Today we would spend majority of the day at the Central University of Finance and Economics. We attended a lecture, given by Professor Yao, about the smartphone supply chain business in China. Probably the most interesting part was when Professor Yao went over statistics that said ~80% people in China have a smartphone while majority do not have access to a laptop or desktop. The Chinese market relies so heavily on smartphone that small vendors we not accept credit/debit cards, but will accept mobile payment via WeChat.

After the lecture the university had an American Professor, who has been living in China for the past 18 years, and talk about some of the major differences about the typical life in China compared to USA. One idea that he repeated many times was how the Chinese government does not care what he does, as long as he calls the police to tell them where he is living, and how the Chinese citizens respect him because he is helping to improve their society.

After that we had lunch and there I talked to the American Professor a little bit more about why he moved to China and if there was any major culture shocks/struggles he faced. For moving to China, it was because he was offered a position back in 1999 and he took the opportunity, and the biggest struggle he faced was learning the language. He told me that he learned through trial and error. If he walked into a bathroom and saw women in there, he would learn his lesson on what the character for “woman” is.

He also said if I were to apply for a position anywhere in China, that being a foreigner that I would have the advantage because I know English and the customs we have. So, I could act as a ambassador for a company if they want to work with other companies or other office in the USA.