Rediscover China

Living through the culture revolution, the reforming and opening up, and the controlled liberalization, the Chinese people experienced a process of reconstructing their individual value systems. The traditions and customs evolved and inherited from over five thousand years of history still remains rooted, influential but recessive.

However, there is no longer one dominating core value for the Chinese people. It has been stretched in all directions and levels, and is being complemented, challenged or out-shadowed by a variety of beliefs and motivations.

The fast economic growth in China has sliced the nation as well as its culture into layers, and maximized the difference between two far ends. Its geographical economic unbalance adds to the diversification. The centralized governance oversees an ever-dynamic social harmony of the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, and the advanced and the laggard.

This dichotomy situation generates high opportunity cost to investors; while at the same time, endows them with even greater time value of return. An overwhelming majority of Chinese people from all levels embrace vast opportunity along with globalization. They have no hesitance to consume any novel thing from a gismo to a culture. Wal-Mart clothes sell well to the lower-middle class people just as Louis Vuitton does to the top ones.

This situation will most likely drag the Chinese manufacturing capacity and service industry to their commencement by maximizing their past performance in the 20th century. It will continue to drive them to a watershed of leaders and participants by revisiting and reshuffling their growth capabilities and potentials.

The success of pioneering investors either from domestic or foreign lands were primarily based on filling up the shortage of materials needs due to low economic level in the past; the achievement of current business players depends on understanding the value infrastructure and its corresponding consuming behaviors; and the sustainable return of an investment resides in firstly sensing, then cultivating a new ethos at its embryonic stage.

There is no other way to understand China and its people without looking at them from the inside. Those who have been growing with the evolving economy and culture need to catch up with the ever-changing environment and people. Those who wish to invest in this emerging economy need to define the niche market by understanding the Chinese mindset of target social levels.

Feeling the need to build a strong nation and a better life, 1.3 billion Chinese people are also exploring individual philosophies to rebuild their internal quietness. There is a great amount of unmet needs to be rediscovered.

Entry Filed under: Global experience