Western China Comes to the WTC-Denver

In a packed conference room, high on the 16^th story of the Denver World Trade Center, the AsiaPacific Access team kicked off a presentation on the rewards and challenges of doing business in Western China. The audience, a diverse mix of professionals from the Denver metro area, followed the speakers intently – armed with pen in one hand, deli sandwich in the other.

The cliché is true: Western China is the new Eastern China. Where the east has fallen prey to rapidly increasing property costs, labor costs, and high employee turnover, the west has maintained the very head turning elements that spurred the China boom years ago.

Ralph, Jason, and Andre covered not only the growing allure of Western China, but also some of its unique challenges. Though employees maintain a higher degree of loyalty to firms in cities such as Kunming (compared to, say, Shenzhen), they are also less willing to work the demanding hours of their eastern counterparts. It may be easy to identify strategic property for bargain rates in Chengdu, but the infrastructure could very likely require additional development.

Though many in the audience had been to China, questions were both varied and engaging. It quickly became clear that even if one had previous experience in Eastern China, the west was a whole new ballgame. Ralph was up to his old tricks again, pulling out entertaining China stories from his treasure trove. The extra time built into the schedule for networking proved valuable for personal questions, making friends, and a tasty dessert.