Well, the speaker after all was the head of McKinsey's China biz, but Pan Wangpo's recent comment that China is 'a new pillar of the world economy' makes practical sense and reminds us that International Business will never be the same.
Doing business in China is not easy. The Chinese language is difficult for those brought up with Latin character scripts at least. It has all the societal and political problems of a rapidly escalating economy with extremes of wealth. Chinese business culture with it's emphasis on informal personal relationships may require a revisiting of personal negotiating styles and assumptions on how to build businesses.
Yet Pan Wangpo is absolutely correct in that we can no longer talk about the world economy without considering China. It's growth as a business centre will also change the international business landscape to an even much greater extent than the last major shift - the rise of the Japanese economy and business post World War 2.
See the Chinese government's People's Daily interpretation on Pan Wangpo comments in their article entitled - Mckinsey: China---New Pillar of World Economy
Excerpt: Pan noted China is the sixth largest economic entity, with the annual gross domestic product rising at more than 7 per cent, and a total of over US$ 1 trillion.
It is also the sixth largest exporter, its annual direct foreign investment remains at above US$ 40 billion and foreign exchange reserves hits US$ 225 billion.
These figures show China has become a new pillar of the world economy, he said.
He added China already is the largest consumer market for refrigerators, washing machines, color TV sets and mobile telecom services.
Published May 25, 2002 10:08 PM in China PRC
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