrieved doesn’t match the amount [I accepted in bribes], I’ll sell my own assets and borrow money from family and friends to make it up. I will also cooperate with the [Supreme People's] Procuratorate Court to clarify the problem, and strive for lenient punishment. I hope the Party will give me the opportunity and a way out.”