Study trip to Shanghai: my biases and expectations

Since January it has been a busy two-month period here at the IMSD Master at EOI but now suddenly after all the projects, presentations and exams the time has come to pack and get ready to go… where? To Shanghai for a study trip!

The “theme” of this study trip is “How to make business in China”. The plan is to have academic sessions and conferences at a partner University (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, apparently one of the top 5 in China) to learn about China’s history, culture and values as well as about its political, economic system and regulations, in order to be able to negotiate and build on business partnerships accordingly. Then, with the goal to have a bigger picture, the program provides also to perform visit to companies to have a look at practical cases.

I have not really had time to think about the trip but now I am quite excited about this opportunity. I am open to what it will provide. Actually, what are my expectations from this trip? What are my biases when thinking of China?

I think of China and what first hits my mind is its economic power: the second largest economy since 2011. In fact, China has experienced an enormous economic growth. Data are clear and are striking: in current USD currency the Gross Domestic Product in 1990 was 356.9 million; in 2012 its GDP is 8,227 trillion USD (World Bank data). It means a tremendous and continuous growth rate always higher than 7,6% with peaks of 14,2%.

The second thing is that China – with its 1,351 billion people – it is the most populous country in the world. This massive economic expansion also drove a massive pollution in the industrial areas and in the cities: I hope it will not be as bad as in some pictures online…

But right after this I am invested about China’s paradoxes. First, the inequality. The benefits of the economic growth of the last 20-25 years have not been spread and shared equally among all the social classes: even if the GDP per capita increased from USD 314 in 1990 up to USD 6,091 in 2012, the growth has not been homogenous. The income gap between rich and poor has raised with a peak in 2008 as it was finally publicly recognized last year by Ma Jiantang, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics in this article from Reuters (Yao and Wang, 2013). The value of the GINI coefficient (a measure of income disparity) now stands at 0.474 with strong differences especially between rural China and urban context and Ma said this urges for reforms of the income distribution system.

Then its peculiarity of being a socialist country but open to capitalism: a single party state, ruled by the Communist Party of China (CCP). The party has the monopoly and runs a policy of strict control on the people and on the information they can access.

This leads to the next point: I think of the issue of human rights and labour conditions and about its limitations of freedom of editorial content and access to the information. For instance, as reported by BBC (BBC News, China Country Profile) China has the largest online population, yet the most extensive monitoring and control over the Internet through an advanced and extensive filtering system (called the “Great Firewall of China” by Reporters Without Borders, RSF) with thousands and thousands of web sites blocked. China is one of the few countries where Google is not the first search engine: it comes third behind Baidu and Soso. Well this is indicative but actually not necessarily a bad point.

Do I have only negative thoughts? Not at all, I have great expectations from its culture that stretches back 4000 years. I am curious to see how the university addresses the students. Here at EOI we are continuously stimulated to “wear our critical hat”, participate to the classes making questions and – in a constructive way – doubting what the professors, the professionals and the lecturers are illustrating. Is this is the same approach we will find at the Chinese partner university? I doubt it but I am curious to experience the Chinese teaching way.

As for the visit to the companies, over Europe and in the US there is a growing trend towards the implementation of corporate social responsibility: the implementation of these practices is more and more regarded as a competitive advantage. What is it like in a Chinese company? Well, it will be interesting and challenging to spot how they manage them.

I was really insecure whether to choose Portland in the US (the other option for the EOI study trip, with a program more focused on sustainability and thus closer to my IMSD Master), or Shanghai. At the end I picked the Chinese destination because I felt Portland closer to my experience – cultural and professional – but I am attracted by diversity, a concept which – as a passionate traveller – I always find enriching.

So, with these pictures in mind, I am sure it will be very stimulating to “touch and feel” directly such a different environment.

Comments Off on Study trip to Shanghai: my biases and expectations / 28 Feb 2014 por guidopreti
IMSD /

Comentarios cerrados.