As China turns inward to move upmarket, adopting the concepts of "decoupling" and "dual circulation", it is becoming more and more complicated for foreign companies to do business in China.
Doing business alone
Looking around, in a popular cafe in one of Shanghai's major malls, Gregory Prudhommeaux realized that he was the only foreigner. An improbable situation, a few years ago. “In my entourage, I have counted 60 departures over the past two years. This creates a somewhat anxiety-provoking atmosphere,” says the entrepreneur, at the head of a consulting firm for agrifood SMEs. The zero Covid health policy is turning into a headache for Western companies established in China. Unable to leave the country, and especially to return, some of the expatriates have packed up. For two years, business travel has been non-existent and international flights have fallen by 98%.
The distancing of local subsidiaries vis-à-vis head offices is becoming a reality. "I haven't seen anyone from the Paris headquarters for eighteen months, except during videoconferences", warns Nicolas Ajacques, the deputy general manager of Tianneng Saft Energy, the joint venture 40% owned by the battery manufacturer, a subsidiary of Total. . The expatriate is overseeing the construction of a gigafactory in Chanxing, which should be operational from mid-2023. But other staffs, unable to go there, have eased off on long-term projects. For the 2,100 French subsidiaries based in the Asian giant, this situation reinforces doubts about their future in the largest market in the world explained the Chinese Business event
Freedom in China a big problem
The grandson of a great lawyer, saw his family downgraded by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He grew up in very modest circumstances in Shanghai and then in Hong Kong, then British, where his parents were able to go into exile. But the young man is a fighter. After studying finance in the United States, he launched into business in China in the early 2000s, at a time of dizzying growth.
In a country where nothing is possible without connections, a woman will help him penetrate the heart of communist power. Whitney, who would become his wife, bonded with "Aunt Zhang", the wife of then Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. By multiplying the sumptuous dinners and the gifts to the "red princes", the couple becomes immensely rich - their fortune is counted in billions. In Beijing, they are building China's largest cargo airport and one of the most luxurious hotels in the city
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