Economy

China in the eyes of US businessmen

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-19 11:32

BEIJING - As two of the world's major economies, China and the United States also enjoy a long history of economic cooperation and trade. In recent decades, the US business community has been successfully beefing up its presence in the Chinese market.

To those US businessmen who are involved with China, the emerging Asian giant holds unusual significance. The following are just a few examples of what China is like in the eyes of American businessmen.

CHINA ALWAYS HAS A FRESH FACE

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Todd Bradley, executive vice-president of Personal Systems Group of Hewlett-Packard Co (HP), has been traveling much of the world working for his company.

Talking about HP's business in China, he said like any other market, the Chinese market has both challenges and opportunities. But the amazing thing about China was that the Chinese people were very determined and highly united in promoting rapid development, and progress was being made everyday. Thus, the country "always has a fresh face," he said.

According to Bradley, in October 2008 when the global financial crisis was at its peak, HP made a bold move by announcing plans to build a manufacturing plant in Chongqing, a municipality in western China.

The facility, opening for business in January 2010 and capable of rolling out up to 4 million personal computers (PCs) a year, reflects the strategic importance of the Chinese market for HP as well as the world's largest PC maker's long-haul commitment to China, Bradley said.

As the first Sino-US high-tech joint venture that officially entered the Chinese market as early as 1985, HP now has expanded its business and services into nearly 700 cities and 2,000 counties in China. The country was already HP's second-largest PC market after the United States, representing a significant portion of the company's growth and profitability.

Bradley pointed out that the ability to understand and meet various local requirements, such as creating local products, is critical for HP's continuous success in China and elsewhere.

Looking ahead, Bradley said he believed the fast growth of China's economy with incentives provided by the Chinese government, access to well-educated employees and the still huge, under-tapped market will make China remain attractive to HP.

CHINESE MARKET MOST CHARMING IN THE WORLD

American businessman Evan Betzer describes himself as a "China fan." He speaks fluent Mandarin, and his mother-in-law is a Chinese.

Betzer is one of the three principals of a Texas-based investment bank Stoneworth Financial, LLC. A former diplomat posted in China in the 1990s, Betzer started his own business in 1997, devoting much of his attention to the Chinese market.

In 2002, Betzer realized the potential for his company to do business in China. But at that time, he thought only large companies could do business there.

Two years ago, he came to realize that medium- and small-sized companies also have the chance to do business in China. And now, after years of observing the Chinese market, Betzer said that compared with large companies, medium- and small-sized companies, which are less likely to be affected by political and other factors, have better chances of surviving in China.

Betzer believes the investment environment in China has been improving over the years, and now was the best time for medium- and small-sized businesses to enter each other's markets.

Nowadays, of the 30 clients of Betzer's company, six are from China.

"The US market is the biggest in the world, and the Chinese market is the most charming in the world," he said.

CHINESE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IMPROVING FAST

Vance Baugham, president of the World Trade Center Association, Los Angeles-Long Beach (WTCA LA-Long Beach), is a veteran in dealing with the economic and trade circles in China in the past thirty years. China's investment and business environment has improved a lot, and the fast growth of Chinese entrepreneurs is very impressive, he said.

As a foreign businessman traveling all around China year by year, Baugham is amazed by the rapid construction of modern airports, highway networks and inter-city express trains across China, which provide convenient transportation and expanding and improving city business facilities.

The soft economic environment has also been improving considerably. Local governments are now very pragmatic and efficient in dealing with foreign trade partners, benefiting regional economic cooperation and trade relations between China and the United States, such as those between the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and Los Angles, he said.

For Baugham, Chinese businessmen learn and adapt quickly, are growing more and more confident in doing business with foreigners and are able to cope with increasingly fierce international competition. He is particularly impressed by the rapidly growing class of private Chinese entrepreneurs, who are more flexible and decisive and can seize more opportunities.

Baugham was very optimistic about the future of US-China trade. He pointed out that as the US exports to China continue to increase, the bilateral trade imbalance would be eased. Two-way trade and economic cooperation would be strengthened further.

He encouraged more Chinese entrepreneurs to do business and invest in the U.S. market and hoped to see more US investment in China.