After about an hour bus ride, I arrived to meet the geekcook crew, we drove to their office and warehouse to finalize which geekcook products to first enter usa market and ship to the LA, USA warehouse. It was good to meet his staff, it was also interesting to note that his mom and dad were also contributing to the business, as well as friends and coworkers and business partner’s wife and children on the scene. Its like a big family, not just a company. He knows from my blog that I have a mom, dad, and sister in my immediate family so he let me choose some gifts for each of them to take back on my USA trip. I told him I’ll take a group photo of them each wearing the t-shirts..

yes, we are digital geeks…haha.

We then went walked to a street bbq that Friday night, David is pushing me to learn Chinese more! and that once I am better at Chinese he can offer me a lot more opportunity…and there will be big long term benefits to me for dedicating and investing time in Chinese.

We both agree and understand the political and cultural differences between USA and China….and we both agree that the future of the world will continue to be based on these 2 superpowers bridging their relationship and business networks….. always fun discussions.

Headed back around 1am to sleep at the company dormitory and wakeup bright and early saturday morning, 8 am! There office and dormitory is on a government industrial park focusing on design and brands. David tells me a couple years ago it was a factory for Altec Lansing speakers. Now the current rich Chinese government is giving very low rent to companies like David (geekcook) to build up their own brand and marketing and distribution.

Saturday the fun began right away. I saw that we would be going to a water park on the outskirts of Guangzhou city, called Da Feng Men which would be a mix of hiking to the river dock and then rafting down the river.

I got to spend time with some of the children, which were very jolly and curious – healthy kids. One of them, Leo, first talked about the sept 11 tragedy when he heard I was from USA. Made me wonder how much its talked about in Chinese school.

I wasn’t advised/allowed to take my laptop with me….never got a clear answer but it would have been difficult to carry and store anyway….but I’m so addicted….it was a necessary break. And my huawei android tablet is giving me so many problems, so gmail sync issue and I couldn’t check emails. But maybe this was a needed problem, to help me get away.

I’m blogging a bunch of photos from the hike….didn’t get to take pics in the river….too wet! It was a pretty refreshing and exhausting day…but being a Saturday the line was soo long, maybe 1 hour wait, standing only.

We spent the night, about 8 of us, in a small village outside of Guangzhou called Zheng Guo, and being a foursquare addict, I couldn’t find any locations at all in the whole village….David helped me add one at the street bbq. The amazing thing about China, even after living here 4 years and being open to trying any food, there is still aways some crazy new food dish that I haven’t heard of or eaten. This time it was duck mouth…..like strips of the beak chopped up. Rather tough, but did have a ok taste. David also mentioned he was 22 years old and had caught a live snake in the woods and cooked it that night and ate it….crazy.

We rented rooms at a farmer’s inn….not a hotel, but really a home owned by a farmer and he has the 2nd and 3rd floor of his home setup as a hostel / budget inn. One bathroom on the floor, 3 rooms, and a common family room. Very relaxed….the whole village was maybe 3 blocks wide, right along side a freshwater lake. Some took a night swim, but I just relaxed and breathed the fresh air….hadn’t had fresh air like that in a while living in this big metropolis….

Today (Sunday) we woke up early (again) and used our own inflatable rafts and went up and down the river a few hours….wish my Tablet hadn’t been giving me problems or I’d have more photos.

We had a nice lunch today, alongside a massive wedding reception…I also get tons of stares being the only foreigner all weekend, but I’m used to it, and also I agree with others, Chinese people are nice, they are just curious about foreigners.

I hope to grow my cooperation with geekcook “family”, they really are a modern and young Chinese company, building a brand, and also standing for something in China. They just wished me well on my bus trip back to Shenzhen and also my USA trip. David tells me to say hi to Obama for him. hah.

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The last few days my google calendar has been jam packed with lunch meetings, afternoon coffees, and dinners, then beers with various people discussing business to discuss when I’m in USA.

Some of the things I’m working on:

• Ecommerce dropship platform – A big part of why I came to China was to bridge the gap between USA and China for buying and selling. The load pipe platform (or “pipe dream” as some of my friends have come to call it now…) may become a reality…..a few Chinese ecommerce companies I’m talking to now, as well as a few USA meetings.
• Representing Geekcook to USA market – meeting David Zhang a lot, and as I blogged, I think his product line is unique design – his own ideas, and China brand worth showing to the world…. spending this weekend with his factory and marketing team to go hiking and build up our business relationship.
• Talking to networking groups – Plan to be meeting startup networks and coworking communities in various USA cities. Since moving forward with the shenzhen coworking I have been networking with the community of coworking offices around USA and the world, as well as various startup communities….

So not much time to sit and work like a maniac in Szteam coworking, but because I’m loving the mobile lifestyle, i’m still carrying my mac air, my tablet, smartphone…..recharging device, mobile wifi hotspot…..and office really doesn’t matter….

Getting used to living life on the road, on the move. Took a few years….

So now I’m gearing up for USA and loading up as many Chinese business opportunities I can to pass around USA.

But in any regards, being stranded on a tropical island in a typhoon a couple days isn’t so bad if you are with good company, and that was the case here. It did feel a bit rushed spending only Tuesday to Thursday afternoon with them, and spending additional time Thursday night to Saturday morning I got to bond much more with the guys from tropicalmba.

Seems there is a good opportunity to create a program like this for entrepreneurs who want to come into China to learn how Chiense business works, get exposure to a few experienced internet businessmen like the communities we have forming in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and make some internships in China as well. Think we are in a good position to offer this program and help cross promote each other.

Its been something I and others have been discussing since the middle of last year, mixing entrepreurship, adventure, and learning in one package. To be the bridge into China for internet businessmen and ecommerce enthusiasts.

The dream is getting closer, and it seems fate created this typhoon and had forced me to stay a couple more days with the dudes from tropical MBA.

Its great I blogged about it when I first came, the arrival to Hong Kong, the food poisoning and just reading those old blogs brings back the memories…again I feel blessed I have recorded it.

Doing this made me realize…..wow, I had no clue when I first landed in Hong Kong back in 2007….or I am just an experienced Hong Kong / China businessman veteran now – probably a mix of both….But yes, I am ripping through these trade shows like there is no tomorrow. I used to waste so much time being polite and talking to so many booths…now I know what I want, I know what to ask, and I find what I need. Why waste their time and my time?

About 1 hour ago, I stopped by one of my India suppliers and saw my old friend Shwetabh, he and I met that first time in 2007 when I arrived to my first Hong Kong fair. We just sat down for a cup of coffee and discussed business and life. This is why I love international business…I am talking to an Indian supplier, in Hong Kong, about his travels in Rio, Brazil. He says Brazil is his favorite country to visit and I should definitely take a trip. Yes…I do have this on my list of places to travel too….so many places on my list to travel to.

But Shwetabh said I look so tired….he suggests I take some more time in America. He reads my blogs sometimes (wow, I blush) and he says I have to calm down the traveling a bit. How can I have a base, a life, solid friends if I am every day moving from one city to the next. While I do agree, I believe my base is this travel. I have been bushwhacking these connections, bridging people from various cities, various cultures, various backgrounds….trying to find opportunity and make something different.

I don’t want a normal life.

But anyway, the trade show has been rather slow actually….all the vendors I have talked to mention each year the attendance is lower and lower. I suspect it’s a reduction in buyer’s travel budgets, also suppliers no longer wish to go to such lengths to find buyers, and the internet is making communication and connecting easier and easier.

Yet wow, I realize “what a little boy” I was a few years ago, but am amazed at how I even am still standing at this point. Just keep on going, sure my friends may tell me to slow down, but this is just the beginning.
So many more places to go – India, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Eastern Europe. I thrive in Chaos, and I am more experienced and equipped then ever.

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Its just becoming more clear…I want to develop social media, communities, I get the most fulfillment from that. I think it is the most difficult, and its also the best way for me to utilize the years I have struggled in China business….its the connections and the trust I have built in the meantime. Sure I may have made some mistakes, some people didn’t agree with me, and I didn’t agree with them, but that is life.

So many people see me as a business consultant. My Hong Kong accountant invited me to be an advisor on their accountant association, I met with him and his partner last week. I’ll have to make some presentations about USA business, and they have a decent amount of members in the UK. More on that later as I confirm it and learn more myself. But it just feels so rewarding to be asked to be part of these clubs….and I have no problem connecting more people once I get familiar.

Just as an example of how I am getting more equipped for international business…I am typing this blog at 4:53pm on Sunday, awaiting the 5:50pm train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. I’m in the waiting queue, and holding my laptop against my thigh to type it as I’m standing up. (I try to blog from my tablet, but the touch screen just doesn’t work for long passages, at least not for me).

I have 2 3G wifi hotspots one for Hong Kong and China, a tablet for China (its also a phone), an android phone for Hong Kong, emergency power packs (these train stations NEVER have electricity power outlets!!!!!!) so many wires and adapters for different power outlets…I’m a walking office.

So I have 3 choices:

1. I can complain and cry about it – Some people may feel this is what this blog is about, my crying and complaining about my personal hardships in dealing with a small business overseas in China / Asia. Well, maybe it does help me to “talk outloud” and share my feelings…its soothing in its own sick way. Come on, what do people like to write about, and read about…its problems, struggles, passionate fighting for something, a cause.
2. I can change it – I could say “I don’t want to do this anymore”, go back to get a dayjob in America…I see this is giving up, and I have survived this far. Not something I can accept. We only have one life to live, if anything I hope to write a book about this, its definitely been an adventure.
3. I can deal with it – I think after returning to Asia late last year…taking the return ticket to Hong Kong I knew in the back of my head I wouldn’t be coming back to America so soon. Sure, I thought to myself I can always come back to America if I don’t feel right coming to Asia again…but the opportunities are in China. Things are growing, things are happening here….its just hard to partake in it as a foreigner….but I will not give up.

So as I wait in the Hung Hom Hong Kong train station to go to Guangzhou, I just realize that I have to accept the fact that….things will forever be changing, I cannot fully control, and I just have to accept it and make it work.

Another post coming soon comparing myself a few years ago to now.

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“Where are you now? Are you in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Dongguan, or?”

So I thought I would share the next few days with everyone….. give an idea of the insane life and that I am actually doing work while this is happening – thanks to technology management and internet advancement….while of course certain country governments try to filter and slow it down, we all manage to keep on going forward. Without further ado:

So there is a day in the life.

1) What do Internet marketers need to do differently in the China market as opposed to other areas of the world?

do not just copy and paste with a translator….domain should also not just be the .cn extension…… make a memorable brand for CHINESE! common domains are the pinyin (chinese characters converted into western characters) mixed with very basic, easy to remember/pronounce english words. also numbers are good as they are also in the chinese character sets too.

but really, china is nothing like the rest of the world, sure you can sell the products or servicrs you do in the west, but your website layout and brand i suggest is independent and you should have a web marketing team based inside china.

2) What has been the most successful Internet marketing program or technique you have seen?

in chinese market? there is a chinese company that helps chinese companies buy from usa, they had a twitter (as well as the chinese versions, weibo) that if their tweet was retweeted, they would get a coupon….very viral, very fast….

Just giving a small coupon or bonus anywhere in the world is effective….but seems more effective in China….saving a few yuan goes a long way in getting attention.

3) What misconceptions do Westerners have about Internet marketing in China?

sure, the market size and opportunity is huge in china, now more then ever. but its not always price. chinese now want to show the world they are “equal” and have “made it”, so dont compete on price, but instead on this fact….that chinese are rich and sucessful and now can pay the same price,or more for foreign brands.

But being in China a few years now, I am almost thinking like a Chinese mind….so annoying watching foreign companies RUSHING IN to the GOLD MINE to make money to the billion population market…..not having any clue and thinking they can just copy and paste translating it into Chinese.

I know its hard for impatient gweilos (like me) to realize, but you can’t come rushing into China thinking business is done the same as in America…..really its a completely different world.  Not just government regulations (guanxi) but also the consumer mindset.

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Borders seem to always highlight the most extreme cases in people’s lives, the dividing lines in the haves and have-nots.

Just again and again I think when I am crossing borders, its like border checks is profiling and racist, the ability for some to cross and others not, mostly due to the fact of where they were born into this world. I guess that has to be the defining factor of those who can and cannot enter certain countries, and I am thankful again and again for being fortunate enough to have been born to American parents in the United States of America.

I spend my days now talking to people in Hong Kong who don’t have visas to go into mainland China, and then other days talking to people in mainland China who cannot get into hong Kong, or other countries, without a lot of hassle and applications.

Ideally, it would be best to be born a Hong Kong resident for the life I am living now, as a Hong Kong ID holder can zip through borders much easier. Even as an American, I have to get stamped on each side, the Hong Kong side and the Shenzhen, China side.

I am still amazed at the differences between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China. sure the gap is closing, you can definitely see that in the prices – with Shenzhen costs for food, real estate, and labor sky rocketing. But even culture, and feeling between these 2 areas is major….and while there is a decent sized expat community in Shenzhen, it is nothing compared to the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Hong Kong…..a truly international city.

People have said that in the next 5 to 10 years there will not be much of a real border between Shenzhen and hong kong. There is big talk of a major metropolis between Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and even up to Guangzhou and Zhuhai. The population in each of these places is bigger than almost any city in the world, all are major….so to see them all combined as 1 metropolis….this is daunting. But that would be so great for me not to have to fill out these annoying customs forms (what happens to these forms anyway) when crossing back and forth, filling up my passport with stamps.

And “us Americans”, especially those who have not traveled outside of USA, have a hard time comprehending what it means to have to get a passport visa to enter a country, we are so spoiled to just fly to any destination and show our passport and get in without any questions asked….the rest of the world population is well aware of passport visas, customs officials, border taxes, and all the other headaches that divide the lines between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
Just wonder if there could be a “super passport” of highly educated or experienced people in the world, who have to pass some sort of test to receive this passport, and could easily travel between any country in the world. Rather than having country passports where simply being born in one country gives you the rights and priviledges in that country (or the difficulties, burdens, and setbacks). Because during my travels I have met some really intelligent people, truly gifted people who appreciate life and would do great things, but have more hardships and disadvantages because they were born into a country and a system that holds them back.

….Super passport, global passport….that would be awesome.

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The photo on the right is my new friends at the Five Islands ecommerce center…from left to right: Pak, Yuan, and Philip.  They all prefer to speak together in Cantonese, and my time at lunch and dinner is listening to them speaking in that only- guangdong province language we call Cantonese.

Cantonese is still the primary language in Hong Kong, and in many southern China cities of Guangdong such as Guangzhou. Doing business now between Dongguan and Hong Kong, I am often submerged in the language of Cantonese….flipping to Mandarin, flipping to English.

Now I really wish I dedicated more time to learning mandarin while in Shenzhen from end of 2007 to mid 2010…I feel it will be a bit more difficult to learn Mandarin, or at least take more effort as I am getting Cantonese mixtures and dialects thrown in all over the place in my daily conversations.

My friend Larry talks about how Cantonese is a dying language, he is living in Guangzhou, which is actually the most prominent city in Guangdong for Cantonese (in my opinion) and Larry has been picking up the language this year actually.

Definitely keeps things interesting…..adds to my preference of living a life of chaos rather then predictability and order….
Learning Mandarin Chinese is on my list of resolutions for 2011….I have to follow through with that…..

But where, and how should I do that when I am traveling back and forth between Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Dongguan, with a sprinkle of trips to the Philippines every few months?  How to balance that?

I personally have always learned by WRITING down when I am studying….some of us learn by listening, some by seeing, but my personally most effective way is to write it down on paper….once I write something, maybe its the stroke of the pen that helps me solidify it in my mind.

I’m told I should chinesepod or get a tutor a few times a week, any ideas from you guys?

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Maybe its because am I a middle man in this whole process? Is my role not as valuable as I think, being a connector, being a networker, being a marketer. I still think THE PERSON is the most important thing, but as technology continues to make things colder and more direct, where bottom line seems to outweigh trust and relationships ,am I overvaluing integrity?
It’s a dog eat dog world in the business world, and in the microscopic startup world, as a foreigner in a country that doesn’t seem to welcome foreigners, it’s a constant struggle. Just getting basic things done in China, as a foreigner, can be a fulltime job. Then there is actually starting or running a business on top of it.

So is it a balance of money, technology, knowledge, leadership, charisma? Is there one of them that rules more then another? Or should we, as a person born into the position we are born into, exploit that attributes were are given.

1. Some of us are born with money, titles, and privileges
2. Some of us are born so intelligent, with photographic memories
3. Some are born with natural charisma and sales abilities
4. Some are detail oriented, managers.

This leads me back to DISC personality method. I remember I had my personality taken, and I was a D and a I, D being dominant, and I being influencial. The seminar leader told us that in order to be successful we had to build project teams, departments, or companies that had at least 1 D (dominant), 1 I (influential), 1 S (steady) , and 1 C (comphre

I love the movie Oceans Eleven, just the group coorindation, the comedy watching such drastically clashing personalities coming together, kind of sucking up dealing with such opposite people in order to accomplish a common goal You had the small flexible guy to get into the safe, you had the bomb squad, you had the hustler card dealer to make distractions, it’s a great film. Another example is the dream movie Inception where a team is put together in order to accomplish a goal, all from various backgrounds – some as an investor, overseeing their investment, some as the builders of the dream, some as the mind manipulators, others as the detailed managers to keep on top of others – you can see the clash of personalities, and while there are some times they get angry at each other, they do put it aside in order to get the job done.

I think maybe this is why we, as human beings, have to learn how to work in teams. No one is perfect, and all knowing, we all need specialists, sales, investors, techies, etc in order to get something done. And it’s this fine balance of being able to handle strong personalities in others to get a common goal achieved.

So, money can’t be everything, there is plenty of money in the world. I think it’s about executing the idea, and getting everyone in a team on board to get the job done.

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Some want to teach english, others want to start a business, some who want a fresh start and a new type of job. I also sometimes get it for Americans moving to Philippines, but the red hot one I get every dang day is Americans moving to China.

Recently I received this one, I will remove contact information and personal / sensitive info, but to give you guys an idea:

Hi Michael,

I am looking at moving back to China to do something like what you are doing. I have lots of questions actually that you most likely have the answers to. I was talking about opening a small office there to help do labor intensive jobs working w/ managers I would set up in the states that would manage but really sell and interface w/ the american client or whatever country we work in. I love austria and france. I know lots of people in kunming but no one in Shenzhen so I am looking for someone there that might want to spend a little time figuring things out. If you know anyone available I’d appreciate the lead. I am also pursuing teaching english just to pay the rent but I actually really like teaching. They about wore me out last spring though. 70 per class jr. highers 4 classes a day.

Hope to hear from you soon. I am planning to fly over by the end of the month. I am open to suggestions and definately want to get some of your smarts and thoughts. thanks

Greg

I am working on ways to service this new demand. I have a friend, Joshua Whiting, from NY who is really networking like crazy to get back into China. Have been trying to connect him, also getting lots of facebook messages from friends, either who they themselves are coming or want me to meet friends of theirs who are interested to move here. I met some headhunters recently and try to connect them. Also I made a quick page on this blog on getting a job in China with links and hope to add to it as I go.

A couple months ago I mentioned I was looking for PRODUCTS to import into China and my friend from Stevens Tech, Larry facebook status updated, and then blog commented the following idea:

I was serious about the cheap american labor thing. I’m sure the visa issues would be .. well .. issues, but I imagine that there are fresh college grads that would love the adventure (if not the salary) that a rotation in china could offer. Plus, it would look amazing on the resume.

Also, like the middle class in the US, I’d go for status symbols. There’s nothing like a little bit of money in your pocket to make you want to pretend you have even more money in your pocket

Seems this is making more and more sense……there is a demand on both sides…..a dropping US salary, dropping USD currency…..less labor pool in China with increasing demand in their domestic economy. Just how to put the pieces together.

My friend Gary laughs at me saying I should become a visa agent, as I’m getting requests from Filipino friends, American friends, and people all over the world who want to get Chinese work visa or a expat passport visa ….which is a bit distracting and tiring…but I love enabling people.

Going to make a survey soon…..stay tuned. Any ideas out there?

* Image credit to Jack Masterson , a photo of european immigrants coming to Ellis Island, to immigrate into America. Is this the future of China?

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Well, maybe because not many other people are moving around….so I have to (and overall enjoy) travel around to build up relationships and maximize the pros and minimize the cons of doing business in each of these areas.

Seems I will spend my weekdays in Dongguan, on site where this factory, Five Islands is converting into an ecommerce fulfillment center and wholesale buyer’s club. I’m going to build up a dedicated team for their SEO and internet marketing projects there, while also keeping my “fragmented” network of operations in other Chinese cities and in the Philippines.

While I have been learning a lot in Dongguan, being submerged in a pure chinese operation, I do need to get out a bit. But this past weekend was a bit draining….leaving Friday to Hong Kong for the night, having a huge dinner w/ Cindy and Lammy’s friends (still getting facebook tag notifications in my email box), connecting new people, meeting others. Crashing couches, with an occasional hostel or hotel along the way.

I had made more meeting plans in Hong Kong on Saturday afternoon…..but had a last minute invite for a Chinese new year dinner in Guangzhou with Gary and the new Five Islands team….so had to cancel those (even though maybe I thought I had already cancelled), just so busy chatting to people online, email, scheduling…I really need an assistant with me at all times! Hope I don’t lose friends as life is moving so fast, moving city to city…trying my best to plan meetings while also adapting to changing environments. Again, my trying to do too much, being nice, not saying no, and indirectness at times is the main culprit.

Leaving Hong Kong Saturday morning, stopped by Dong guan for a couple hours, as there was a tour of the new facility by the Hong Kong office and Guangzhou office….the five islands Dongguan ecommerce warehouse is a new project and like a “Special operations” or incubator project within this larger network of factories and trading companies. Luckily we had stopped by Dongguan first, so I could change into a suit for the formal Chinese New Years Dinner.

Then driving to Guangzhou, arriving approximately 4pm, visiting the trading company’s product showroom, shaking hands with approximately 300 workers in this factory and trading company network between Hong Kong, Dongguan, and Guangzhou….really overwhelming….and my being the only gweilo, maybe felt some indirect cultural pressure and extra eyeball attention (though I am getting quite used to it being in China / Asia for the past 3 years)

Since there were people going back to Hong Kong, I decided to get off at the Huanggong, Shenzhen border as I had some ecommerce meetings scheduled in Shenzhen on Sunday. Checking in with Dave Ho to see where he’s at, and he wasn’t at his apartment and therefore I met him at a bar in Coco park (yes, in my suit with my luggage….good thing I travel light). Stuffing my laptop and backpack into a locker, I continued my networking….already running out of namecards…..saving numbers on my phone, emailing directly my contact info to people as I got their namecard. Hyper ACTIVE networking….
Unfortunately later in the evening my mobile phone was stolen along with his (wow these theieves are good ,stole both ours in a 2 minute window)…..putting a damper on my exhausting weekend. So Sunday morning head over to China mobile to get a new SIM card, and Dave let me use an old school nokia phone for temporary use….then heading directly to a meeting with Guang Yao for coffee, discussing future ecommerce meetups…..to more meetings with Chinese internet gurus in OCT (overseas Chinese Town). After the meeting, digital boy (David Chang) from geek cook dropped me off at my Australian programmer friend, Leon’s, place in Futian where we talked about domaining and outsourcing management. Bought a phone off him, android HTC wildfire, a much more compact, less flashy smartphone that may not get as much attention by thieves, changed my passwords (well the more frequently used ones), and got back on my “mobile internet life” back in order.

Leon wanted to come see Dong guan operations and came along for the trip, so he’s sleeping in the bus next to me (photo in this entry) and will get a tour of things and stay until tomorrow. I’ll be here till Thursday, then to Hong Kong.

Life in the world of PRD (Pearl River Delta).

This is my life, I’m a living, breathing, social media networking machine…..blogging on a bus, Leon tried working on ths bus here but he said it makes him nauseous…..I have gotten past that a long time ago…realizing I have to learn to work on the move in order to maintain the lifestyle I want.

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* Buying more American goods – planes from Boeing, cars, and other services. But its not saying specifically if it will help American companies that are in China.

* Saying they will enforce replica products more in China – this is a big one for all these Chinese ecommerce guys I know….as it seemed in the past China didn’t cooperate with America’s (more generally “western”) demands to stop Chinese people from so easily copying US trademarked goods and selling them. As I have said, I hear news in China about internet businessmen going to jail for selling fake products….and many people I know are exiting the business of selling knockoffs.

* Chinese governments will add more of their budget to pay for American software. Hu Jintao says they will enforce all Chinese government agencies are using legally purchased software, such as windows and other American / western tools.

A lot of my information came from the follow meeting report with Chinese president Hu Jintao and US president Obama:

Obama said at a joint news conference later with Hu that while there are vast opportunities to expand U.S. trade and investment with China, both countries must create conditions to ensure their economic relationship is balanced.

“I did also stress to President Hu that there has to be a level playing field for American companies competing in China, that trade has to be fair,” Obama said.

The U.S. exports about $100 billion annually to China in goods and services, supporting about half a million American jobs, according to the White House. Officials said Wednesday the new deals with China would support up to 235,000 jobs in the U.S.

Among the U.S. companies involved are General Electric, Honeywell and Navistar. Boeing had been in negotiations with China over the aircraft deal for several years, but awaited final approval from the Chinese government before it could go ahead with the sale.

“We want to sell you all kinds of stuff,” Obama said. “We want to sell you planes. We want to sell you cars. We want to sell you

software.”

What has been really interesting to me, as an effect of my being so open about my business, my life, my location….friends from all over send me emails, and notes, and status updates on facebook, or tweets on twitter. here are a few lately:

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2010 was….hmm…I have to admit a very challenging year for me. I went into it renting a 3 story villa in Shenzhen thinking I would centralize all my operations, warehousing, and sales together….only to be pushed for salary increases, currency appreciation against me, and overall rapid Chinese inflation. I could have just ignored it, said I can’t change because I just rented a new office for 2 years. Sure, I could have focused on increasing top line sales….many people say I am too paranoid and focus too much on saving costs and pushing down my operational costs instead of focusing on growth and sales. But I see an increasing back office cost as unneeded pressure on me. I just sleep easier when I have a smoother back office operation.

2010 I was exploring….almost the whole year….going to Xiamen, shanghai, Thailand, Philippines, and united states. All seem like interesting places to focus on, and I could live in any of them. I like to say I can make anything work.

But is being too open minded and flexible a good or a bad thing? I am not bound to a location.

So after almost all of 2010 exploring on where to settle down, I have realized I am just gonna keep on traveling like I am. Maybe just plan it a bit better, and try to stay in one place longer. Within a few areas that I already have build up some relationships in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Manila, and Cebu. And while that sounds like a lot as its 3 borders and 3 currencies, its not geographically that far apart, and I have compared it to florida and the Caribbean for those Americans who have never been to Asia. Just have to budget for travel time and flights. But I did the “grunt” work in 2010, and I am confident entering 2011.

I that I discovered these opportunities from my hyperactive social networking, and I have to say I have leveraged online marketing and social media for exposure, and also taken advantage of the great technology coming out in mobile phones allowing me to really work in any location without much down time.

But yes, it is exhausting, as my friend Larry is telling me in chat now as I blog this, I’m either going to become superman or die of a heart attack. Maybe I’ll be superman for a bit, and then die of a heart attack soon.

But I would rather live my life extremely and die knowing I hustled as hard as I can than to have had a calm and relaxing life and on my death bed, 5 regrets when we are about to die, wondering “what if I did”

We only live once, try to grab as much as we can, but also remember we can’t take it with us when we die.

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As China grows, it is consuming more and more. Its middle class has been hungry for foreign brands and foreign goods. So how do you take advantage of this boomtown in China?

If you have a product that you think would rock in China, but not sure how to logistically get it into Mainland, then read on!

There are 3 methods, (a) traditional and legal way, (b) newer, newly developing method of utilizing logistics companies trucking services, and (c) illegal border smuggling. Lets go through each of the methods:

(a) Traditional, 100% legal way – This is shipping it from the county of origin, with the proper invoices and packing slips and going through customs yourself. There is the base VAT (value added tax, commonly known as Fa Piao) fee of 17% no matter what product it is, plus the tarffi tax, which is a percentage dependant on the classification of the goods, which can get extremely high. No only will you pay a high tax rate, making your newly imported goods more expensive off the bat, you will also have to spend a lot of time with paperwork, and proving the country of origin, the core ingredients of the products – food and other digestable items such as vitamins are highly regulated and difficult to import.

(b) Utilizing a 3rd party Mainland China registered logistics company (import company) – this has become a very popular method, especially for SME (small and medium sized enterprises) that have online shops such as Tao Bao. The method involves having the foreign goods sent to Hong Kong, to the logistic companies warehouse. You then have them take care of all filiing and documentation with the Mainland Chinese government, therefore making the requirements for official invoices and other paperwork much less stringent. The cost for this is also a variable one, but much more straight forward and manageable. For example, if you are importing powdered baby’s milk – the cost (at the time of this article being published) is 14 – 18 chinese yuan (RMB) per KG. Another popular product for sale in china is foreign cosmetics, and the current rate for importing into Mainland China is at least 18 reminbi per kilogram.

(c) Illigal smuggling – This has to be listed in the article to complete the whole story of how goods are currently imported into main land China, but we do not endorse, assist, or support this method. For those who have cross the hong kong / Shenzhen border, you must have noticed the massive boxes and bags some travellers were carrying. There are certain quantities of goods individuals can carry legally across the border, depending on the product – and it is rapidly changing, with the trend in the direction of decreasing the quantity of goods. But for those who risk this method, it makes sense to do this for high value, smaller items – which normally is electronics. In current times, this is iphones and ipads, because the Chinese tax on the domestic Chinese electronics are so high, its significantly cheaper to buy it outside of mainlaind…and in Hong kong or USA.

These are the current three methods of importing merchandise into Mainland China. If you would like us to assist you in the first 2 ways, I will gladly speak to you about your specific case and products. If you are interested in smuggling, good luck and don’t call me!

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