The Power of the Collective

Much as I love Hong Kong, I might take a break from Ronnie Chan, Chairman of the Better Hong Kong Foundation. (Also Chairman of Hang Lung Properties Ltd, developer of Queensway, Grand Gateway and Plaza 66 - all milestones in the development of HKG and SH. And large, looming icons for me as a retailer in those cities.)

I like Chan’s emphasis on the importance of American confidence vis-a-vis China. But twice I have pressed him for the why and how underlying that confidence: in essence, based upon what strengths and what actions will America regain industrial, technological and economic leverage? Despite his conversations with central and commercial bankers, political leaders and captains of industry around the world, he has twice not answered my question except in these terms: a) when Americans lose confidence, we tend to pick an enemy. Since the China trade related proposals floating through Congress, if passed, would be counter-productive to the ship of American sovereignty and solvency, losing confidence isn’t an option; b) America’s bottom-up, entrepreneur-driven economic engine, with government in a supporting role, has delivered in the past, so it must still be our strength.

Hang Lung has placed $5 billion in bets on PRC real estate in the past few years. And a lot of us have careers that hinge on the continued economic relevance of the USA to China. We all hope the US government won't blow up our futures. Still, on Chan's point b), I disagree. I think that the foundation for America's emergence as an industrial & economic superpower was laid at a time when government and industry had a plan. I had been hoping Chan would tell me that there's a plan now, and he has pretty much told me that either there isn't one, or it's not the sort of thing one discusses at China business events. The way I see global trade and politics: friction builds and dissipates; competitive advantage waxes and wanes; and it’s not Game Over until money, people, and ideas stop moving. America in 2010 shows a few signs of stalling, and it concerns me.

Forgive me: because of cumulative decades spent playing ma jiang with family members who happen to be CCP officials; being a wife, ex-wife, and close friend to a PRC-born tech CEO; and acting as “Pet American” for a Ministry or two, I understand how China's economy moves forward - how entrepreneurs, money and power combine in patterns that are extremely effective in creating wealth. Western business people seeking greater leverage with China for their companies - most urgently, American managers open to Chinese investment or hungry to some claw back global competitiveness - might want to study how China built so much wealth, and take a page for the play book.

Put simply, we need to get on the same page with each other. We have to position more powerfully to win business from China. While economic magic does, in fact, spring from a bottom-up, innovative and confident approach, the lesson learned from China is: harness that magic to coordinated, regional, sector-focused initiatives, and you might get a miracle.

The USA doesn't do top-down. But for us as individuals in business, it's worth getting more collective in our approach anyway. Even if the government and academia in the USA have limited power and influence, they will never be completely irrelevant to commerce, especially in the eyes of the Chinese. Reach out and look for opportunities to present collectively. Where private companies are preoccupied with positioning for China-related business vis-a-vis their entrenched competitors, they lose the potential to map out a bigger circle of complementary collaborators, which could well give prospective Chinese customers, clients and investors a sense of security. Reach out...and look for ways to present collectively.

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