Trends in China and New Opportunities in Trade with Thunderbird

We held a collaborative event "Trends in China: New Opportunities in Trade" between Global Chamber®, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Global US Commercial Service and Arizona District Export Council. Thank you to all the organizations and speakers!

Listen to the conversation HERE and the video may also become available.

Today, we are at a critical moment of US-China relations as we transition to a new administration and navigate the impact of the global pandemic. In this session, we will focus on key trends that relate to China’s development and the ways in which US companies might harness these developments to expand trade relations with China.

Opening Remarks by: Doug Bruhnke - founder/CEO of Global Chamber® (filling in for Sanjeev Khagram)

Moderated by: Melissa Sanderson - President, Mel Sanderson Consulting and Chair, Arizona District Export Council

Panelists:

Dr. Doug Guthrie - Professor of Global Leadership and China at Thunderbird School of Global Management

Kathryn Read - Consultant/Partner, Uniconsult: Wick & Partner

Stephen L. Green - Deputy Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce

Dr. Min Chen - Professor of Practice, Thunderbird School of Global Management

Today, we are at a critical moment of US-China relations as we transition to a new administration and navigate the impact of the global pandemic. In this session, we focused on three trends that relate to China’s development and the ways in which US companies might harness these changes to expand trade relations with China.

Over the last decade, China has had a significant strategic focus on developing the country’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tier cities. When foreign companies think about building relations in China, they typically think about the famous sites — Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, maybe Chongqing. But the vast amount of economic growth in China is coming from the inland, lesser known cities.

In addition, China has increased its support of Chinese companies going global. The Belt and Road Initiative and the new European Union deal are perfect examples of this pivot. Policies such as these have deep implications for US companies that aspire to build relationships in China.

Lastly, there are questions about how China’s supply chain is rebounding in the post-COVID-19 world and what business relationships are going to look like in the coming year. Our panel discussed these changing dynamics and how they present unique opportunities for US businesses seeking to increase trade with China.

Yvonne Luker - Global Chamber®

Speaker Biographies

Melissa (Mel) Sanderson joined Freeport McMoRan in 2006 as Vice President for Africa, the number-two ranking company official for Freeport’s Tenke Fungarume Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a Greenfields project in a copper-rich southeastern province. In the DRC she was responsible for overseeing government, community and public relations affairs. After successfully ensuring the stable operations and production of the mine, she came to the company’s Phoenix headquarters where she continued her involvement with the DRC while at the same time expanding her portfolio to encompass strategic planning and coordination for corporate social, governmental and PR activities globally. With the sale of the TFM mine to China Molybdenum Corp in 2017 and Freeport’s withdrawal from Africa, she assumed the title of Director for International Affairs, maintaining the same substantive responsibilities.

Before joining Freeport, Mel enjoyed an unusually diverse 21-year career with the U.S. Department of State diplomatic service including, inter alia, working in arms control, anti-narcotics and anti-terrorism and business promotion (helping U.S. companies abroad). In fact, in her first assignment in Mexico, she was involved in attracting U.S. businesses to the then-fledgling maquiladora industry, and subsequently worked briefly with the U.S. team negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mel is the recipient of several honors and awards in Phoenix, including: Mayor’s International Businessperson of the Year 2019; Athena Award (premier private sector female) by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce in 2015; the 25 Outstanding Women in Business by the Phoenix Business Journal in 2014, and Global Chamber’s Global Businessperson of the Year in 2017.

She is on the Board of Western Rare Earths and is a Partner in the Africa Business Portal. She also Chairs the Arizona District Export Council; the Global Advisory Board of the Global Chamber; co-Chairs the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations, and is on several Boards, including the Arizona Mexico Commission.

Dr. Doug Guthrie, Professor of Global Leadership and China, Thunderbird School of Global Management - Doug has spent his career researching, writing, and teaching about three topics: organizational development, where he has focused on issues of leadership, organizational culture and corporate social responsibility; the Chinese economic reforms; and strategic economic development for cities in the US economy. Currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he spends time teaching, writing, and advising companies that seek to understand China, creative approaches to leadership development, and strategic approaches to urban economic development.

From 2014-19, Dr. Guthrie was the Senior Director at Apple, leading Apple University efforts on leadership and organizational development in China. Prior to joining Apple, from 2010-14, he was Dean of the George Washington School of Business, Vice President for University China Operations, and Professor of International Business. Prior to GW, from 1997-2010, he held faculty positions at NYU’s Stern School of Business, as a Professor of Management and Director of custom Executive Education, and NYU’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, as a Professor of Sociology. Dr. Guthrie has held visiting Professorships at several business schools, including Kellogg, Harvard, INSEAD, Stanford, Columbia and Emory. He also served as Director of the Business Institutions Initiative at the Social Science Research Council (1999-2003), Director of the NYU Office of Global Initiatives (2000-03), Academic Director of the Berlin School of Creative Leadership (2008-11), and head of the Advisory Coalition for the District of Columbia's Strategic Economic Planning (2011-14).

Dr. Guthrie received an A.B. in East Asian Languages (concentration in Chinese literature) from the University of Chicago and MA & PhD degrees in organizational sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he studied in Taipei, Taiwan, during his undergraduate years and conducted PhD research in Shanghai, China. He has authored and edited books, academic articles, popular articles, reports on Chinese economic reform, leadership and corporate social responsibility, and strategic economic development in American cities.

Kathryn Read, Consultant/Partner, Uniconsult: Wick & Partner - Kathryn is an international sales and marketing consultant with over 20 years’ experience developing niche consumer products in emerging markets. She helps small and medium companies to break through international barriers, creating successful entrepreneurs and a thriving global marketplace.

Kathryn firmly believes that business is done between people, and therefore places her focus on building strong relationships that form a solid foundation for doing business. The last 18 years her main geographical focus has been on Asia, especially China. Kathryn is based in Austria and is a member of Global Chamber®.

Stephen L. Green, Deputy Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce - In March 2019, Stephen Green assumed the duties of Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy co-managing the U.S. Department of Commerce’s 130-strong team in Beijing and the five Consulates General across mainland China.

From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Green served as Deputy Director in the Office of Foreign Service Human Capital (OFSHC) providing human resource services to more than 1,600 employees, including Foreign Commercial Service Officers (FCSOs) and locally-employed foreign nationals around the world as well General Schedule (GS) employees based in the United States. In this capacity, Mr. Green was senior advisor to the OFSHC Director on the gamut of human resource issues and managed the annual FCSO overseas assignments selection process.

From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Green served as Principal Commercial Officer at the Consulate General in Shenyang responsible for helping American companies develop relationships with business partners in the three provinces comprising northeast China, including Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. Mr. Green was also responsible for promoting Chinese direct investment in the United States in support of the U.S. Government’s SelectUSA Initiative.

Mr. Green’s previous FCSO assignments include Principal Commercial Officer at the American Institute in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Branch Office and Commercial Service Officer-in-Residence at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Honolulu with a focus on small businesses based in the Pacific Islands (Hawaii, Guam, & Northern Marianas).

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Green held various headquarters-based positions with the U.S. Department of Commerce including Senior Advisor on the Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force and Senior Analyst in the Office of Telecommunications Technologies. Mr. Green also spent four years in Ecuador, originally as a Peace Corps Volunteer and later as Health Programs Director for a non-governmental development organization.

Mr. Green holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Pepperdine University and a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University. Upon graduation from Rutgers in 2000, he entered the federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Dr. Min Chen, Professor of Practice, Thunderbird School of Global Management. Dr. Min Chen is vice president of Kuester Group for Asia-Pacific and visiting professor to Antai College of Shanghai Jiaotong University. He was associate professor of international business at Thunderbird School of Global Management (1991-1997), also having taught executive education for many multinational corporations including GM, TRW, Honeywell, Allied Signal, etc. Dr. Chen now serves as a Thunderbird Professor of Practice.

He was educated in China, the USA, Australia, Israel and Russia, and received his Ph.D. from Australian National University. His teaching and research have benefited from his unique working experience as Corporate Business Development Vice President of a NYSE listed company) for more than 10 years in Asia. He can teach in both English and Chinese and can use Japanese, Russian and French for research work.

Min was visiting professor of international business at Guanghua School of Beijing University, Singapore Nanyang Technological University, University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, CEIBS. He conducted special topic executive training for corporations including Midea, COMAC, Continental, Acer, and Want-Want China.

On the business side, Min was vice president of Asia Pacific at Teleflex (1997-2008), covering its automotive, medical, aerospace, and marine businesses in Asia. From 2009 to present, Min has been focused on the automotive business as vice president of Asia Pacific at Kuester/ECS.

Doug Bruhnke is Founder/CEO of Global Chamber®. He is an international entrepreneur dedicated to helping members of Global Chamber® reach new markets across metros and borders more successfully. Doug is consumed with implementing the vision of a business world where it's as easy growing across regions as it is selling across the street. In addition he is a two-time expat with Dupont (Tokyo and Singapore) with over 30 years of global business experience in nearly all countries and segments. Doug is a regional advisor for U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and a member of collaborating international groups including the Arizona District Export Council. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Utah, an EMBA from Michigan State University and 5 patents. Doug was born in Mt. Kisco, New York and now lives in the metro regions of Phoenix and San Francisco. Hear more about the Global Chamber® story here.

Global Chamber® is a growing and collaborating community of CEOs, executives and leaders in over 525 metro regions around the world, connecting member businesses to new opportunities for advancing growth and success. It's the only chamber of commerce in the world operating in hundreds of locations that helps exporting, importing and investing for members to connect through warm introductions to clients, partners, projects and resources.