Great expat-ations

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-22 09:32

Why China?

In my case, it all began with an executive posting in Hong Kong for Asia Pacific including China when I was with ABB. My fascination with Mainland grew over the years. Some of it was just feeling well embraced by my Chinese employees and colleagues, building trustful and meaningful relationships which were so totally different from what a foreigner could build in places like Japan, Korea, Thailand, India, etc. Frankly, I never had any "China dream" until I became so totally immersed in the local life here.

Doing What?

Now I run a fascinating business, we do international debt collections for Chinese and other China-based exporters.

I have a leading US-based business parter, SGA Collections (www.sgacollections.com), and I run the Greater China marketing/client service side of this business (www.sga.bz.) It's the ideal "marriage" between East & West.

A big part of our work here is to educate the exporters in China how to improve their trade practices, such as sale agreements, which are legally binding in the different foreign markets.

How good is your Chinese?

I speak English, French & Mandarin. A little less fluent in Cantonese, Spanish, Italian, German & Bahasa.

Romance?

No comment.

Food?

I like some kinds of Chinese food. Not all. A snowy night in winter is great to walk around the corner for hot pot (huo guo) with our friends. When foreign friends or family come to visit us in Beijing, we have to go out for duck and some local foods which are quite enjoyable. But, eating Chinese food is more the exception than the rule for my life in China after all these years.

I have noticed the guidebooks on China influence first time visitors to try fried scorpions and things like that. None of my Chinese friends, employees or other actually eat these foods. I think first time visitors can be deceived by what Chinese actually eat on a daily basis.

Money?

In the US the compensation for executives is quite good. Also, as an American, we don't have significant tax advantages living here. Money is not the driving factor between living in the US or China.

China, over these 17 years, has become home. As much as the US and Europe ever were.

So, what's keeping me here is the intrigue and constant, dynamic changes.

The longer I stay and the deeper I get involved supporting local NGO's for the Chinese who need my ability to lend a hand, the more inspired I become.

The future?

I lived in the US, Europe and traveled to 40 countries for work in my lifetime and I guess that is a reasonable basis of comparison on where is best to live and explore your life as you grow older. When we are older and not working, summers outside of Beijing will be great. Perhaps then it will be necessary to spend more time with my family and their kids in the US and Europe during summers. Of course, they will want to spend that time here in China. They visit, but China still remains a great mystery to them.