In China, Making Connections is Key
BEIJING, China -- I'm in China to do a journalism project related to the development of aviation as a market and manufacturing center in China. And that's a tall challenge.
Any study on business relations in China you read about is going to devote a lot of space to the concept of guanxi, which in this context roughly translates to "connections." The grand difference between China and America, the experts will tell you, is that while in America decisions are made on competitiveness and merit, in China business is all about who you know, what favors people owe you or you owe them, etc.
I tend to think such differences can be exaggerated. Perhaps you've noticed that the United States has been run for almost five years by a small clique of Texas oilmen and their buddies, and we're about to put a woman on the U.S. Supreme Court whose main qualification seems to be the high-quality thank-you notes she sends to her boss. W. knows guanxi.
The point is that connections matter everywhere -- maybe they matter more in China, but having four years of reporting experience in Washington, D.C., I think I understand the power of guanxi. And that's why I'm worried -- because I'm coldly aware that in China, I don't have any. Put yourself in the position of the Chinese for a minute. You're an aviation official. This American reporter wants to interview you, on-record, about topics that touch the core of a sensitive trans-Pacific relationship. You don't know this reporter, you've never heard of this reporter. You'll probably never talk to him again, and after he leaves, he could write something that could damage your career without giving it a second thought.
What would you say to the request? "I don't think I have time to schedule that interview." That's the position I'm in now.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was in town Wednesday, criticizing what he sees as "mixed signals" coming from China regarding its military plans. Given Rumsfeld's track record on interpretation, I suspect someone else could help him unmix. But if he truly wanted some mixed signals out of China, he could simply have gone to the Forbidden City.
History has made the Forbidden City one of the most hilariously misnamed places on Earth. The palaces of tranquillity are overrun by the masses from opening to close -- it's one of the top tourist destinations in Asia. I spent much of my time there crushed into various positions as digital cameras jostled for position in an attempt to capture the intimacy of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The city, built on Beijing's only hill, stands as a monument to a time when China was led by a monarchy that, at its height, claimed domain over time and the heavens themselves. Ornate stones, towering pillars all in tribute to an emperor who could speak with God and chart the course of the sun. It's a monument to Confucianism. It's a monument to a distinct architectural style. And it's a monument to modern commerce, best symbolized by the Forbidden City Starbucks.
The coffee shop actually does an excellent job of maintaining the integrity both of the Forbidden City and of Starbucks. In its design structure, it remains true to the style of the Forbidden City. And in its cost structure, it remains shamelessly overpriced in true Starbucks fashion. A tall mocha, for example, costs 26 yuan, which converts to about what a tall mocha costs in 'Merica. Of course, the average Chinese person makes a fraction of the average American, but it works out. Most everyone in Starbucks was a Westerner.
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