Why Good Intentions Yield Less Good Results? - A Report from Globalization Forum in Sanya, Hainan Province

Jin CHEN

Perspectives, Vol. 2, No. 4

I. Introduction

After a formal approval from the State Council and months of preparation, the second annual conference of the Globalization Forum took place from January 12 to January 14 in Sanya, the southernmost city of China in Hainan Province. The conference was a large scale international conference, organized jointly by the People's Daily, the Foundation for Globalization Cooperation (Hong Kong) and the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), and supported by more than twenty corporate sponsors. More than twenty Chinese VIPs, including a Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress, a Vice Chairman of People's Political Consultative Conference and the Director of Foreign Affairs Office of CPC Central Committee, attended the conference. The conference also had tremendous support from the top leaders of Hainan Province and Sanya City, and it attracted more than forty foreign officials and experts and an audience of over four hundred people.

Under the principle of win-win economic globalization with equality, reciprocity and co-existence, the conference was entitled "21st Century: Knowledge, Innovation and Development." The high-level official flavor of the conference manifested in various aspects of the conference including the speakers, the format of the conference, the accommodation and the sightseeing routes. In this essay, I intend to report my observations during the conference and describe the impact of officialdom on the contents of the discussion and on the organization of the conference itself. I would argue that a more relaxed way of organizing such an international conference would work more effectively towards the original intentions of the organizers.

II. Discussion Contents

Excessive official deliberation at the conference inhibited frank discussion and free exchange of ideas. The more senior the Chinese officials, the more conservative their speech styles were. Even when the contents of their speech were very open minded, their language was indistinguishable from the official lines of top leaders. Chinese academic speakers, in contrast, tended not to read their speeches; they were a bit more open minded and more articulate.

One central theme, which several Chinese speakers touched upon, was on the human aspect of globalization. Yuan Ming, Vice President of the Institute of International Relations of Peking University, an internationally known Chinese scholar on international relations, devoted her entire speech to call for building global ethical standards. She raised the question of how to integrate the Oriental tradition with those good aspects of the Western values, not with those Western problems such as drugs and disintegration of family as a result of extreme individualism. Overall, Chinese speeches were generally in line with those of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.

Although many Chinese officials' speeches were less insightful, some officials revealed the Communist Party's internal adjustment on the ideological front. Liu Ji's speech, entitled "Marxism and Globalization," was such an example. It reflected the Communist Party's ideological adaptation to modern economic development without disputing its past. (This was a strategy that Deng Xiaoping used for his Open Door policies. Deng quoted selectively Chairman Mao's words such as "seeking truths from facts" to justify his radically different policy orientation from that of the Cultural Revolution.)

Liu Ji has extensive experience of being in charge of the propaganda department of the Communist Party in Shanghai and of policy making in Beijing. He is allegedly very close to President Jiang Zemin. He is currently the Chairman of Chinese Union of Mobile Communications, and is involved in setting up a School of Business Administration in Shanghai with complete English teaching environment and faculty members hired directly from Europe. In his written speech, he put an interesting slant on Marxism and interpreted globalization in a Marxist framework. First of all, according to Liu, globalization would be inevitable, as predicted by Marx in 1848 and by Lenin in 1913. These pioneers forecasted long ago that interconnections among different peoples would greatly increase; national boundaries would diminish and the state would eventually be abolished. Secondly, Liu continued, globalization would be a timely manifestation of the validity of Marxism. Marx said that the means of production was the foundation; it would determine the superstructure of social and institutional arrangements. Now globalization would be based on economic globalization, with web-based technology as the premise. And the current institutional arrangements were based on this most advanced production means. This trend would be inevitable, independent of anybody's will.

Thirdly, according to Liu, globalization was Marxists' highest aspiration, because it would benefit most people, not a minority. While Marx said that socialism would evolve out of advanced capitalism, socialism in practice first occurred in USSR, China and other less developed countries. Nowadays, however, socialist elements would be almost ubiquitous in most advanced capitalist countries' public policies. Capitalist countries, stated Liu, were becoming more and more like socialist countries in that they would try to break national boundaries and keep peaceful co-existence, which should be the essence of socialism. Marx predicted that the nation state would disappear in a communist society and that the world would then become a universal community. The two world wars were manifestations and results of the capitalist countries' competition for markets. According to Liu Ji, worldwide allocation of production resources had paved the way for today's economic foundation for prosperity.

Finally, Liu continued, globalization gave Marxism new development and vigor on issues such as environment protection, negative impacts of high-tech development, distortion of humanity, decline of ethical standards that would accompany scientific rationalism, widening income disparity, cultural transformation and the way people think. Liu Ji concluded that China, as a socialist country, should actively participate in globalization, and foreign countries should catch this opportunity and cooperate with China. China, along with other peace-loving countries, should join the process of making the rules of the game and not let only developed countries benefit from globalization. China should also reinvigorate and adapt Marxism to the current trend of globalization.

Many tougher issues regarding how China should participate in economic globalization were raised by foreign speakers. Professor Huang Yasheng of Harvard Business School revealed the anomaly that China preferred foreign investment to their own investment, while Canadians were 20 times (1980s' estimate) more likely to trade with themselves than with Americans, even though these two countries were very similar in culture. Because many efficient Chinese firms could not get financing from banks and faced regional trade barriers, foreign capital served the function of bridging this financing gap and enlarging potential markets. Professor Huang recommended increasing the pace and scope of domestic reforms, especially the process of de-nationalization and establishing NASDAQ-like stock markets to encourage trade and finance. He also recommended decreasing state role in distribution as well as production. In his comments to other speakers, he pointed out the double-edged nature of joining the WTO. He questioned whether it would be the best time for China to join WTO now. The current WTO trend of moving towards social orientation in terms of emphasizing labor standards and environmental protections would inhibit labor intensive economies from benefiting most from globalization; thus China should develop internally first and foremost along those lines he recommended above.

Professor Huang's opinion had a rather heavy stamp of his western education background. He paid more attention in his analysis to the interests of consumers rather than those of producers. As long as Chinese consumers would benefit from cheaper products, it was less important who produced those products. In discussing the globalization of the English language, Professor Huang showed his dispassionate thinking mode and considered English merely as a tool of communication; to Professor Huang, it did not matter whether it was English or another language, as long as it was functional and commonly accepted.

Professor Tony Saich of Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University spoke candidly about China's determination to join the WTO. He said that globalization and joining the WTO should not substitute for domestic reforms. Joining the WTO would only be a step to achieve domestic goals, not to dominate domestic agenda. It should be a means not an end. China would still have to make hard choices such as how to optimally allocate scarce resources (e.g., whether to spend money on poor children's education or on a new electricity power plant). According to Professor Saich, there would be some definitive benefits from China's entry into the WTO, such as China's participation in international discussions and the global policymaking process. In addition, joining the WTO would provide additional basis for unifying with Taiwan.

However, during the latest round of WTO entry negotiations, Professor Saich pointed out, almost all concessions were made exclusively by China, not by EU or the US. Professor Saich was explicit about his worries. He said that these concessions would be formidable for China. One of the sectors that he worried most was the financial sector, with market determined interest rate, reduced state administration and required high-level transparency of rules and regulations. Political problems could occur if these things were not handled well. Professor Saich saw three risks as a result of joining the WTO with extensive concessions. Excessive unemployment could go beyond the limit of tolerance and result in social turbulence. If China did not lay off so many employees, however, it would be very hard for China to comply with the WTO rules, and trade disputes would almost inevitably occur. Furthermore, the US negotiated astonishing safeguard and anti-dumping clauses to protect its own interests. Should the US invoke them indiscriminately, China could lose respect for the WTO and the issue could become highly political, which could be dangerous.

Every speaker was well prepared for the conference, but spontaneous, point-to-point free discussion was lacking, partly because prepared speeches ran too long, leaving little time for Q&A. During working lunches, foreign and Chinese participants tended to sit at separate tables, except for a couple of Chinese academics who had good command of English.

III. Organization of the Conference

Lengthy remarks by various officials showed up frequently at the beginning and end of the conference and also at each grand reception and dinner. After the official remarks at each dinner, the Governor of Hainan and the Mayor of Shanya, holding their wine glasses, went around different tables and toasted many welcoming words. There was either performance by professional dancers and singers or splendid fireworks during or after each grand dinner. Enormous support from Hainan provincial government and Sanya city government ranged from transportation for the VIPs to conference security. The organizers and the city and provincial governments did their best to put this huge conference up to international standards. An unofficial, inconclusive estimate of the conference cost was two million RMB ($250,000). That is a lot of money to a lot of Chinese.

The high-level officialdom notwithstanding, the conference was organized in a completely western style. It took place in two five-star hotels in a picturesque resort area of Sanya, regarded by some as China's Hawaii. Although isolated from the downtown area, both of the hotels were equipped with luxury entertainment facilities and services. The conference covered a wide range of topics and was divided into plenary sessions in the mornings and round table sessions in the afternoons. Although each meal offered both Chinese food as well as Western food, each was served in Western style. Occasionally one or two foreigners showed up among Chinese waiters to serve food to guests. How come? Because the organizers of the conference hired several foreign professionals to help meet international standards in logistical details.

An important objective of the provincial and city governments when exerting these tremendous efforts is to "zhao shang yin zi" (to attract commerce and investments), i.e., to bring more foreign tourists, attract more foreign investments, and invigorate Hainan's economy in the context of increasing globalization. The island of Hainan has some natural advantages in attracting tourists and capital. It is located at about latitude 18 degrees north of the Equator, a bit south of Hong Kong. But the climate is not as humid as that of Hong Kong. Its average annual temperature is 25C. The island has very rich soil. People say "even a chopstick in Hainan's soil can grow into grain." It has several kinds of birds in its original forest reserve that only exists in Hainan Island. If marketed properly, these birds can attract a rather large number of bird watchers around the world to visit Hainan. Hainan has started a nascent tourist industry, building on its attractions such as "the Edges of the Sky and the Corners of the Sea" (Tian Ya Hai Jiao, a traditional Beijing-centric view), the Southern Mountain Temple and the "Deer Turning Its Back," all of which were included in the designated tourist destinations for the foreign guests of the conference. In recent years, Hainan has built several first-class hotels, including the Sanya Horizon Resort Hotel where the globalization conference was held.

But will the beautiful scenery and impressive accommodation really "zhao shang yin zi," as the government hoped? For a foreigner, a natural question would be, "we have followed the tourist route that you specifically designed for us and have seen what you wanted us to see, but what about those things that you didn't let us see? We have not seen where ordinary people live." The glamour of the conference notwithstanding, ordinary people and ordinary life were missing.

Normally, one expect that street vendors selling all sorts of handcrafts would fully occupy the vicinity of expensive hotels in a tourist area. But here the streets were very quiet. Why? Because street vendors were all cleared away before this big event. Allegedly, many of the street vendors would be so eager to make sales that they could annoy their potential customers by being persistent and following them a long way. Thus they were considered damaging to the city's image that the government wanted to project to foreign visitors. In order to establish the "right image," the conference organizers managed to remove all vendors from the streets and therefore take away the opportunity for street vendors to make sales to a group of visitors who had enormous purchasing power relative to the price level of the local handcrafts. By so doing, the conference organizers also left the foreigners wondering about the real picture of the city and the island; and who would invest money in an area where outside investors do not have a real picture of the locality?

In order to show that foreigners were sincerely welcome to Hainan, many foreign visitors were designated as VIPs and were treated differently from ordinary people. For example, VIPs could by-pass normal check-in procedures at the airport and directly go to the VIP waiting lounge at the gate. But this special treatment disturbed the normal sense of order of some foreigners. They did not know when to wait and when to go forward. Especially when the receptionist's English was not very fluent or when there were internal coordination glitches, the foreigners were confused. As a result, the process in the airport took longer than it would have, and some foreigners complained about the inefficiencies of the Chinese organization. But this was really a misunderstanding! Not to treat foreigners as VIPs, not to clean up the streets, but to reveal the ordinary Chinese life to foreigners would disturb the traditional CHINESE sense of order.

IV. Conclusion

Too much officialdom detracted the very purpose of "attracting commerce and investments (zhao shang yin zi). Many foreigners' impression of this conference was in line with the main theme of Max Weber's book The Religion of China, written about 100 years ago. Weber compared Confucianism with Puritanism in order to explain why capitalism did not develop and could not have developed in China, despite the advancement of metal mining and population growth. He described a prototypical Chinese and a prototypical Puritan. The world where the Confucianist lived, according to Weber, was full of graceful gestures. To a Confucianist, words were beautiful and polite gestures as an end in itself; whereas for a Puritan words were impersonal and business-like communications, short and reliable. Weber wrote that the Chinese people had an absolute docility, ceremonial piety, and a strong attachment to the habitual.

In Weber's view, underneath the grand gesture, controlled politeness and unlimited patience, there was a lack of genuine sympathy and warmth inside a Confucianist. The Confucian ideal's grace and dignity were expressed in fulfilling traditional obligations and performing ceremonial and ritualistic propriety in all circumstances of life. Confucianism also confined and repressed natural impulses. Weber thought that the watchful self-control of the Confucianist was to maintain the dignity of external gesture and manner, i.e., to keep "face." This self-control was of an aesthetic and essentially negative nature. The Confucian gentleman, Weber continued, would strive simply for dignified bearing. The equally vigilant self-control of the Puritan had its positive and inward aim, which would control one's own wicked and sinful nature. Weber thought that it was the Confucian mindset that prevented the formation of scientific, European-style capitalist enterprises and rational method of organization in China. Therefore China's tremendous density of population, calculating mentality and self-sufficient frugality failed to originate capitalist business conceptions, which were rational in nature and presupposed by modern capitalism.

Are we repeating the same mistakes that Weber described about 100 years ago? Despite the huge official support, the Shanya conference was actually what political scientists call a "Track Two Dialogue"; i.e., it was not a dialogue between Chinese officials and foreign officials, in which case official decorum would be a must, but a dialogue mainly between academics and industry leaders with some officials' participation. So too much officialdom in a Track Two Dialogue would only reinforce the negative image that Weber helped to project. A less official and more relaxed conference would not only cost less to the organizers; it probably would also achieve more to the benefits of Hainan and China.

(The author is a Marketing Manager for World Times, a newspaper based in Boston.)