【Career】Warning to the West: The Sleeping Dragon Awakes (Intro
Source: John Patrick Mullin
"Those who will lead the future must understand China today." - Stephen Schwarzman
Stephen Schwarzman, the Co-Founder, and CEO of The Blackstone Group believes this so fervently, he went as far as donating $100 million dollars of his own money to found the Schwarzman Scholars Program. This program is the Chinese equivalent of the Rhodes Scholarship and offers a one-year master at Tsinghua University to train future global leaders on how to deal with China.
Many other China business experts such as Henry "Hank" Paulson (read his book - Dealing With China, it's fantastic), & Jeffrey Towson (also read his book(s) - The One Hour China Book) also believe that understanding China and doing business in China will be paramount for future global business and political leaders.
I believe there is currently severe information asymmetry in regards to the Western understanding of China
If you'd ask many Westerners who've never been to China before, they'd probably think that China is still a communist backwater, that can only copy innovative Western ideas. In my opinion, this couldn't be further from the truth.
I would contend that there are three points that help feed into this common misconception:
1. China is BIG, it is complex, and it is rapidly changing
2. China is often portrayed in a NEGATIVE light in Western media
3. Chinese culture is VASTLY different from Western culture - this adds to the misunderstanding
Therefore, I’ve decided to write a 5-part miniseries, which explores topics that I believe have led to China becoming the global superpower it is today and will continue China on this path in the future.
I will explore the following topics over the next 5 weeks:
Urbanization - (Transportation/Sharing-Economy/Infrastructure)
Investment - (FinTech/Renewables/AI/Robotics/Etc.)
The Rise of the Chinese Consumer – (Power/Habits/Incentives)
Chinese Internet - (Digitalization/E-Commerce/Mobile Proliferation)
Entertainment in China - (Traveling/Sports/Cinema/Other Leisure Activities)
Through these 5 topics, I hope to be able to shed some light on the current situation in China and perhaps inspire (in an ideal world), young people who may not have had a previous interest in China to begin exploring and learning about China.
By looking at the 5 aforementioned topics, I hope to touch on several of the following themes throughout the next 5 weeks. Not only am I’m personally fascinated with them, but I believe they are key components to understanding the Chinese business landscape.
The different types of innovation in China
Cut-throat (and sometimes dirty) competition in the marketplace
China as the new leader of globalization?
The future economy & emerging technologies
I truly believe people all over the world (not just in the Occidental world) need to take a fresh look at China and the opportunities it can provide. It may just have a profound impact on their life and career (as it had with mine). Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll be able to learn something new about China from me over the next 5 weeks.
About the author: John Patrick Mullin is a Senior Industrial Research Analyst at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai, China. He also works as the external collaborator for The Institute of Life (IOL). John is a LinkedIn blogger who writes about his experiences working in one of China's largest investment banks mainly doing research on emerging technologies and trends such as FinTech, Blockchain, and AI/Robotics. John likes reading, traveling, and trying new and interesting foods. Feel free to get in touch with John on his LinkedIn profile!
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