Meet the frustrated China project manager

During our daily encounters with managers of European companies responsible for the China operations, we often see a lot of irritation – and even frustration – about the negative narrative about China and how they are struggling to convince their boss to continue focusing on the China project. Although China is the 2nd largest economy in the world and for many European companies, including SMEs, China is a key country in their global strategy (be it as an existing or potential export market, a source of raw materials or finished products, or an increasingly stronger competitor), there remains a significant lack of understanding and involvement from the top management of the European headquarters.

The biggest challenge for many of those responsible for the China operations is not to find Chinese partners, nor dealing with the complex cultural differences of doing business in China, but increasingly dealing with the prejudices from the headquarters and managing the expectations from the internal stakeholders. Usually, these European senior executives have never been to China, so it’s difficult for the China project manager to explain the differences in business environment, social systems, politics, legislation, and culture.

Many China project managers find it very difficult to convince the top management to invest sufficient funds or assign adequate internal resources to the China project. It is not uncommon for China project managers to feel neglected when they don’t receive the necessary internal support for their China venture. This has not improved in the past years, on the contrary.

Consequently, in many cases we can feel the tension in the air during meetings with customers and frequently end up trying to help the China project manager to convince his or her boss why he or she needs to commit more resources to the China project. Moreover, often it is also the rest of the company that is not so eager to deal with all the challenges surrounding the China project, no matter if this is for the right reasons or not.

To conclude, a thorough preparation and professional assistance is key to a successful start in China, but – equally important– also the full commitment and support from the entire organization is required.

Horsten International has over 40 years of experience in entering the Chinese market and managing start-ups in China. Building on the experience of its founder Joos Horsten – the man behind the successful Xi’an-Janssen Joint Venture in China in the eighties, since 1996 Horsten International has already helped numerous European companies to enter China successfully and build a sustainable business model.