The Negotiation

Ambassador Barton Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      The major trends witnessed by Ambassador Barton in China since the early 2000s ●      What lessons should the West learn from China’s drastic growth over the past two decades? ●      Why Ambassador Barton wrote China Vignettes in 2008 and the book’s main takeaways ●      Key thinkers and thought leaders in China and the broader APAC region...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Joseph reminisces on his time in Beijing during its “up-and-coming” days in the early 2000s ●      How differently entrepreneurship was regarded in China from 2000 to 2010 ●      How Joseph’s footwear design house became the number one seller in the shoe category on Kickstarter in 2013 and 2014 ●      The opportunities that came out of Joseph’s time at Tange...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Opportunities in architecture and design within China ●      How the design space in the West differs from that of China ●      Design trends in China today and potentially going forward ●      The relationship between developers and the local government ●      The leeway designers have in localizing big foreign brands for China ●      China’s design influen...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Recent and potential developments in the Chinese business world ●      Air quality and pollution in China ●      Key mistakes that Western organizations make when they take on projects in China ●      How foreigners can nurture strong business relationships in China ●      How businesses in China can manage their relationship with the government ●      Why i...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      The state of COVID in China going into the second half of 2021 ●      Why a work-from-home culture is probably not the future for China ●      How consumer trends have evolved in the past 18 months ●      Sectors to lead the charge in China’s economic growth going forward ●      What to expect at the 6.18 shopping festival this year ●      The development of...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Using the power of design for social impact ●      Why Kseniya reframed the Belt & Road Initiative as a “sociospatial set of challenges” in her thesis ●      How Ballistic Architecture Machine factors into the New Silk Road ●      China’s strengths and weaknesses in architecture and urban design   Episode Summary: Today on The Negotiation, we speak with...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Why is it vital for 21st century businesses to focus on data ●      Innovations in the data and AI space in China ●      What is “growth hacking” and why is it most applied to early stage startups? ●      What distinguishes data collection and analytics in China from those of other countries? ●      The typical customer journey in China versus that of the We...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      How sports evolved in China over the past 1500 years ●      Why team sports have been slower in China ●      The role that the Chinese government plays in sports ●      What reform in the Chinese sports industry currently looks like ●      How the sports entertainment world looks in China with regards to live events ●      How foreign organizations can conne...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Marketing a football league in China ●      How other EU teams are finding fans in China ●      Do foreign clubs have limited time to grow their followings as the Chinese government looks to expand local football culture? ●      How different countries grow their sports and how closely China intends to follow those existing strategies ●      The future Yao M...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Charles’s history doing business with China and his current role at WPIC ●      How Charles defines “creativity” ●      Maintaining creativity in-house versus outsourcing creativity to KOLs and KOCs ●      How brands should go about looking for KOLs or KOCs in order to maximize ROI ●      Teaching creativity ●      Differences in creative processes between t...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      How Yoann’s work with startups and founders differs from his work with corporate clients ●      Clients that Yoann typically works with as a sales trainer ●      How B2B selling has historically been done in China compared to today ●      The value of WeChat in sales ●      General differences between how sales is done in the West versus in the East ●      W...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      The rise in ice hockey’s popularity in China over the past decade ●      Does the lack of infrastructure growth for hockey in China limit how much interest the sport receives? ●      How Can Life lets the Chinese youth experience the “hockey culture” that Canadians are so familiar with ●      Why has the development of hockey been emphasized in China lately?...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      How translation technology has evolved over the past 20 years ●      The difference between translation and interpretation ●      How to train interpreters ●      Why translation and localization of content is so important in China and Japan ●      What to look for when hiring a translator ●      Examples of localization gone wrong and how to make amends if...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      The evolution of China’s outbound foreign direct investment ●      Is China’s outbound FDI being used primarily for political or economic reasons? ●      Where outbound FDI is headed in the next five years ●      Differences between China’s bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements ●      How partner nations have changed their approach to China over t...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      What are modular buildings and why are they generally stronger than regular buildings? ●      Stack Modular’s typical customer ●      How developed is the modular housing industry in China? ●      The limitations of modular housing and how they are overcome ●      Shipping modular buildings across the ocean and keeping them intact ●      3D printing and home...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      A general overview of the cosmetics market in China ●      The most popular beauty products in China compared to the rest of the world ●      The popularity of live streaming in the beauty space ●      A primer on Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) ●      How consumer behaviors in China differ from those in the West in the cosmetics market ●      Hero products by...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      Factors that developed Mark’s interest in doing business with China ●      Building relationships with Xinhua News Agency and Tencent ●      The demographics of the ski industry in China and why locals prefer to ski abroad ●      Promoting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and local winter sports in general ●      Ski locations in China ●      The economic...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      The explosion of fitness culture in Asia ●      Mainland China’s consumer sporting goods market ●      Columbia’s brand strategy for the Chinese market ●      Differences between the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sports apparel markets ●      How the 2008 Beijing Olympics impacted the country’s sports apparel market ●      Establishing a digital and physical...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      The landscape of sports in China today ●      How motivation to go into sports differs between kids in China versus kids in the West ●      The development of sports infrastructure in China ●      The importance of sports celebrities in driving the popularity of sports in China ●      Popular sports in China today ●      Physicality in Chinese sports ●     ...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      How Gang Lu became the founder of the premier tech media in the country ●      The transition from a competitive to a collaborative startup environment in China ●      The connection between changing family dynamics and the rise of innovation and entrepreneurship in China ●      The business of media in China ●      All about BEYOND Tech Expo 2021 in Macau ●...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      How workspaces change as people’s work change ●      Efficient communication with clients in the design space ●      Redefining the purpose of the office ●      Differences in the work environment in China versus the West ●      The impact of COVID-19 on the way work is done in China ●      Commercial architecture in China   Episode Summary: Today on The Neg...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      The increasing simultaneous “closeness” and “friction” between California and China ●      What makes California special to China as opposed to other U.S. states? ●      Matt speaks on co-hosting the Heartland Mainland: The Iowa China Podcast ●      Emerging tech trends in China ●      Eroding trust in Chinese tech platforms ●      Key takeaways on MacroPolo...

This episode is a look back at all of our podcast guests and the topics we covered in 2020, putting together some of our favorite moments for you into one single episode of goodness. The guests featured in this special episode are William Bao Bean, episode 22 released on January 7th; Scott Silverman, episode 28 released on January 31st; Scott Laprise, episode 34 released on March 6th; Dr. Julie Kl...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      What is the “middle platform” and how does it benefit ByteDance? ●      Other innovations by ByteDance that other companies are trying to imitate ●      TikTok versus Snapchat, and why the former is thriving while the latter is dying ●      Up-and-coming tech companies to keep an eye on ●      Why Oracle attempted to partner with TikTok ●      The future of...

Topics Discussed and Key Points: ●      How Matthew built a fascination for WeChat and digital innovation in China ●      Writing objectively about big tech brands in a country known for heavy censorship ●      The huge potential of sharing short videos via these newest social media platforms ●      What is ByteDance, exactly? ●      How ByteDance compares to the other tech giants in China ●     ...