Two-day conference concludes with tips for Pak investors looking at China’s markets. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistani companies and entrepreneurs looking to establish business links with China would do themselves a favour if they take the time to understand Chinese society and its business environment, preferably by actually visiting the People’s Republic.
The “Doing Business with China” international conference ended on Thursday with a stimulating panel discussion on recommendations for Pakistani investors to enter and succeed in China’s marketplace. Panelists advised Pakistan’s community to be thorough in back-grounding Chinese firms and perhaps even learn the language and cultural etiquettes to achieve business success in China.
The two-day conference, which began on Wednesday, was organised at a local hotel by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in collaboration with the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) and China’s Tsinghua University.
Professor Zhou Rong, the Country Representative of Chinese newspaper Guangming Daily, said Pakistani business folk should go to China to learn more about the country.
“Make some preparations before you do business with China,” Rong said. “It’s important to do your homework.”
Speakers said there were plenty of opportunities for Pakistani companies and entrepreneurs in China, especially in industrial equipment, technology, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages and even marketing of Chinese products.
China has the second-largest economy, producing so many things, said Zia Mian, the Chief Executive Officer of Global Industrial Solutions China. “One great business idea could be that Pakistanis could use their good English-language skills to market and advertise Chinese products in the Middle East, Europe and North America,” he said.
But effective communication between Chinese and Pakistani business communities, be it through using the same language or having in-person meetings before doing business, seemed to be the key message from the final sessions of the conference.
During the concluding ceremony, ICCI President Shaban Khalid said there should be at least one university in each Pakistani province that offers crash courses in Mandarin and Cantonese. He also suggested that there should be a “one-window operation” in Pakistan for Chinese investors, but this operation should be run by Pakistanis who have a basic understanding of Chinese languages.
Khalid said it was great that the academia stepped in to help entrepreneurs about business-related issues that companies otherwise pay top dollar to research.
Participants appreciated the prospects of a Pak-China Economic Corridor and the idea of a Pak-China Information Corridor --- a sort of database that could allow Pakistani and Chinese companies to better access details about each other, was also floated at the conference. Participants said entrepreneur-level interaction between should be held more frequently as government-level bilateral relations might not be sufficient for generating ideas on future cooperation.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2013.
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