Day 12:
The week keeps getting more and more exhausting. I have trouble keeping my eyes open if I sit for too long. The trip thus far has been amazing. I am trying to limit my sleep because I am trying to get everything out of this trip that I can.
Today we began the day with a trip to Delphi Technologies. Delphi is a company that works with electric car engines, and regular internal combustion engines. The man we spoke with was an Asian man who was engineer from the US. The engineers were probably excited to actually hear from someone who can relate to them for once. Once the man started to speak the engineers soon realized they would be disappointed. The man was recently converted to a sales person. He went on sales calls as a translator and soon realized he was better at selling than the VP of selling. After his presentation about himself, and his company we went to the lab which was next to the building. Walking through the lab I really did not understand what most of the stuff was, but my engineering friends seemed to be very interested in the stuff. To me it looked like there was a lot of standing around in the lab, but maybe they were doing important things that I did not realize were important. Overall it was a productive and very knowledgeable visit. I enjoyed seeing a company that actually produces some projects. Seeing something outside of just business offices was a nice change.
In the afternoon we went to the American Chamber of Commerce in the People’s Republic of China (AmCham). Here we met two guys who talked to us about US to China business relations and just living in China in general. Both of the men were raised in the US. One had a Chinese background and one majored in Mandarin. Their role is to partner with companies to make sure the company is successful with business operations in China. They provide support and advice to their partners. The speakers spoke how AmCham even has leverage within the Chinese government. When major US companies come to China and partner with AmCham it allows for AmCham to use the businesses name to get laws made in accord to creating successful business policies throughout the company. The presentation was very Econ and Finance related. I thought it was great. They spoke of China GDP grow, and the allowance for business growth due to that. These two men were the most insightful speakers on comparing Chinese to American culture because they have spent significant time in both places. They spoke on their views of the presidents of both countries. To me it seemed like both nations view the other presidents in a poor light. The men seemed to support Xi Jinping more than Trump. Maybe it was just how I heard the presentation though. I still felt as though this was the best presentation of the trip.
At night a group of us went to Liliana (one of the Chinese tour guides) because it was her last night with the group. We went Dim sum restaurant in local mall. We couldn’t read the menu, but we trusted Lilianna to order. She did not disappoint. We got a very desert heavy dinner and had one last good laugh. This was a sad night because it made me realize the trip was really coming to an end.