Enough sappy bullshit, this is my blog and I’ll write what I want
Ok, things that I have been wanting to comment on.
1) The fake baozi story.
For a country that is called “PRC”, they know nothing about the first two letters. We have all heard the back and forth story. First there is a release and a video of a story claiming that baozi in Chaoyang are being made by mixing caustic soda with cardboard. Then the government claims it’s all fake and jails the journalist.
They handled it like a child would. That’s where they screwed up, by being their old predictable selves
Just like any situation where you find someone at fault in this country and they use the 没有 defense regardless of the situation.
Situation 1)
The original Baozi story was real.
The WRONG way to deal with it:
The government covers it up in a stereotypical fashion and called their own news unreliable in the process
The RIGHT way to deal with it:
The government publicly launches a probe into the matter and cracks down on quality of food and reports a few trivial ways they cleaned up
Result:
The international community feels some assurance that China is making improvements.
Situation 2):
The Baozi story was faked
The WRONG way to deal with it:
The government runs out and exposes it as a fake article and destroying the credibility of all news in the process. Claiming a cleanup in news quality and calling into question every single piece of news that comes out of China.
The RIGHT way to deal with it:
Announce an investigation into the matter and find a few violators of food safety which are improved or shut down. Afterwards announce the baozi story was found to be fake, but claim that it served as an important trigger in the awareness of food quality.
Result:
International community sees that food quality has some problems, but they are handled intelligently and that the government takes allegations seriously and at the same time the fact that the news was fake is not the top headline and goes unnoticed, maintaining the credibility of the Chinese news organs while improving them quietly.
It doesn’t matter if it was situation 1 or 2, all that matters is that they handled the entire thing poorly and in a stupid manner. Now we see the results.
The factor that was completely ignored was what the current situation was. Massive amounts of quality issues regarding food and manufactured goods which are VERY real. Yet, nothing about the news organs. All they managed to do was ignore the opportunity for a little good PR and at the same time shoot themselves in the other foot.
Topic 2)
China:
This is a country where there are no real morals, no common decency, nothing that can be called “respect” in a real way. There is 面 and 脸, the two types of “face”, however it’s nothing more than another piece in the wonderful and corrupt guanxi game. This is something that anyone looking to succeed in China must realize and come to terms with. Just learn how to kiss the right ass and it’s all smooth sailing until your ass is high enough that others beg to kiss it. Be warned that business here is war on multiple fronts. There is no easy deal, there is no simple job. Clients don’t pay up and competition will steal from you without any repercussion. Companies will scam you because to them it was a quick profit.
How to succeed in this market? Be better. It’s not hard at all. You know all those business ethics and morals from the US? Throw out half of them and you are still sailing high above your competition. In a market where the prevailing mentality is 60% = done, you barely even have to apply yourself to be seen as the best. Just train your staff to actually THINK instead of DOING and you win.
This is a country that cannot successfully even copy a car without it being a deathtrap on wobbly wheels. Google “china” “car” and “crash test” and you will see the videos, no reason to link there here. The immediate profit is all that is taken into consideration, nothing in terms of quality or craftsmanship.
Topic 3)
Stubbornness
I get a bad wrap on this issue plenty enough. Simple fact is that to succeed ANYWHERE you MUST be stubborn. This goes doubly in China. The thing you want can be sitting right there in front of you and they will say they don’t have any. The problem can be easy to solve and they will say it is impossible. You complain to management and they react in shock and disbelief, refusing to accept that such a fucked up thing could happen, but at the same time doing nothing about it.
As a foreigner here, you are marked for abuse. Beggars will assault you for money, vendors will rip you off with big old shit-eating grins on their faces, assuming you are completely oblivious to what is happening.
The only solution is to be stubborn. They say 1000 and you say 5, and you stick to it because you know it’s 5. They say it’s impossible and you force them to do it, abusing “face” and throwing curve balls. You have to stick to your guns and force them to do it, like you would with a child. It gets frustrating at times, but it’s all in the mindset. The sheer level of micromanagement in every god damned situation is mind boggling.
Unfortunately, this mindset can be hard to change for a personal relationship. Learning how to control it is a hard skill as well but also crucial if you ever want to be happy here, not just successful.
This is how to succeed in China. Just be better than your competition both professionally and ethically. Scammers and fraudsters make the fast money, but in the end they all fail. Quality is what matters, even in China. The fact that 99% of your competition does not realize this, makes this an easy market to clean up in.
Need to vent? Care to elaborate on your own opinions? Feel free to respond.
