China: Perception versus Reality....

Western business leaders, who are devoid of ideas, continue to rationalise their inability to capitalise on the opportunities that abound despite the so-called crises. I am wary of reading Western slanted commentaries designed to ‘prove’ that China’s relentless march forward is bound to falter, so it was refreshing to read an article titled ‘China’s new Corporate Champions’ written by Joel Backaler, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16206489 for the full text, courtesy of BBC.com.

Here is a brief extract, quote:

The global economic downturn presented these Chinese companies with a unique opportunity to capture market share as global consumers increasingly prioritised value for money. Western multinationals have limited time to adapt their strategies and regain their momentum before these new competitors can further consolidate their presence in key markets.

Chinese companies are perceived by some as opportunistic firms with a "land-grab" mentality that lacks well thought-out long-term strategy. Western executives often cite the large scale investments by Chinese companies in Africa's resources sector as an example of this type of behaviour.

These same executives also argue that Chinese companies' fast growth will likely not be sustainable in the longer term due to their short-sighted business practices. In reality though, there is another side to the story in which Chinese companies have been developing local innovations that are suited for their home country but can also be adapted for overseas markets to boost on-going growth.

End Quote

Western business leaders rationalise their inaction in respect of China and Asia generally by clutching on any piece of bad news and blowing it out of proportion; holding crises meetings to focus on the negatives while ignoring their responsibility to identify and capture the opportunities by changing their business models to acknowledge that they are no longer effective.

The abovementioned article appeared alongside an article titled ‘China: A bigger lender than the World Bank’, which charts China’s advances into the resource rich emerging countries; going where ‘Angels (Western banks and businesses) fear to tread’.

BarrettWells