Interview

What does it mean to work in China?

What are the main difficulties for a foreign businessman when starting business in China?
I believe the biggest difficulty will depend on how open this person is to a new culture. The Chinese culture is certainly very different from the Latin one. However, believe it or not, both share common values, such as: the family is the center of the Chinese culture and family reunions are crucial like having dinner together, just like the Latin people.
When it comes to business, relationship is very important, and the key factor is the truth. There is a Chinese word to define such term: | Guanxi |.
Guanxi is a Chinese term which describes the basic dynamics of networking. This is a central concept in Chinese culture. I think understanding such concept is fundamental for any foreign businessperson who feels like doing business or work in China.
Another challenge is the language. People have increasingly spoken English but speaking Mandarin for daily needs is welcome. Besides, the city where the person stays makes the whole difference; Shanghai is a Cosmopolitan city where lifestyle is just like any other.
The most interesting factor relies on the so called "Deep China", which has grown significantly, with over a million inhabitants, which means a great opportunity to develop new businesses.

What is the impact on corporate dual world: a capitalist guidance and a communist regimen?
I believe the most important is to have a multidisciplinary team, by aggregating local professionals whose vision and understanding of what is happening in China and how to move within this complex business environment, as well as counting on professionals who have a global vision and who are able to challenge and implement new corporate processes. Nevertheless, more important than the government guidance is its magnitude, the business importance, so that the businessmen have to choose which battles they want to fight.

What differs in the dynamics of the Chinese pharmaceutical market?
In the pharmaceutical market the companies compete against a powerful competitor: the Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has been part of the Chinese culture for over 4000 years. In the Chinese market the Western medicine and the traditional medicine live together but a physician may prescribe either. The same happens in the points of sales where a hypertensive or a pain killer competes against teas, herbs of dried animal.

Is it allowed to have direct contact with the final consumer in China?( DTC)?
Like in Brazil, for prescription drugs, we can only talk to the final consumer by approaching diseases or pathologies. Disclosing information is allowed only for OTC.

Is the Chinese pharmaceutical market regulated? Tell us a about it please.
The deadlines for registration are quite tight, just like in other countries. Not so tight like in Japan, but they take longer than in other countries. Most part of sales in almost all therapeutic classes depends on the market. The retail market has grown less than 20% of the entire pharmaceutical global market. This is due to the Chinese Healthcare system.
Over the last years the Chinese Healthcare has been through changes which have created new challenges. Such changes intend to generate a balance between public service and private health insurance.
Thus, China has followed the steps of the countries which contributed to privatization in the 90´s and the beginning of the XX1 Century, but now they tend to improve their services in the public healthcare system.

Personal Profile:

What book are you Reading at the moment?

Inside of a Dog, by Alexandra Horowitz.

Favorite hobby?
Karate, more than a hobby it is a style of life. I´ve practiced it since I was 18.

Which perfume have you worn lately?
In fact I like several perfumes. One of my favorites is Rock Me, by Anna Sui, which I just can find in Asia.

A professional characteristic you value in the corporate world?
Global leaders and open who focus on making their teams grow and give positive feedback that aggregate value to business and to the performance of the corporation.

A professional characteristic that you dislike in the corporate world?
Traditional leaders who just follow the power in a negative way, who are not open to changes within the competitive and globalized world.




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