World AIDS day

It's world AIDS day and HIV prejudice is still an issue in the UK. The UNAIDS website has harrowing statistics about the rapid growth and spread of the disease. Prevalence in sub saharan africa continues to be a major issue. Wei Lai hopes that today will bring greater attention and awareness of the disease and support for those suffering directly or indirectly as a result of HIV infection. Education can go a long way to reduce the risks of transmission.
To help raise awareness the independent newspaper is running a special edition today edited by Elton John.

China- Construction of Mangrove Square of Fangchenggang City (ADB)

A prequalification opportunity has arisen for a major construction project in China.

Further information is available on the UKTI website:

Invitation for Prequalification is open for the construction of Mangrove Square of Fangchenggang City, part of the Guangxi Southwestern Cities Development Project

Contact wei lai for mandarin and interpretation needs. Our introduction to Chinese Business Culture will also provide a good basis in understanding the Chinese way of doing things.

China - Razor Blades Required

A Chinese manufacturer of razors wants to source high quality blades from the UK

The UKTI website has posted information regarding a tendering opportunity for UK manufacturers of high quality razor blades. Further information about the opportunity is available here.

Wei Lai can help assist with translation and interpretation needs as well as providing chinese business cultural awareness. Whilst preparing a tender a greater understanding of chinese culture will help establish better relations.

David Cameron's speech at Beida University, China

David meeting students at Beida, from number10.gov.uk

The Uk Prime Minister, David Cameron, is currently leading a delegation to China, serving to increase trade between the two nations. During his stay he addressed students at Beida university highlighting the benefits of free trade and heeding warnings over protectionism. The address was both sensitive and challenging as he spoke not only of trade benefits but also explained in breif the benefits of a democratic political system and views on human rights. The entire transcript is available to read on the number 10 website.

Wei Lai Ennterprise wants to assist companies wishing to trade between the UK and China who don't have the full resources to investigate themselves. We have both expertise in translation and interpretation as well as project managing and coordination. Call today to see how we can help you.

Interview with Wu Jianmin

Wu Jianmin

There was an insightful interview with Wu Jianmin on the Today programme this morning. Wu discusses the fear that westerners have towards china as a communist state, and draws comparisons that it relates to our previous fear of russia. He is quizzed on issues of workers wages, democracy and currancy valuation and responds with calm collect. Gone are the days of refluctant chinese officials not engaging in debate and releasing carefully worded press releases. The new china is open for discussion and debate, showing that the west does not have to fear china, instead it needs to begin to understand china and chinese ways.

The full interview is available to listen to here

John Humphrys' report on china for the today programme

I was wrong about China

That is how John Humphrys titled his journal and report on china for the Today Programme. It is a very insightful peice of journalism that demonstrates the hard working ethic of the workforce that is driving one of the world's most important economies. It demonstrates the opportunities and threats for UK businesses and also clarifies many misconceptions.
The full report is available here

If you are considering developing business operations in China why not take advantage of wei lai enterprises chinese business cultural training expertise to garner a greater understanding. An invaluable resource when establishing relationships.

Learning pinyin mandarin chinese for beginners

When learning chinese it is often useful to learn pinyin as a means of writing chinese pronounciation with the latin alphabet. There are some sounds in chinese that are not sounds used by english speakers and our podcast helps improve pinyin pronounciation as well as learning new vocabulary. Excellent for beginners of mandarin chinese. The podcast below introduces the sounds of SH ZH and CH

You may also be interested in pinyin vowel sounds and pinyin Q X and Z

and remember that you can subscibe to our podcasts and download them to your apple device to watch wherever you are

Chilean Mine Rescue

wei lai enterprises are really pleased that the Chilean Miner Rescue operation has been a success. An incredible display of faith and bravery from the miners and engineering ingenuity has led to a wonderful news story. We have been gripped watching each miner traveling by the Phoenix to freedom through that tiny hole. We felt claustrophobic just watching it, but the tearful reunions were uplifting. The bbc have a great webpage dedicated to the whole story which can be read here

EMITA workshop

Wei Lai Enterprises enjoyed leading a workshop on the right and wrong way to conduct business in china at east midland international trade association's China and India - Trading with Asia's Ginats event. We explored how perceptions are influenced by our cultural understandings and the benefit of gaining understanding of other cultures when conducting business. The HSBC advert typifies in exaggerated form the misunderstandings that can arise through cultural understanding.

During the workshop we used a number of role plays to look at ways to improve our understanding of the chinese way of conducting oneself. We also had a brief overview of concepts such as mian zi and guan xi. If you attended and were interested in the other video clips featured, they are available here:

president bush and locked door
alan partridge - inappropriate conversation with potential irish clients

EMITA - China & India: Trading with Asia’s Giants

Wei Lai Enterprises are very pleased to be part of east midland international trade association's premier event of the 2010/2011 calendar. China and India continue to rise and are now ranked the second and fourth largest economies in the world respectively. They account for approximately 40% of the world’s population which together with their increasingly open economies and rapid trade growth offer countless opportunities for business. At the China and India event on the 7th October at National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services, Nottingham; there will be plenty of opportunity to learn more about such opportunities. We will be leading two workshops looking at the cultural differences between the UK and China and how they can impact on business relations. Come and see our role play workshop looking at the right and wrong way of understanding these cultural nuances.
We will also have a few taster interactive CDs highlighting the salient points which we will give away on a first come first served basis.

Commonwealth Games

We are looking forward to the commonwealth games and hope that they exceed expectations. It's a great opportunity for athletes to compete at the world stage. Some of the negative press surrounding the poor standard of the athlete's village has been disappointing. Western nations criticising living standards in a city where many people live below the poverty line in squalid conditions. Let's hope that attention turns to the achievements of athletes, the culmination of many years of dedication.

Wei Lai Podcasts now on iTunes

Wei Lai podcasts are now available via the Apple iStore in iTunes and can be found by searching 'learn chinese pinyin" and browsing the podcasts. Alternatively our podcasts are now available via rss feed, please click on the link below and subscribe using iTunes

RSS podcast feed



If you are an advanced user of iTunes, choose the advanced menu in iTunes and select 'subscribe to podcast' and type in the following link

http://www.weilaienterprises.co.uk/podcast/weilai_podcast_feed.xml

Our podcasts are also available on our youtube channel

Counting from one to ten in chinese mandarin

Our latest podcast will help the beginner count from one to ten. As well as teaching the mandarin we also teach the chinese hand number gestures. Once you have grasped counting from one to ten you will soon be able to count to thousands.

我的未來

滄海桑田,物事人非
我是不會選擇做一個普通人的,
如果我能夠做到的話
我有權成為一位不尋常的人
我尋找機會,但我不尋求安穩,
我不希望在國家的照顧下
成為一名有保障的國民
那將被人瞧不起,而使我感到痛苦不堪.
我要做有意義的冒險,
我要夢想,我要創造.
我要失敗,我也要成功.
我的天性是挺胸直立
驕傲而無所畏懼
我勇敢的面對這個世界,自豪的說
在上帝的幫助下,我已經做到了.

Happy moon festival

wei lai enterprises wishes everyone a happy moon festival. Hopefully there will be clear skies to see the large harvest moon. Hope you have a great time wherever you are, and take the time to remember friends and family.

learn chinese podcast - how to learn chinese

We have been busy producing more podcasts to help beginners grasp the basics of learning mandarin chinese online. The following podcasts will teach you the basic vowels and intonation.
These podcasts are great for those who have the question 'i want to learn chinese?' but have no idea where to start. Mastering the sounds that are the building blocks of chinese will enable you to quickly learn new vocabulary.

Learn to speak Mandarin chinese online - pin yin vowels

Learn to speak Mandarin chinese online - intonation

Our podcasts are now available via rss feed, please click on the link below and subscribe using iTunes

RSS podcast feed



If you are an advanced user of iTunes, choose the advanced menu in Itunes and select 'subscribe to podcast' and type in the following link

http://www.weilaienterprises.co.uk/podcast/weilai_podcast_feed.xml

Learn to speak chinese online

Wei Lai Enterprises has just launched its first podcast to introduce the basics of learning mandarin chinese online. Our first lessons will introduce pinyin and the way to pronounce all the sounds required to speak chinese. This lesson covers the first 5 sounds for you to learn. Once you have mastered all the sounds you will be able to quickly pick up mandarin and learn vocabulary independently from english chinese dictionaries.

Briefing by Liaoning BOFTEC

Meeting the delegation from Liaoning

Yesterday I attended the Briefing by Liaoning BOFTEC (Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation) at Leeds Chamber of Commerce. The delegation from Liaoning Province in China had come to present information about investment opportunities for UK companies in Liaoning. The province is rich in mineral resources and holds 30% of China's iron ore, major industries include crude oil processing, ship building, steel and computer software industries. Export from the region to Europe and Africa is $4.8 billion USD and import from the same areas is $5.4 billion USD. Currently there are 331 UK enterprises based in Liaoning province, including BOC, and they generate $1.8 billion USD. In 2009 Liaoning province exported goods of a value of $470 million USD to the UK, including aquatic goods, iron and steel, electronic machinery, clothing and furniture. Imported good from the UK valued $266 million USD including electronic machinery, waste metal, aquatic products and rubber. It is clear that there are many opportunities for UK companies wishing to expand their operations and invest in Liaoning province, with the promise of tailored policies to incentivise. There is also a burgeoning market in Liaoning Province for UK goods, it is clear that the UK is missing opportunities in the region as we are currently net importers from the region whereas the region is actually a net importer from Europe and Africa. More images of the meeting can be found on Flickr

Holiday Chinese

If you have thought about learning a bit of Mandarin Chinese ready for a holiday or business trip to China, then why not contact wei lai enterprises as we offer one to one tuition via skype. No matter where you are we can deliver a course for you, and no long term commitments either. Pay by the hour or by 5 hours on block to recieve a 20% discount. The grammar of Mandarin is very simple. There are no differences in tenses or form changes in verbs and adjectives. So why not give it a go, our flexible approach means that we can tailor the tutoring to your needs. Visit our website for more details.

Liaoning BOFTEC delegation

Wei lai enterprises will be in attendance at the Liaoning BOFTEC (Bureau of Foreign trade and Economic Cooperation) delegation in leeds on the 20th august. This will provide us an opportunity to meet with businesses who are interested in investing in the Liaoning region of China. If you are going we look forward to meeting you there. The event has been organised by China-Britain Business Council and the Leeds, York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

Chinese cultural awareness in the yorkshire area

Wei Lai Enterprises is a new and exciting deliverer of Chinese Cultural Awareness courses in the uk, especially within the Yorkshire region. These courses are designed and tailored to suit the needs of the client and are perfect for people exploring the china market.
If you are planning a business trip to China, or perhaps considering importing or exporting goods to/from China then this course will be an invaluable introduction to building the right relationship without embarrassing you company. A little bit of knowledge goes a long way, and will certainly add value to your dealings in China.
Our seminars are an exciting antidote to 'death by powerpoint' including role plays and opportunities to practice some simple phrases in Mandarin.
To find out more please visit www.weilaienterprises.co.uk