Yep!
On 13 June I talked to the University of Central Oklahoma, organized by The China Guide. Location: UIBE (对外经济贸易大学). First time I talked to UCO.

On 17 June I had again CASS London Business School, they come every year and the location is always the New Otani Hotel. A rather big MBA crowd, some came later, I guess a sleepless night was the reason…
I also had the chance to listen to Tom Mitchell, the Bureau Chief of the Financial Times in Beijing, interesting overview as all expected.
For both seminars my usual very personal introduction on modern China followed by an exchange on the many challenges China is facing today.

I quote here the Press Release 7 June 2016, and also look back at last year.

“European Business Keen to do More in China if Reforms are Implemented”
Press Release
The European Chamber’s annual Business Confidence Survey reports that while its member companies are increasingly pessimistic and perceive China’s reform progress to have stalled, a clear majority would likely increase their investment if they were given greater market access.

The survey finds that Beijing’s failure so far to deliver on promises that foreign-invested enterprises will enjoy a more open, competitive market has fostered mounting pessimism: a significant 41% of European companies are now re-evaluating their China operations and planning to cut costs, including through headcount reduction. Although 47% also report that they plan to expand their operations in China, this represents a thirty-nine point decrease from 2013, when an overwhelming 86% of European companies were intending to do so. However, a clear majority of European business would likely increase their investment in China in the event of market access barriers being removed.

China’s economic slowdown continues to pose a significant challenge to both Chinese and European companies. However, European business is suffering more acutely from its effects due to an increasingly challenging business environment, coupled with a playing field that is perpetually tilted in favour of domestic enterprises. The survey’s key findings speak to a deepening disillusionment in China’s reform agenda:

• 56% of respondents report that doing business in China has become more difficult, a five-point increase from 2015.
• 57% perceive that foreign companies are treated unfavourably compared to their domestic counterparts.
• 58% of respondents state that the recent tightening of Internet controls and access restrictions has a negative impact on their business, a 17-point jump from 2015.
• 70% of respondents do not feel more welcome in China than they did 10 years ago.
• 55% would likely increase their investment China if afforded greater access.

It is also noteworthy that European companies’ willingness to invest in R&D in China has dropped from 85% in 2015, to 72% in 2016, indicating that the Chinese Government’s ongoing efforts to attract innovation are not having the desired effect.
The successful completion of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment is seen to be integral to improving the business environment and reducing market access barriers. European Chamber President Jörg Wuttke said, “European companies now need a roadmap. This will give them with the confidence they need to commit more to China’s future development in these economically challenging times.”

“Despite slowing and L-shaped growth, China’s economy could be powered for another two or three decades of high-quality expansion by measures including further pruning overcapacity, supply side transformation and strengthening innovation,” said Roland Berger CEO Charles-Édouard Bouée. “Addressing these tasks and the challenges highlighted by the Business Confidence Survey will ensure both that all of this growth ultimately takes place and that European business is able to make a major contribution toward attaining it.”

About the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (European Chamber) was founded in 2000 by 51 member companies that shared a goal of establishing a common voice for the various business sectors of the European Union and European businesses operating in China.
I have been a very active member for many years (Public Procurement Working Group), but this year  I left as I refocus on other areas.

Interesting is to see the evolution year by year. See here some flash back on the 2015 Confidence Survey as well as the Position Paper 2015/2016.

The slides show the key issues and concerns of the European business world, not much different from what Amcham and others conclude. I would say, nothing much has improved, on the contrary.
I always feel the situation is actually more somber as the surveys do not take into consideration the many smaller companies that went under and disappeared in silence, due to their difficulties.

My first time ever to visit famous Yiwu City in Zhejiang, this time to talk about tourism in China, in a seminar entitled:
“New technology, new equipment and new tourism of promoting the development of China’s tourism market Summit Forum”

The date was 25 May 2016 and the location Crowne Plaza Yiwu Expo.
I was the only foreigner in the whole room…

I gave an overview on the development of tourism in China, from the point of view of a foreigner. Unknown to most of my friends I do have quite some connections to the tourism industry: I did some research for a large Israeli tourism platform and introduced potential Chinese partners; our office set up a WFOE in tourism; I took part as a tourism “expert” in the shooting of the “New Three Gorges 3D HD Movie” (November 2015 – more about that to come); and as mentioned in the seminar I am said to be one of the “pioneers” to start the promotion of RVs (Recreational Vehicles) and Camping through a seminar in Guizhou.
See: http://www.beijing1980.com/2016/02/24/the-new-sanxia-3d-movie-media-event/

Tourism is obviously an important economic activity in China but recently it became clear things were not going so well.
Talking to several foreign tour groups and reading the media there is a list of complaints, both from foreigners and local Chinese.
Despite the enormous potential of the country, tourism is not handled well and the number of foreign tourists visiting China has gone down while Chinese, fed up with poor service and high costs, have gone abroad in increasing and impressive numbers: in 2015 120 million Chinese went abroad.

My talk:
Economic development in the leisure industry adapted to foreign and domestic tourists
Preserving and promoting China’s authentic cultural and natural heritage

See here the PPT I used, only to illustrate some aspects. The full text of the speech can be obtained on request.
160525 yiwuppt

You can also listen to a podcast of major parts of the talk here:
What’s Next for China’s Tourism Industry?
(http://prodygia.com/podcasts/2-what-next-for-china-s-tourism-industry)

After the seminar we had one of those big banquets and the participants all agreed with my remarks on tourism.

On 12 May, first time I talked to La Roche College, a group of 16 people (14 students – 2 professors). Average age of the students: 21 years.

La Roche College is a private college in McCandless, a suburb of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence as a private college for religious sisters. It was named in honor of Stephanie Amelia la Roche von Starkenfels, the first Mother Superior of the Sisters of Divine Providence. The first president of the college was Sister Annunciata Sohl, C.D.P., who served until 1968. The college had begun to admit its first lay students by 1965. It continued to grow, and two years later, La Roche expanded beyond its leased space to construct the first College building, the John J. Wright Library. (Wikipedia)

The setting was UIBE (The University of International Business and Economics, is a national public research university specialized in economics, finance, management, law and foreign languages established in 1951 in Beijing) and arranged through The China Guide.

The talk lasted about 2 hours and covered what China is today and the challenges the country is facing, making many expats a bit nervous.