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.