Houston, TX – On November 9th, China General Chamber of Commerce – USA (CGCC), CGCC Foundation and CGCC Houston cohosted “When in Rome, Do What the Romans Do: Optimized Localization Strategies” in Houston, Texas. As the third event in the 2022 “The Path Forward” series, the event highlighted key findings in CGCC’s 2022 Business Survey Report and further explored optimized strategies of business localization. More than 70 guests from the CGCC community attended this hybrid event.
Emceed by Lingyi LIU, Executive Director of CGCC Houston, the event opened with remarks from Qidi TENG, Chairman of CGCC Houston and President of PetroChina International America Inc. “Here at CGCC Houston, we strive to create great opportunities, and build deep and constructive relationships within our community across the U.S. family,” said Mr. TENG.
Chairman of CGCC-USA and President & CEO of Bank of China U.S.A., Wei HU gave the special remarks. He expressed the importance of business adaptation to the local market with optimized strategies while competing globally and foreseeing great potential in business localization strategies and implementations for Chinese companies. “At CGCC, we strive to continue cultivating ties of friendship, creating platforms for candid communication, and opening windows for mutually beneficial cooperation between the U.S.-China business communities,” said Mr. HU.
Mr. HU’s remarks were followed by a presentation from Abby LI, Director of Corporate Communication and Research at CGCC-USA, where she highlighted the mixed picture of Chinese companies’ slightly recovered performances due to resilience and commitment to business growth, and the mounting pressures bred by the complex U.S. business environment. “The uncertainties posed great challenges on companies including responding to the inflation, difficulty in recruiting and maintaining talents, etc.” said Ms. LI, “Over the long-run, Chinese companies are strategically committed to the U.S. as a crucial part of their global business strategy.”
In the panel discussion focusing on localization strategies, Linhua GUAN, CEO of Surge Energy; Shau ZHANG, Partner & Americas Leader of China Overseas Investment at Ernst & Young; Amy LEI, Vice President at Fuyao Glass America; and John M. Scannapieco, Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson, shared their unique insights surrounding performances of Chinese companies in the past two years and their approaches to localization and sustainability.
Ms. LEI shared Fuyao’s experience in localizing the supply chain, “by investing in Illinois which provides raw materials for our Ohio factory, we not only localized our supply chain, we also vertically integrated our supply chain within the Fuyao family which gives a sense of reliable and certainly to our customers.” Human resource is another major element of localization, “the key globalization factor is localization. Leveraging local talents is very important for Chinese companies.” said Ms. ZHANG. Mr. Scannapieco echoed the importance of cross-cultural communication, “Training both U.S. and non-U.S. executives and staffs on U.S. laws, and U.S. employees in China is essential for a successful business.” Mr. GUAN also shared Surge Energy’s slightly different perspectives, “When Surge Energy first started, they took the strategy ‘do what the Romans do one step further. We find the right Romans, empower them, provide a competitive package and flexible working schedule, and let the Romans do the work.”
The panel was followed by an Executive Dialogue: “Connecting through Communication”, moderated by Elaine Reyes, News Anchor of CGTN-America, featuring Heping JIANG, President of CGTN America, and Xin ZHANG, Vice President of CGTN America. They shared their valuable expertise in international communication and localization strategies in the media industry.
CGCC-USA and CGCC Foundation sincerely thank CGCC Houston, all members, and guests for their support of this event.
We are proudly taking “The Path Forward” event series to Chicago soon. Please stay tuned for more information and look forward to seeing you there.
CLICK HERE to access the key trends and the full survey report.