Procurement Business Opportunities with the ADB

On 28 June the EUCCC organised a half-day seminar on Procurement Business Opportunities with Asia Development Bank (ADB, Manila, Philippines) from 8:30 am to 12:15 pm at the Kerry Hotel, Beijing.
The half-day seminar covered ADB’s public and private operations and opportunities for goods suppliers, civil works contractors and providers of consulting services. Ms. Candice McDeigan, Mr. Ahmadou Barry and Mr. Zheng Kangbin presented various topics to attendees interested in ADB’s procurement bidding for goods and consulting services under ADB’s funded projects. The presentations were all very detailed, practical and extremely well delivered. What a difference with presentations from Chinese organisations… They also promptly made their presentation available to the participants.


As Chair of the Public Procurement Working Group of the European Chamber I moderated the seminar.
Details on the speakers (provided by EUCCC):
Ms. Candice McDeigan, Head of Portfolio Management Unit
Candice McDeigan is currently the head of portfolio management at the ADB’s resident mission in the People’s Republic of China. Prior to this she was the head of portfolio management at ADB’s Sri Lanka resident mission. Ms. McDeigan has solid experience in contract management, procurement and project administration. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and the University of Cambridge.
Mr. Ahmadou Barry, Senior Procurement Specialist
Mr. Barry joined the ADB in 2008 where, as a Senior Procurement Specialist, his responsibilities include support to operations departments in scoping and planning of project procurement, review of procurement compliance with ADB’s guidelines, and provision of procurement and project administration advisory for Bank’s financed projects. Since July 2010, Mr. Barry is the ADB Resident Procurement Specialist in the People’s Republic of China which responsibilities entail oversight of procurement for projects financed by ADB in the PRC and Mongolia, capacity building of government agencies implementing ADB projects and dialogue with Governments on policy and procurement reform.
Mr. Kangbin Zheng, Senior Investment Specialist
Dr. Kangbin Zheng is currently the head of the Private Sector Operations Group at ADB’s Resident Mission in China, and board members of Bank of Hangzhou and Xiamen International Bank, focusing on promoting public-private partnerships and fascinating private sector development. He has more than 27 years experiences in project finance,risk management and financial engineering, pioneering in innovating new financial instruments and business strategies to support sustainable growth in developing countries and emerging markets. Before joining Asian Development Bank, Dr. Zheng worked at the headquarters of the World Bank in Washington DC for 21 years, and taught at Zhejiang University and Wuhan University as an adjunct professor.

Dinner with Commissioner Karel De Gucht of the EU Commission

On 21 June the European Chamber met with European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht. The Commissioner debriefed representatives of the European Chamber (EUCCC) on the EU-China Joint Committee meeting, the current EU trade policy agenda with China, and globally, and briefly mentioned the solar panels case.
As Chair of the Public Procurement Working Group I joined the dinner at the Capital Club.


(pics and text provided by the EUCCC)
The European Chamber debriefed the Commissioner on its strategy and current lobbying priorities. The meeting ended with the European Chamber making two recommendations regarding the definition of private capital used by Chinese authorities and the need for a database tracking Chinese outbound direct investment (ODI) to Europe.
I personally strongly support Karel De Gucht. He is very professional and is doing his job right. I wish there were more like him in the EU Commission.

Thought provoking painting ‘Beijing 2008’

I got this from a friend, tried to check the source. Pretty interesting. I improved a bit the colors of the original picture (revealing more details). One source is https://www.facebook.com/tolga.toleubay but  an earlier one from 2006: http://blog.islaformosa.com/2006/10/beijing-2008-by-liu-yi.html.
What the comments below do not mention: Taiwan seems to be naked below.
Somehow it reminds me of a “21st century Chinese Rubens painting… Up to you to interpret!
Amazing thought-provoking painting “Beijing 2008” by Chinese-Canadian artist Liu Yi.

The woman with the tattoos on her back is China. On the left, focused intensely on the game, is Japan. The one with the shirt and head cocked to the side is America. Lying provocatively on the floor is Russia. And the little girl standing to the side is Taiwan.
This painting, named “Beijing 2008”, has been the subject of much discussion in the west as well as on the internet. What’s interesting is that this painting is called “Beijing 2008”, yet it depicts four women playing mahjong, and conceals a wealth of meaning within…
China’s visible set of tiles “East Wind” has a dual meaning. First, it signifies China’s revival as a world power. Second, it signifies the military might and weaponry that China possesses has already been placed on the table. On one hand, China appears to be in a good position, but we cannot see the rest of her hand. Additionally, she is also handling some hidden tiles below the table.
America looks confident, but is glancing at Taiwan, trying to read something off of Taiwan’s expression, and at the same time seems to be hinting something at Taiwan.
Russia appears to be disinterested in the game, but this is far from the truth. One foot hooks coyly at America, while her hand passes a hidden tile to China, both countries can be said to be exchanging benefits in secret. Japan is all seriousness while staring at her own set of tiles, and is oblivious to the actions of the others in her self-focused state.
Taiwan wears a traditional red slip, symbolizing that she is the true heir of Chinese culture and civilization. In one hand she has a bowl of fruit, and in the other, a paring knife. Her expression as she stares at China is full of anger, sadness, and hatred, but to no avail; unless she enters the game, no matter who ends up as the victor, she is doomed to a fate of serving fruit.
Outside the riverbank is darkened by storm clouds, suggesting the high tension between the two nations is dangerously explosive. The painting hanging on the wall is also very meaningful; Mao’s face, but with Chiang Kai Shek’s bald head, and Sun Yat-Sen’s mustache.
The four women’s state of undress represent the situation in each country. China is naked on top, clothed with a skirt and underwear on the bottom. America wears a bra and a light jacket, but is naked on the bottom. Russia has only her underwear left. Japan has nothing left.
At first glance, America appears to be most composed and seems to be the best position, as all the others are in various states of nakedness. However, while America may look radiant, her vulnerability has already been exposed. China and Russia may look naked, yet their key private parts remain hidden.
If the stakes of this game is that the loser strips off a piece of clothing, then if China loses, she will be in the same state as Russia (similar to when the USSR dissolved). If America loses, she also ends up in the same state as Russia. If Russia loses, she loses all. Japan has already lost everything.
Russia seems to be a mere “filler” player, but in fact is exchanging tiles with China. The real “filler” player is Japan, for Japan has nothing more to lose, and if she loses just once more she is immediately out of the game.
America may look like she is in the best position, but in fact is in a lot of danger, if she loses this round, she will give up her position as a world power. Russia is the most sinister, playing along with both sides, much like when China was de-occupied, she leaned towards the USSR and then towards America; as she did not have the ability to survive on her own, she had to weave between both sides in order to survive and develop.
There are too many of China’s tiles that we cannot see. Perhaps suggesting that China has several hidden aces? Additionally China is also exchanging tiles with Russia, while America can only guess from Taiwan’s expression of what actions have transpired between Russia and China. Japan on the other hand is completely oblivious, still focused solely on her own set of tiles.
Taiwan stares coldly at the game from aside. She sees everything that the players at the table are doing, she understands everything that is going on. But she doesn’t have the means or permission to join the game, she isn’t even given the right to speak. Even if she has a dearth of complaints, she cannot voice it to anyone, all she can do is to be a good page girl, and bring fresh fruit to the victor.
The final victor lies between China and America, this much is apparent. But look closely; while America is capable, they are playing Chinese Mahjong, not Western Poker. Playing by the rules of China, how much chance at victory does America really have?

Talking to Cass Business School in Beijing

On 20 June I talked again to a group of 66 MBA students and 3 professors, as one of the speakers in the Cass study tour, from the City University London. My first talk was last year.
Location: Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong Beijing, duration 90 minutes.
Topic: Policy risks and opportunities and the 12the Five Year Plan, how Chinese policy is developed, the lobbying process, and how does decision making unfold at senior leadership level – a pretty challenging topic!
The tour was again organized by Legacy Ventures, a UK specialist provider of international study tours, immersion trips and treks for top business schools around the world and a member of the EMBA Council. See: www.legacyventures.co.uk


Just got the feedback from the organizer:
“I have just heard back from my colleague that you were as impressive as ever this morning when you presented to the Cass cohort. From all accounts the audience was captivated and asked your loads of good questions which means they were engaged, interactive and inspired – thank you. Gilbert, you were a great addition to this academic programme and we appreciate your hard hitting, honest, independent and impartial contribution to the business executives’ experience of doing business in China. We hope you enjoyed addressing this Cass group and we can approach you again in the future to participate in another study tour trip.”
Always nice to read this…

Urbanization in the Italian Embassy

On 30 May I joined once more the annual seminar in the Italian Embassy, organized by Progetto CMR, Massimo ROJ Architects.
The topic was (again) urbanization, something that gets a lot of attention as China is continuing a massive urbanization program involving hundreds of people moving into cities in the next years.


The Theme: “Less Ego more Eco, towards shared sustainability”.
Moderator was Massimo Bagnasco, Chair of the Construction Working Group of the EUCCC. Opening speeches by H.E. Alberto Bradanini, Italian Ambassador, Xu Bo, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Government, Laurent Javaudin, First Secretary of the EU Delegation, and others. See the pictures.
Then a “Round Table Discussion with several specialists. Among them, Oliver von Sachs, the managing director of Euro Sino Invest, the company behind the EU-China Urbanization project in Shenyang.
All rounded up with Prosecco and nice snacks.