Building Trade - And Trust - With China
St. Louis Business Journal
March 29, 2010
by Kelsey Volkmann
St. Louis officials want to build a commercial trade hub with China. But it will take more than exchanging business cards and conducting feasibility studies.
Compared with Americans, Chinese, in general, are much more careful and patient in business.
Chinese deals are built on relationships, not simply transactions, says Janet Carmosky, CEO of The China Business Network in Cohoes, N.Y.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and the Midwest-China Hub Commission returned this past weekend from a trip to China but another one is already in the works for August or September.
This next trip will focus on working with the Chinese ministries of agriculture and health to share information on farming and health care.
"We want to engage in cultural exchanges so we can build long-term relationships and trust," Slay said Monday.
Chinese officials are working to improve health-care access to residents of remote villages, for example, and St. Louis business leaders think they can help.
Dr. Steve Miller, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Express Scripts, a St. Louis-based pharmacy benefits manager, went on this most recent trip to China and will likely return in late summer, Slay said.
The office of Chen Zhu, China's minister of health, was interested in Miller's suggestions for a system to dispense prescription drugs, Slay said.
On the agriculture front, many Chinese farmers are changing their small farms into larger, commercial-sized operations, a transition that St. Louis-based biotech giant Monsanto could certainly help.
"There are lot of things we can share that the Chinese can learn from," Slay said.
