The Negotiation

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      A description of the Shanghai startup scene today and how it compares to France’s and the U.S.’s

●      What it is like to be a foreign entrepreneur in China

●      How to know whether you should start your business in China

●      What most Westerners do not know about F&B in China

●      Why Shanghai is not representative of China as a whole

●      How the F&B space and food’s fusion with tech has developed over time in China

●      The impact of the health and wellness industry on F&B in China

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with serial entrepreneur and angel investor Gregory Prudhommeaux. He is the Founder of NextStep Studio, an accelerator for businesses in food, F&B and food tech-based in Shanghai. He is also a Foreign Trade Advisor for Les Conseillers du Commerce extérieur de la France.

Gregory is the Co-President at La French Tech Shanghai, a community aimed at gathering the local tech community with an interest in France and building bridges between major innovation hubs. The community facilitates the cross-fertilization of competencies and helps French businesses & entrepreneurs to foster their development in China.

Gregory kicks off the conversation with his thoughts on the evolution of Shanghai’s startup scene and how it compares to France’s and the U.S.’s. While many foreigners have seized the opportunity to set up shop in China, it is a difficult process, particularly when it comes to acquiring seed funding.

Unlike France, which offers a number of financing options for the aspiring startup entrepreneur, China is a place where knowing the right person—and knowing how to build a relationship with them—is probably the most important factor. Gregory says that the U.S. is more casual when it comes to networking, whereas “it is a bit trickier” in China.

Calling Shanghai “the Los Angeles or the San Francisco of China”, Gregory says that the technologically advanced city of 25 million does not represent China’s market as a whole. This is for many reasons, including the transitory living situation of many in Shanghai, its multiculturalism, as well as Shanghai’s relative independence from fellow Tier 1 cities and the seat of power in China, Beijing.

Gregory goes on to speak on his journey as an entrepreneur and investor in China and why he specifically chose to specialize in F&B. He explains what sets this space apart compared to the West and how Chinese attitudes toward food and beverage shape the industry. Finally, he describes the merging of food and tech and how COVID-19 accelerated many developments that were already underway.

Key Quotes:

“As a foreign entrepreneur, you can start a business anywhere around the world; but, I don’t think China is necessarily the place where you want to start. There are a lot of other difficulties, because of the Chinese culture and the Chinese tech landscape which is very different from the rest of the world. Whatever you do in China will have a lot of specificities due to the market and the digital ecosystem.”

“Shanghai is the Los Angeles or San Francisco of China. The administrative and financial power is in Beijing. The industrial power is in Chongqing. [...] Trade is in Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Shanghai is a massive city with 25 million people [...] and very advanced, technologically speaking.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      What exactly is “antitrust” and why is it so important in the relationship between business and government globally?

●      What has China’s relationship with antitrust been historically, and have the events of 2008 and 2013 affected antitrust enforcement?

●      The conversations around antitrust at a time when big tech companies both in the U.S. and China are more influential than they have ever been

●      Why Angela titled her book “Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism”

●      The main consequences of China’s ascent on the global antitrust policy landscape

●      What the West often gets wrong about how Chinese policy is formed

●      Is the delay of Alibaba’s IPO due to the current state of China’s antitrust policy?

●      How Huawei is being affected by China’s antitrust policy

●      The future of U.S-China relations

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Angela Huyue Zhang, Associate Professor of Law at The University of Hong Kong and former Senior Lecturer in Competition Law at King’s College London. An expert on Chinese law, Angela Zhang has written extensively on Chinese antitrust enforcement.

Angela is the Director of the Centre for Chinese Law, which promotes legal scholarship with the aim to develop a deeper understanding of China and facilitate dialogue between East and West. She is the author of Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism: How the Rise of China Will Challenge Global Regulation (2021).

Angela’s research has helped her become a four-time recipient of the Concurrence Antitrust Writing Award, which honors the best antitrust papers published in academic journals each year.

Antitrust, which Angela defines as “an area of law that mainly deals with the anticompetitive effects arising from monopoly”, is an incredibly powerful tool for governments to rein in big monopolies—particularly big tech in the modern world.

With its state-owned economy, it was debated for a long time whether China should have an antitrust law put in place at all. But one was eventually established in 2007, in large part due to the influx of foreign multinational companies that leave domestic businesses (mostly small enterprises in those years) at risk of being left behind.

Angela describes the interdependent relationship between how China regulates and how China is regulated. She also explains why, through its sway over global antitrust policy, China is “nudging” big tech companies to become more integrated.

Angela speaks on recent and current issues surrounding antitrust and the clamping down of various big tech companies, including former President Trump’s actions against TikTok and WeChat, the delay of Alibaba’s IPO, and the Huawei situation.

Finally, Angela gives her optimistic take on the future of China’s relationship with the West.

Key Quotes:

“Antitrust is an area of law that mainly deals with the anticompetitive effects arising from monopoly. But I have to clarify that having a monopoly power does not necessarily mean that a firm is in violation of antitrust law. Antitrust law only intervenes when the monopoly firm has abused its power, say by exploiting its consumers or its suppliers or have excluded competitors to the detriment of consumer welfare.”

“The fundamental feature of the Chinese bureaucracy is that power is fragmented: Different agencies have a very specific scope of functions. At the same time, the division of labor is not entirely clear; so, there can be overlapping duties over a specific sector or a specific company, and that could potentially give rise to conflicts and competition among agencies. Turf wars are very common in Chinese regulation.”

“In terms of how China regulates, its government structure is both concentrated and decentralized. You can see pervasive state influence and fierce competition among Chinese firms at the same time. That makes China an elusive target for regulation.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      What brands can do if they want to succeed in China among the millennial and Gen-Z cohort

●      Major events that have impacted Chinese millennials similar to the Great Recession in the U.S.

●      What are the differences between millennials who grew up in the Mainland and those who studied abroad?

●      How prevalent is conspicuous consumption in the life of the average 25-to-30-year-old Chinese individual?

●      What makes a good brand in China?

●      How environmentally conscious and focused on diversity and inclusion are Chinese millennials?

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we continue our conversation with Zak Dychtwald, Founder and CEO of Young China Group, a think tank and consultancy with a focus on the emerging influence of China’s millennial generation on the marketplace, workplace, and international politics.

Zak is the author of Young China: How the Restless Generation Will Change Their Country and the World (2018). The book explores questions of identity impacting China’s young generation, specifically the 420 million or so people born after 1990.

Asked about what separates the winning foreign brands from the rest of the pack when it comes to finding millennial and Gen-Z fans in China, Zak says that it comes down to “empowering your local Chinese team to drive strategy.”

However, the difficult task for local teams when working with multinationals is that they will almost always work slower than native Chinese teams with native Chinese executives who understand, intuitively, what the Chinese market looks like.

Another point is to “stop creating products and thinking about marketing to Tier 1 cities.” Trends do not necessarily trickle down from Beijing or Shanghai to Hangzhou or Chongqin. Recognizing trends that do not originate in Tier 1 cities will give a company a head-start over other global brands whose thinking is still mired in that Shanghai bubble.

Zak goes on to peel back the curtain into the mind of the Chinese youth, from how a restructured education system in the post-Tiananmen era divided generations around how they perceive history, to how the 2008 Beijing Olympics created a newfound sense of national pride and modernization for China, and finally to how Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign in 2012 served as a huge pivot towards meritocracy for the whole country.

He then explains why Chinese students who study abroad now have greater incentives to return to China after graduating; why conspicuous consumption has moved from a need to look wealthy to a need to develop an identity; and current attitudes toward environmental friendliness, diversity, and inclusion.

Key Quotes:

“Empower the heck out of your local China team and do it so that they can be fast enough to compete with local brands.”

“The problem with the city tier visual is we imagine trends cascading downwards from Tier 1. [...] That’s not necessarily the case, and I think it’s a little bit of linguistic determinism. I think that’s the fault of the tiered idea.”

“[Conspicuous consumption back then] was a way to posture, particularly around the wealthy class. What you have now is conspicuous consumption oriented toward brand tribes and identity.”

“A lot of our definitions of what it means to be ‘Chinese’, even within China, are based on the past. No longer. This generation is deciding what it means to be Chinese in modernity and going into the future.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      Who are China’s millennials, and how do they differ from millennials in the Western world?

●      The downstream effects of the one-child policy on today’s market

●      The state of mental health among China’s youth

●      What employers expect from millennial hires

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Zak Dychtwald, Founder and CEO of Young China Group, a think tank and consultancy with a focus on the emerging influence of China’s millennial generation on the marketplace, workplace, and international politics.

Zak is the author of Young China: How the Restless Generation Will Change Their Country and the World (2018). The book explores questions of identity impacting China’s young generation, specifically the 420 million or so people born after 1990.

Having first arrived in China in his early 20s, Zak was amazed by the “vast chasm” between the China he was always told about, and the China he was experiencing at that moment. He was inspired to bridge that chasm, and so began his multifaceted career journey around the country.

“We believe in a people-first perspective on China for a better world,” says Zack, referring to the thesis of not only his book but of his work as a whole.

Listen in as Zak defines the unique gap in China between the strict traditionalism of the previous generations and the modernization of the new, and the “identity formation anxiety” that the youth face in trying to reconcile “the pressures of tradition and the needs of modernity”.

He also speaks on China’s education system as undervaluing innovation and people skills, and how this translates into a workforce currently in transition.

Key Quotes:

“The China that gets described to us versus the China that I was seeing and experiencing on the ground—there is a pretty vast chasm between the two.”

“We believe in a people-first perspective on China for a better world.”

“I call this young generation the “Restless Generation” for a reason: It’s because they are in charge of defining China’s modern identity.”

“In order to understand the children, you have to understand the parents.”

“In China, the biggest investment that most families will make is in their children.”

“When we’re talking about consumption in China, it’s not a matter of where you’re from, but when you’re from.”

Ambassador Barton Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      The major trends witnessed by Ambassador Barton in China since the early 2000s

●      What lessons should the West learn from China’s drastic growth over the past two decades?

●      Why Ambassador Barton wrote China Vignettes in 2008 and the book’s main takeaways

●      Key thinkers and thought leaders in China and the broader APAC region that Ambassador Barton follows

Sarah Kutulakos Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      The most promising sectors in China today

●      What the West can learn from China

●      How business relationships between China and the West may change

●      Whether China is experience an over supply of white-collar workers

●      Interesting pivots that have taken place in response to the pandemic

Episode Summary:

Dominic Barton, Canadian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.

Previously, he spent close to 20 years working for McKinsey & Company with a focus on China, at first serving as Chairman of Asia for the firm before taking the helm of Global Managing Director from 2009 to 2018 amid China’s rising prominence on the world stage.

Other leadership roles that Ambassador Barton has held in the business world include Chairman of Teck Resources and as Non-Executive Director at the Singtel Group in Singapore and Investor AB in Sweden.

Speaking on the trends he has personally seen play out over the past 15 years in China, Ambassador Barton notes that urbanization, infrastructure and logistics, education and the bolstering of human capital, and technocratic leadership have all been top priorities for the country, and will continue to be through to 2030 and perhaps even beyond.

There are many lessons that the West can take away from China’s drastic growth over the past two decades, the most important of which, according to Ambassador Barton, is to not treat China as a “monolith”.

Rather than looking at it as “China Inc.”, operated solely by its government, the U.S., Canada, and Europe would benefit from acknowledging the different layers that influence the Chinese economy, which also include small to large businesses, consumers, and regional differences between each.

Ambassador Barton goes on to touch on the main insights he covers in his 2008 book China Vignettes and why he decided to dedicate the work to the country’s human element.

Finally, Ambassador Barton shares his favorite key thinkers and thought leaders on China and the APAC region. Noting the importance of “balancing the macro with the micro”, he lists a wide range of resources, including works of fiction that offer unique perspectives on the Chinese people that one would not be able to find in any textbook.

Episode Summary:

Sarah Kutulakos, COO & Executive Director of the Canada China Business Council
Sarah talks about her conversations with Western organizations in China regarding current market conditions and where the business world is headed in a post-pandemic society.

Canada’s exports to China have only continued to grow in 2021 since the onset of the COVID-19. In particular, the raw materials, consumer, and energy sectors have seen favorable conditions in the past year-and-a-half. In the long-run financial services should also fare well.

Sarah describes the most enthusiastic Western organizations in China in this way: “If you are aligned with China’s policies—which would include things like the five-year plan, increasing consumption for their new economic model, etc.—then you’re probably more excited about the market.”

“The ability to turn on a dime—that flexibility in business,” is the top quality that Sarah believes every company should try to emulate. Applying this to CCBC, Sarah always encourages Canadian companies to embrace speed and “be more aggressive in going after China.”

In a very short period of time, China has transformed its market into a leader with regard to its big data capabilities, and in its emphasis on the consumer as king.

Another reality that came about relatively recently is that improved education—not to mention greater access to universities today—has resulted in countless qualified Chinese nationals that are highly sought after by multinationals.

Ambassador Key Quotes:

“I think there’s too much of a view in the West of treating China like a monolith: It’s China. It’s the government. When we do that—and we all tend to want to simplify stuff as humans—we should first think about our own countries, whether that be Canada or the United States. What is an American? What is a Canadian? We’re all different. And I really think that that gets lost in the haze of ‘China Inc.’”

“[I wrote China Vignettes because] I felt I was being too economics-driven or macro-driven [...] and not really thinking deeply enough about the people: What is the consumer like and how might they be changing?”

Sarah Key Quotes:

“If you are aligned with China’s policies—which would include things like the five-year plan, increasing consumption for their new economic model, etc.—then you’re probably more excited about the market.

“[Chinese] companies don’t get married to a particular business model and they move fast to meet opportunities in the market.”

“One of the things we’ve tried to do with CCBC is to keep going at that clock speed and to encourage Canadian companies to be more aggressive about going after China, because they tend to sometimes be a little complacent and that puts us at a disadvantage versus Americans or Europeans that might be more energetic in the market.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      Joseph reminisces on his time in Beijing during its “up-and-coming” days in the early 2000s

●      How differently entrepreneurship was regarded in China from 2000 to 2010

●      How Joseph’s footwear design house became the number one seller in the shoe category on Kickstarter in 2013 and 2014

●      The opportunities that came out of Joseph’s time at Tangential Consulting

●      Best practices for setting up a business in China

●      Countries that are particularly more difficult to penetrate

●      Advantages and challenges of working at a company based in China as an ex-pat

●      The evolution, and the future, of urban mobility

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Joseph Constanty, who has been steeped in China's business world for over 16 years. Since 2016, he has been the Director of International at NIU Technologies.

As the largest smart scooter company in the world, NIU has been doubling down on its international expansion efforts as the global economy continues to rebound strongly from the lockdowns of the past year and a half.

Alongside his work with NIU, Joseph is also a Co-Founder and Advisor at NextStep Studio, an accelerator specializing in the food tech and F&B companies in China.

Having entered China back in the early-to-mid 2000s, Joseph reflects on why entrepreneurs were a rare sight back in the day, and the factors that led up to China’s drastic rise to becoming a force to be reckoned with when it comes to innovation and commerce.

He compares Beijing in particular to Southeast Asia. While these countries may differ culturally from China, they are now exhibiting the same drive and resourcefulness that the tier 1 cities are known for. He regards them as primed for exponential growth in the very near future.

Joseph goes on to share how he found success in a variety of fields in China’s startup world; how he helped to build the largest smart scooter company in the world and a shoe brand that became the most funded footwear Kickstarter project two years in a row.

He also describes the advantages and challenges of working at a company based in China as an ex-pat and explains why those looking to found a company in China should consider initially establishing it as a consultancy.

Finally, Joseph speaks on changes in and the future of urban mobility through the years and how COVID has impacted the industry.

Key Quotes:

“[In the early 2000s, entrepreneurs] didn’t exist because, culturally, it wasn’t acceptable for them. Their parents, or those born between 1975 and 1985, needed to get a job, get married, buy a house, have a kid, be financially successful, and do all that by the time they’re 30. Running a startup wasn’t part of that equation.”

“What we took away from Kickstarter was simply the power of storytelling and building a brand from nothing. We were literally building it with almost zero marketing and just riding the Kickstarter traffic and influencing those people that were interested in helping makers at the time through the story we were telling.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      Opportunities in architecture and design within China

●      How the design space in the West differs from that of China

●      Design trends in China today and potentially going forward

●      The relationship between developers and the local government

●      The leeway designers have in localizing big foreign brands for China

●      China’s design influence beyond its borders

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Andrew Sigfrids of ASIG Design and ASIG BIM. Established in 2010, ASIG Design is a multi-disciplinary architectural design firm specializing in the interior design of restaurants and coffee shops.

With offices in Shanghai, China and San Francisco, ASIG has worked with large companies like Starbucks, ABINbev and the Li Ka-shing Foundation, as well as small independent business owners. 

Andrew also heads New York-based landscape design firm Urban Terrace and San Francisco-based direct-to-consumer furniture brand CABA Design.

He speaks on his foray into the architecture and design space in China. Realizing that the industry in China seemed to offer much greater “freedom of design expression” compared to that of America, which requires newer designers to go through a “rite of passage” via years of drafting before being allowed to actually spearhead projects.

Another primary difference between the West and China is the cost of construction, which is much higher in the West and leads to more conservative designs. Since the cost of labor in China is lower, designers and architects are given more freedom, from the big-picture project designs to smaller interior details such as the design of sockets.

Yet another distinguishing factor in China is “a mixture of owner, client, and consumer drive for wanting something new and different, pushing people through the doors via an interesting space.” Unique, selfie-friendly spaces are also growing in popularity.

On the other hand, the West is far more driven by efficiency and brand consistency over innovation. However, many big Western brands are now embracing the reality of localization if they want to do business in China, even if that demands an almost complete rehaul of their established branding in the West.

Key Quotes:

“Another factor [that differentiates America’s design space from China’s] is a mixture of owner, client, and consumer drive for wanting something new and different. [...] The general Chinese consumer is always seeking something completely new and something completely different. [...] The West is far more driven by efficiencies, in things such as service, and general brand recognition. For us, it’s about pushing people through the doors via an interesting space.”

“You feel so free as an individual [in China]. In business, it’s the same. The government typically leaves you alone with how you want to run your business and how you want to make your money—until you get big.”

“The path to success in China changes year after year. The success path, entering now in 2021, could actually be very different from how it was in 2016—only five years later. The consumer base has changed so much that you might actually want to go a different route in how you design your space and how that tells the story of your brand.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      Recent and potential developments in the Chinese business world

●      Air quality and pollution in China

●      Key mistakes that Western organizations make when they take on projects in China

●      How foreigners can nurture strong business relationships in China

●      How businesses in China can manage their relationship with the government

●      Why it is important to be on the ground in the country when doing business in China

●      AtmosAir Solutions’ target customer

●      How AtmosAir Solutions’ sales funnel in China differs from that of America

●      How negotiations take place between two parties in China

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Sam Michael, Executive Director for the China market at AtmosAir Solutions, a leading air purification technology brand from the United States. Sam made his foray into China in 2008 working in real estate, both with Asia's largest industrial developer and one of Europe's most successful luxury outlet developers. He was brought onboard AtmosAir Solutions’ Shanghai office as Executive Director of Sales and Operations in 2015.

Since arriving in China a little over a decade ago, Sam has watched the world of commerce change drastically. In response to the explosion of eCommerce solutions, malls and physical retail stores have put more focus on creating experiences for consumers. Hence the rise of F&B in and around retail establishments in China.

Alongside this, there has also been increasing interest in the health and wellness space, including air quality—most especially for ex-pats. Sam does not see this trend slowing down in a post-pandemic world, especially since even China’s industrial sector has finally begun to prioritize air quality.

For Western companies seeking to do business in China, the number one consideration is localization, which can be done by finding a reliable local partner, or even a Western China expert like Sam himself, who can work alongside the organization on their strategy. By extension—and as it always has been—it helps to forge strong business partnerships, the old-fashioned, face-to-face way, in the China market.

Key Quotes:

“If I want the thing, then I’ll just buy the thing online. But people need a place to spend their time. [...] So, it’s nice to have these retail centers where the focus of their tenants has been less and less about the products that you’re going to buy and more about the experiences that you’re going to have with them.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      The state of COVID in China going into the second half of 2021

●      Why a work-from-home culture is probably not the future for China

●      How consumer trends have evolved in the past 18 months

●      Sectors to lead the charge in China’s economic growth going forward

●      What to expect at the 6.18 shopping festival this year

●      The development of the live streaming/commerce craze

●      How the IPO of JD’s logistics division will impact consumer behavior, shipping, and logistics in the China market, along with Alibaba’s competitive relationship with JD

●      How the Biden administration is doing so far with regard to the U.S.-China trade war

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Jacob Cooke, co-founder of WPIC Marketing and Technologies, to gain an up-to-the-minute understanding of how well China is economically recovering from COVID and what consumer trends to keep an eye on.

Asked about the latest developments around COVID in China, Jacob says that the new normal is well underway: establishments are reopening and flight delays are once again a reality. The vaccine rollout has also been fairly smooth, even in big cities like Beijing.

Travel, however, is still quite restrictive, severely limiting the opportunity for ex-pats to return to the country. It is unlikely that the work-from-home culture, at least among foreigners with business in China, is here to stay. From the challenges of working in oftentimes widely different time zones to a lack of high-touch relationship-building and collaboration, Jacob simply concludes, “I don’t see work-from-home as being a thing here in China.”

Regarding the shifts in consumer trends over time, Jacob says that there has obviously been greater interest in the health and wellness space, particularly around remote classes and online education. Fashion and cosmetics, which had both seen a downturn at the onset of lockdowns, are fast becoming thriving industries once again.

Last year’s 6.18 shopping festival saw a much bigger bottom line than 11.11. With the economy’s drastic reawakening in 2021, the outlook for this year’s festival seems even brighter, especially as the popularity of live streaming/commerce continues to organically attract more people to these thriving online consumer communities.

JD Logistic’s IPO will incentivize up-and-coming eCommerce platforms to tap into the resources of these giants. By extension, these new platforms will soon have the opportunity to compete on a relatively fairer playing field as long-time monopolies finally begin to operate independently.

Key Quotes:

“I’ve never been a real huge fan of work-from-home. I think you lose a lot in the collaboration between your team members. I think you lose a lot in terms of the relationship-building, the creativity—those moments of brilliance that you get from just working together. I don’t see work-from-home as being a thing here in China.”

“What we like about Southeast Asia as an up-and-coming market is that we’ve got income levels rising very fast, as well as it being a very young base.”

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

●      Using the power of design for social impact

●      Why Kseniya reframed the Belt & Road Initiative as a “sociospatial set of challenges” in her thesis

●      How Ballistic Architecture Machine factors into the New Silk Road

●      China’s strengths and weaknesses in architecture and urban design

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Kseniya Otmakhova, a Schwarzman Scholar and Director of Public Relations at Ballistic Architecture Machine. Her role as a PR manager comes with a focus on furthering research on the New Silk Road with the goal of developing it into one of several of BAM’s unique “Urban Initiative” projects.

“I have a strong desire to use design for social impact,” says Kseniya, describing what initially motivated her to study urban planning at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She also helps us understand that proposing concepts is not enough; the key is in convincing stakeholders by understanding the outcomes they desire.

Kseniya was thus drawn to the Schwarzman scholarship, not only for the professional opportunities the program would bring but also for the access she would get to sharp minds around the world (including over 100 fellow scholars) to be able to have conversations on global issues with people from a variety of backgrounds.

Listen in as Kseniya explains her thought process behind reframing the Belt & Road Initiative as a “sociospatial set of challenges” in her thesis and the three themes that anchor her research.

She then describes the mission-vision of BAM, the multidisciplinary design studio based in Beijing and Shanghai, and how the studio’s focus on urban landscape design guides its research on the development of the New Silk Road.

Finally, Kseniya discusses the incredible speed and agility of development China is known for, particularly in the world of architecture and city planning, and why this can be both a strength and a weakness for the country’s urban development.

Key Quotes:

“The Schwarzman program is a one-year Master's program in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. It’s a very young program—six years old. It’s a scholarship that was created specifically to respond to the geopolitical landscape of our current times. That means China’s growing interactions with businesses around the world and also the realization of the founder, Stephen A. Schwarzman, that there is not enough understanding of this region in the West.”

“The Belt & Road Initiative is at the scale of an entire continent. My question was: ‘What does it mean to build infrastructure for win-win collaboration—a structure that will create new people-to-people bonds?’”

“I truly believe that the success of the Belt & Road Initiative depends on the built environments and the on-the-ground conditions that are created through ‘Happy Cities’.”

“Just building a new highway that will bring your country money is not enough to create people-to-people bonds; to foster collaboration; and to create new, vibrant environments.”

“One of the main aspects that brings a lot of professionals—from the best architects, urban planners, and the like—to China is the speed of developments. Things get built very quickly and, as such, an architect working in China for five years might see one or two projects completed; whereas back in Europe, they might as well spend ten years behind the drawing board.”