I had the honor of speaking at the RemaxWorld Summit held Oct. 12- 14th 2017 in Zhuhai China. In describing the expo size, one could only say huge; some might say, Bigley, this event was incomparable to any Imaging Channel focused event I have ever attended in my 30-year history in the Imaging Channel. There were booths, and when I use the term booth, I don’t mean a table with a colored cloth draped over it. These expo booths some the size of small apartments. Spread across five football fields of space inside the Zhuhai expedition hall. Within these booths, you would find print cartridge manufacturers, Chip Manufacturers, and Print management software developers to name a few. A visitor would believe that the world of Print is as lucrative as it was in 1980.
In front of the expo hall stood one of the most elaborate Sheraton hotels on the planet. I must admit before coming to China. I thought of China as a completely different kind of competitor. Like many, I visualize depressing factories where thousands of unhappy workers drilled holes in used H.P. cartridges and refilled them with toner disregarding any quality standards.
What I was not visualizing were Billion Dollar Corporations with extremely talented executives who have a deep passion for business growth and winning. These leaders are the true definition of an entrepreneur; These leaders are building state of the art manufacturing facilities, employing the best of best practices, and stay commented to constant improvement. China and its business leaders want recognition as a world leader just as other countries in the world do.
Zhuhai, China is the Printer Consumable and Printer Cartridge Chip capital of the world. Zhuhai is a small city a little over two million people. The modernization of Zhuhai is only around twenty years old. Its architecture would rival any city in the world. As I drank a local beer sitting on the patio at the Sheraton under the palm trees watching the valets parking Tesla’s, Mercedes, and even a Bentley well actually two Bentleys. Looking toward the waterway, you could see the many people walking along the state of art walkway which flanks the Pearl River Zhuhai’s roadway to the South China Sea. I thought to myself this modern, sophisticated city is not what I expected as I am sure many first-time visitors to China think.
One thing is clear the Chinese Business Leader does not lack any less desire for success than her or his worldwide competitors. The global world economy was defined more clearly for me during this trip.
The world all cultures share may differ in governments, languages, religions, and each defines their values. However, this global world of commerce we all share has one thing in common, and that’s business. Today all businesses will compete at new levels, some will be fair and some may not. Corporations will argue global competition such as geographic human cost advantages, or arguments of ones’ countries patient laws from another country or manufactures whose arrogance will argue only products manufactured in their country can be superior in quality. These arguments may continue, and some will be resolved. However, throughout the world the real power is in the hands of the consumers, and as the world continues to reduce in size by technology. Governments’ will have to decide what they are willing to modify or what to compromise to ensure their piece of the enormous opportunities the revenue of global trade provides not just to governments their people as well.
Zhuhai opened my eyes to the fact that no one country or hemisphere of countries have a monopoly on the Entrepreneurial spirit or business leadership acumen. As the world’s products end-users have more and more access to technology and the Push Economy continues transitioning faster and faster to the Pull-Economy the world we all live in will be the world we all shop in and is the world we all compete in.
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