thechinabusinessnetwork2

By Janet Carmosky CEO of The China Business Network

If the cultures of every nation on earth could be plotted along a spectrum of similarity, I think we’d find the USA (as an institutionally-based system that seeks the full implementation of western ideals) and China (as a culture with ancient roots, representing the origins of eastern values) at the two extreme ends. Every two other cultures might conceivably be graphed somewhere in between.

Yet the USA and China are the dominant global powers of our age. These two nations hold large portions of the world’s collective economic resources, technological assets, natural wealth, and human initiative. It’s a fact that no global issue can presently be addressed without the backing of at least one of the two giants. Further, if the people of these two nations direct our collective resources towards common goals, there's tremendous potential for solving global problems.

In the past 30 years, the expanding relationship between the US and China has created inextricable links that determine the superstructure of the entire global economy. In the worst case scenario, a collapse of US-China relations would send nations around the world into a scramble, in need of new suppliers and customers, backers and strategic partners. There is too much at stake for this to be a likely outcome.

So what’s the best case scenario? At an institutional level, a lot is already happening: communication and coordination on global financial stability and balance; joint action on climate change; open and candid dialogue on topics including energy security, scientific and medical cooperation, global poverty and many quality of life issues.

At the people-to-people level, especially as businesspeople (for commerce is the international language, the tie that binds us where mere affinity would fail) we can also achieve a high return on investment. Every culture needs a balance of confidence and humility, of strong convictions and willingness to change. When Chinese and westerners work together, we observe alternate ways of leading and following, thinking and doing, and, as individuals, we can become capable of greater things.

Thirty years after China embarked on what has become a broad integration with the world, all of us on the planet truly are in the same boat, and we need the skills to find and maintain balance. Those of us who do business with people on the other side of the world negotiate everything across culture and across values. Because there is so much at stake, it’s time for us to share our tools: we need everyone who wants to play a positive role in the global economic system to understand how it works, find the right resources, and pursue their goals effectively.

I think it takes three things: the right mindset or approach, a good solid orientation to the way things work, and a network of competent people to make things happen.

The mission of The China Business Network is to support everyone in developing those assets, in hopes that we all use them to build a sustainable, balanced, and culturally diverse world. And in the process, that we find our skills valued by those who need them; so that wherever we stand on that long bridge that connects China and the USA - China and the west in general – we have a useful place in the global economy.

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