As the balance shifts, how heavily does China’s influence weigh?

Chris and Yassmin’s two guests discuss how the continuing emergence and growing strength of China’s Belt and Road Initiative – an economic and strategic initiative linking the two ends of Eurasia, Africa and Oceania, more closely – will empower China’s trading partners to participate as part of a multi-polar Asian economy, and what this means for organizations looking to build strength and partnerships and develop opportunities across the region.

Within the scope of China’s Belt and Road initiative, it will be critical to understand how relationships — with vendors, governments and customers — will be affected if China becomes their dominant trading partner.

Learning outcomes

• To understand the future of growing Asian markets, organizations must spend time in China’s second-tier cities, as well as India and Indonesia.
• Increasing mobile phone use within second and third-tier Chinese cities has seen a rise in the cashless consumer — consumer goods companies must adapt.
  
• Organizations must look to hire — and listen to — local people throughout the region to help their organizations adapt to an increasingly diverse set of values.
  
• Business leaders must equip their organization to think capably about interacting with Asian markets, and ask: What is my inventory of expertise and network assets? Do we have experience of doing business in the region, or understand the nuances?
  

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.