MELROSE PARK, IL - July 25 - Bill Liu, Vice President of NaviAsia Consulting Group, a U.S.-China strategic sourcing and supply chain management consulting firm based in Chicago, IL., spoke to employees at the Melrose Park International Truck and Engine Plant. His presentation focused on understanding the China market and strategic sourcing in China, with special focus on the growing competitiveness of the country's automotive industry.

"China has a powerful hold on people. There is fascination but there is also fear," explained Liu who has over 15 years experience in international business and consulting with Lucent Technologies, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and currently NaviAsia.

The fascination lies in the country's recent economic expansion; Liu evidenced China's $69.5 billion in foreign direct investment in 2006 and 11.9 percent GDP growth in just the first half of this year. 

"China looks increasingly valuable to foreign companies who seek to leverage China's cost advantage," Liu stated.

He identified that fear and uncertainty in how to approach China prevent many American businesspeople from entering the market and generalizations about how to do business often prevent them from succeeding. 

"There is no one method to doing business in China, but there are approaches and strategies that will ensure greater reception and success in China," Liu explained.

Liu focused on China's automotive industry which, in the last 20 years, has become the manufacturing base for automakers worldwide. He addressed the current transition of Chinese automakers like Nanjing Automotive and ChangAn Automotive who are looking to break in to the U.S. market.

Liu suggested auto OEMs should rethink their strategy, take advantage of China's experienced components manufacturing, and integrate China into the global supply chain.

In order to fully capture China's cost structure advantage, Liu stressed the importance of selecting "right-sized" and qualified partners. He went on to emphasize open communication and building good relationships with Chinese businessmen and suppliers.

Liu drew on specific cases from his experiences working in China to illustrate that success in the China market is often about building guanxi, or relationships. He explained, "learning to understand Chinese business culture and how to communicate will allow you to navigate the bureaucracy and politics rooted in Chinese companies."

"In some sense, strategies in business are similar to strategies in war," Liu closed, quoting Sun Tzu's Art of War: "If you know yourself and your opponents, you will win a hundred times in a hundred battles."