The Land of the Heavenly Dragon
“Our goal is to create a hub, an engine for building new ties, generating new knowledge and a better understanding of the potential that is brought by the seemingly never-ending expansion of the Chinese market.” These were the words by Prof. Dr. Maja Makovec Brenčič, Vice-Dean for Development, that served as the opening statement to yet another event made possible by the Faculty of Economics Alumni Club. Together with the Confucius Institute that serves as the bridge between Slovenia and China, the Alumni Club prepared a forum on the topic of China : The land of opportunities. In honour of this event, almost 350 years of relationship between Chinaand Sloveniaalong with the upcoming 3rd anniversary of the Confucius Institute, the Alumni Club invited H.E. Mr. ZHANG Xianyi and several esteemed guests to discuss everything and anything aboutChina. The agenda was clear: the past, present and future economic portrait ofChina was to be presented, but more importantly, stories and advice about working inChina were to be shared by those individuals who took the next step and made their way into the world’s second largest market.
“Chinais the largest or second largest trade partner for 78 countries of the world”: just one of many powerful pieces of information presented by H.E. Mr. Zhang, who encouraged listeners and potential investors to look towards the East when considering new business ventures. Among other things H.E did not shy away from revealing potential threats that might hinderChina’s economic growth in the future, “We are getting old before getting rich”. Together with the aging population problem, we heard more about the potential housing bubble, growing economic inequality between the rural and urban population and all the macroeconomic and fiscal measures taken and planned to prevent these scenarios from ever coming to fruition.
The event ended with the panel discussion moderated by Dr. Marjan Svetličič (Faculty of Social Sciences) and guests: 
Mr. Drago Lemut (Le Tehnika), Ms. Jožica Rejec (Domel, d.o.o.), Mr. Igor Bončina (Kolektor/Wuxi), Ms. Zhao Xiufen (economic advisor at the Embassy of People’s Republic of China in Slovenia) and Alisa Avšar (China and Slovenia Commerce Association). The panel began their discussion with general thoughts on the opportunities available and quickly came to the question if Slovenian companies are able to grasp those opportunities even though they might be facing the “smallness” barrier. “No!” said Jožica Rejec, CEO of Dormel d.o.o., “even though our country is small, as are our companies, this is not a barrier because every company should begin their business operations in China with a small program, no matter the size of the overall organization.” Professor Dr. Saje Mitja added: “People think that there is a single large Chinese market, but that is a common misconception, we are talking about several very different smaller markets.” The panel concluded their discussion with some practical advice to interested individuals thinking about taking the next step and joining them in the Land of the Heavenly Dragon:
“Have a clear business model, find a good adviser/expert to help you through the transition.” – Igor Bončina
“The legal system is changing, you can win in court.” – Igor Bončina
“Before you do anything go toChinaas a tourist, learn something about their culture. Organizations should study the market and find all available secondary information about their potential partner. Most importantly you should inspect and examine the chosen location, get the most important information first hand. Go and see!!!” – Drago Lemut
“If you know what you want, don’t hesitate, make the next step.” – Alisa Avšar
Author: Aljaž Bešter Cerar
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