In China With Michelle Zou

In the June 2020 report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted that global GDP would contract by 4.9% in 2020, the U.S. economy is expected to contract by 8% and the European area by 10%. But China's economy is forecasted to grow by 1%, the only country with a positive growth over 2019, in part because the country got a head start on its recovery. Therefore, China may become a more attractive market to many western companies. However, selling to China may not easy, especially for small and medium companies who lack of expertise in the China market and Chinese culture, and don’t have a sizable marketing budget. Digital marketing can be an affordable way to help you grow business in China. This time, I invited Mr. Jie Zhang, Co-Founder & CEO of GoDigitalChina and AdChina.io to talk about how to enter and succeed in the Chinese market through digital marketing. GoDigitalChina is an Advertising Agency offers one-stop-shop of online marketing in China for western companies.

Effective communication is very important to a company’s success in markets, especially when western brands enter and operate in China. We have heard stories of well-known American or European brands stumbling in China. In this episode, Mr. Steve Drake, a long-time public relations veteran who has helped launch Walmart and Budweiser into China back in the 1990s, will share with us strategies for brands that went to China, issues they have met, and learnings from those experiences. Steve is founder of Steven Drake Associates and cofounder of RFP Associates. He has 35 years of experience in developing and leading strategic, global communications programs, especially in the United States and China. He lived in China in the 1990s when he launched and managed PR firm FleishmanHillard’s presence in China.

Many Israeli startups are very successful in the US market, so what is the secret sauce for their success in the US? And what part of that recipe can be relevant to another big, but very different market, China? What would work or not work when foreign startups come to China? Rami Blachman, a US/Israeli technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and founder of the China Israel Innovation Accelerator (CIIA), will share with us about his observations, experiences and framework through years of work with Israeli startups going to USA and China. CIIA works closely with Israel-based technology companies in pursuing a China strategy and commercializing in the Chinese market, and Rami splits his time between China and Israel these days.

Aaron Rose, an investor, board member, corporate advisor, and co-founder of multiple companies, has been doing business in China for near 20 years. His blog “Solutions for a Sustainable World” offers useful research information, resources, and his thoughts about the technology industry. In this episode, Aaron will share with us the trends he has observed in China, what opportunities he has seen as an investor, and his personal experience of investing and working in China. Ultimately, he will share his opinion on if NOW is a good time to invest in China.

What can the combination of Blockchain and IoT (Internet of Things) help industries transform in today’s world? What are some examples in the market today? Karl Weaver, Global Business Development Director of aitos.io, a Chinese startup builds trusted identity authentication and privacy-preserving data computation solution for the enterprises of AIoT, made a claim that “China is leading in Blockchain and IoT Industries.” I invite Karl to the show and explain why he thinks so. Karl is a Globally trained, bilingual Mandarin Chinese speaking senior mobility executive with vast experience selling wireless & mobile device technologies from both sides of the Pacific Rim to the global OEM/ODM handset/tablet PC ecosystem supply chain.

Covid-19 has changed the life for every human being in the world, no matter where you are on the earth. The pandemic started two to three months earlier in China, and by June, most people have returned to work or school, thanks to the Chinese government’s effective control of the virus. How does it look like in China now? Is people’s life back to normal? How has Covid-19 changed business in China? And, very importantly, what can businesses in the rest of the world learn from China when they consider reopening or adapting to the new norm? In this episode, I invited Mr. Cameron Johnson, Partner at Tidal Wave Solutions, and Vice Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, to share with us his observation in China. Cameron is based in Shanghai.

Small and medium companies often find it is difficult and expensive to get legal services when doing business in a foreign jurisdiction, especially when language and culture are different than your own country. What are some fundamental legal side factors that companies should know when doing business in China? What can be potential risks if not considering these things? In this episode, Mr. Tianpeng Wang, a New York and China qualified lawyer, and Founder and CEO of Trustiics (https://www.trustiics.com/), will share his thoughts to these questions. In addition, he will share resources that can help SMEs and individuals to get quality and affordable legal service on demand in China.

In mid-May of 2020, US President Donald Trump said the US 'could cut off the whole relationship' with China as tensions escalate during the pandemic. Experts say ‘the US and China have entered the beginnings of a new Cold War’. What impact has this situation brought to the Washington State, a state whose No. 1 trade partner is China? How can American businesses maintain relationships with China during such difficult times? In this episode, Mr. J. Norwell Coquillard, Executive Director of Washington State China Relations Council (WSCRC), will share his thoughts about the history of the US-China relationships, the current political situation, and WSCRC’s role in helping the local government. He will also give some advices to businesses that are collaborating with China. WSCRC is the nation’s leading statewide organization dedicated to promoting stronger commercial, educational, and cultural engagement with China.

By 2025, China will be the largest aviation market in the world. Analysts forecast, in the next 20 years China will add an additional 8,000 new passenger aircraft, and this demand will create huge opportunities to the entire aviation supply chain. In this episode, Mr. Van Yun Gao, Managing Director of IASC (International Aviation Supply Chain) Leadership Summit, will share with us their research and market insights of the China aviation industry (IASC.com.cn). We will talk about the impact from COVID19 to China’s aviation industry, the current opportunities and gaps in the supply chain, the aviation clusters in China, and how to find the right partner(s) to seize the opportunities in China.

In our last episode, Dr. Badri Narayanan talked about the impact of the tariffs to the US and China Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, and what companies can do to deal with this impact. In today’s episode, I invite Dr. Narayanan back to talk about his latest research in understanding the potential economic impact of COVID-19, and share with us his insights from this work. Dr. Narayanan is an Economist with McKinsey, and Co-Founder and Partner of Infinite Sum Modelling, a leading economic modeling firm providing advice to a wide range of clients including government and non-governmental organizations, and companies.

Our last episode was with Seattle Economist Spencer Cohen on the Impact of the Phase I trade agreement between the U.S and China, and the unexpected COVID-19 to this deal. In today’s episode, Dr. Badri Narayanan will help us deep dive into the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry and understand what kind of impact the tariffs are bringing to US and China, and what companies can do to deal with this impact. Dr. Narayanan is an Economist with McKinsey, and Co-Founder and Partner of Infinite Sum Modelling (, a leading economic modeling firm providing advice to a wide range of clients including government and non-governmental organizations, and companies.

What is the Phase 1 trade agreement between the U.S and China? What does it mean for businesses in the US and China? And what is the impact of the unexpected COVID-19 to this deal as well as to the businesses? In this episode, Dr. Spencer Cohen will share his thoughts on these questions. He is a Senior Economist from Community Attributes Inc., a Seattle-based research and data analytics consulting firm. He has lived and studied in China for extended periods, and has in-depth knowledge of China-related economic and political issues.

The number of Chinese students studying in the US colleges and universities has increased 3.7 times in the past ten years, from 98,235 in the school year of 2008-2009 to 369,548 in the school year of 2018-2019, according to statista.com. Why have so many Chinese students chosen US for their higher education? And what kind of opportunities have been generated by this trend? In this episode, Professor Yan Zeng, CEO & President of U.S. Asia Education, and President of Davis Institute of Education Information, shares with us her observations of the inflow of Chinese students to the US in the past ten years, the challenges these students are facing when they are studying in the US, and how American universities can help these Chinese international students succeed in college.

Mobile payment is ubiquitous in China and it is enabled through a different way than in the western world. According to eMarketer, in addition to the pervasive usage at ecommerce through online mobile payment, proximity mobile payment users in China is 577.4 million (by far the largest in the world), with a penetration rate of 81.1% of smartphone users. China is steadily marching toward a cashless society, enabled by Alibaba’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay. Those two leading payment systems have introduced QR code-backed payments into the daily habits of consumers, from purchasing in supermarkets or convenient stores to buying a subway ticket. How did this happy in China? And what is coming next? Please join me to the dialogue with Karl Weaver, a wireless and mobile device ecosystem specialist in the Smart Card sector of the wireless industry, and China/Asia-Pacific Business Development Director for Rivetz Corp, an ICO and Mobile Devices Security firm.

If you are visiting China for the first time, you will be amazed by its modern cities with stunning high-rise buildings scoring to the sky. Today’s China has a strong appetize for innovation and creativity, and that also reflects on how the government wants its cities look like. Real estate development in China is booming for the past 4 decades, and developers are not shy from recruiting world-renowned architects to turn rural areas into brand new contemporary cities. Mr. Ming Zhang, an award-winning designer and Founder of Seattle based company MZA Architecture, has worked on over 130 projects in more than 60 cities in China over the last 20 years. I invite him shares his experience in helping to create a new image for major cities throughout China and the U.S., and tips on how to win contracts and work with Chinese on those projects.

Chinese investors have been riding the US commercial real estate (CRE) wave, the total investment in the US rising up rapidly from the ground in 2011, peaked at $16.2B in 2016 then dropped over 55% in 2017 after China's government announced efforts to restrict outbound investments in foreign real estate, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Ms. Hui Tian, architect and Founder of a Seattle company Studio 19 Architects, shares with us her observations of the changes in the CRE investment trend related to China investment, and her experience on how to work with Chinese real estate investors. You will learn how the cultural differences bring in practice differences, and when you understand this, you can work with these investors more effectively.

We all know China has emerged to the second largest economy in the world during the past decades and Chinese are rich, however, some rural areas in China are still underdeveloped, and school children are studying in poor condition and hardship. In year 2000, a group of volunteers in Seattle started a charity China Tomorrow Education Foundation (CTEF) to help support schools and students in rural China to improve education, and Dennis Su, a retired architect living in Seattle, is the founder of that charity and is deeply involved in the operations since his retirement 20 years ago. In this interview, he shares with us his observations of the changes in rural China's education system and Chinese government’s support to those areas, and why he thinks there is still a need for help to the schools and children there.

In our last episode, we talked about the trends of Chinese investment in the US commercial real estate market. In todays interview, I invited a US Top 1 percentage real estate agent Janice Cai to share with us some insights she has gained in the residential real estate side. More importantly, Janice will help you understand what the cultural differences are between American and Chinese people, and how important it is to understand the differences to make business and negotiation more effective. Janice appears monthly at the CBS real estate TV show “American Dream” and at the US Chinese Radio talk show Today's Focus to share her knowledge on the real estate industry.

In the past decade, Chinese investment in the US commercial real estate market was like riding a roller coaster, rising up rapidly from the ground in 2011, peaked at $16.2B in 2016 then dropped over 55% in 2017 after China's government announced efforts to restrict outbound investments in foreign real estate, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Holly Yang, senior vice president of Kidder Mathews, the largest private commercial real estate company in the west coast of the U.S., shares her experience and knowledge about the industry, and tips on working with Chinese investors such as Create World Group in commercial real estate projects. To seize the opportunities with China, Holly founded the China Services Group at Kidder Mathews Seattle to provide bilingual brokerage solutions to US and Chinese developers, investors, and owners in the Great Seattle region. Over the past few years, the team has successfully represented over 300 transactions with near $1 billion values in the region.

Intellectual Property Protection is one of the major hot negotiation points in the US and China Trade Talks. What is the IP protection situation today in China? What can foreign companies do to protect its IP? What are the different categories of intellectual properties you should consider protecting? In this episode I have invited International Business Attorney Ian Yanhui Yang back to the show, to share his knowledge and real cases about IP protection strategies when going to China. Ian has many years’ experience in advising foreign investors to set up business in China. He is now living in Seattle, Washington State.