Most CEOs recognize that China is the fastest-growing economy in the world – and the most challenging for foreign companies. The recent trade war with the U.S. and the coronavirus crisis have only exacerbated the challenge and made China an even more urgent priority for CEOs and their boards.
Whether you are trying to protect your hard-won market position in China – or perhaps trying to make your first foray into the market – you have to keep your eye on a myriad of factors that will affect your success. Customer preferences, pricing, competition, and regulation are changing constantly and unpredictably.
Your strategy will need to be robust enough to account for these factors – and others as they arise – and still focused enough to garner support from your Board of Directors and to ensure execution by your managers at ground level. Too much reliance on China is now viewed as a weakness, and many companies are diversifying away from China for more balance.
Exacting that balance is not easy. Most companies ask for assistance either from consulting firms or from individual experts. Neither fills the need completely. Consultants can help with market studies, entry strategies, and investment analyses, but they rarely have the operating experience required to state with confidence that a plan will actually work in practice. Individual experts can help with specific issues but are often limited in scope to what they know or have done, thus inhibiting the kind of broad, comprehensive view required for a truly informed decision.
We believe that companies – meaning CEOs and their Board of Directors – should have access to a highly-experienced advisory board whose single mission is providing reaction to corporate China strategies.
Our China Advisory Board, comprised of members with decades of experience living and working in China, is available to assist companies on a one-time basis or periodically as their strategies evolve – and is the most efficient and effective way to test drive your China strategy before putting you and your company at risk.