China Speakers Bureau: Fan mail for the Chinese Dream

Helen Wang

Helen Wang's book The Chinese Dream got some solid fan mail in the Mercury News from Mike Cassidy. "Our best bet is to listen to people like Wang, who've identified the upside, and then get to work on taking full advantage of it."

Let's just say I'm her target audience. The truth is we've all seen amazing changes in China in the two decades since Wang left. And I'm thinking that some of those changes include the shift of jobs from the U.S. to China, serious concerns about the theft of U.S.-generated intellectual property, stiff competition from China for resources like construction material and oil and a move to a U.S. fiscal model that relies on China to be the country's key banker. And I'm thinking of one thing that hasn't changed fast enough: China continues to be a repressive government with minimal regard for human rights.

Wang argues that I'm focused on the wrong changes. That kind of thinking, she says, misses the big upside to the rise of China. Consider instead, she argues, the explosion in opportunities for the Chinese people, the chance now for those who work hard to start businesses or to go to work for multinationals doing business in China and other countries.

"They have a lot more opportunities," Wang says. "Many of my American friends are going to China because of the tremendous opportunities there."

And what is more: Helen Wang convinces Cassidy.
More in the Mercury News.

Helen Wang is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need her at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.