CCBC’s China Ready Webinar Series is back for its third edition and we are ready to run another set of educational webinars to fill your China toolbox. Introduced in 2020, this series provides SME executives with the knowledge and insight needed to launch into the China market successfully. Designed for those considering China for trade diversification or who are curious but not sure where to start, the modules in this series cover a range of topics related to doing business in China. As China continues to rebound from COVID-19, the demand for Canadian branded products will continue to be strong.

 

Participants who complete all six sessions will receive a ‘CCBC China Ready’ certificate. Sessions are free of charge for CCBC members; $25+HST per session or $100+HST for all 6 sessions for non-members.

 

China Ready 2022 Series Session #5: Guanxi (关系) – Building Social Networks for Better Business
November 2, 2022
This session explored Chinese culture and philosophy that reflect the way Chinese businesspeople do business and interact with one another. Sarah Kutulakos, Executive Director of CCBC, has extensive experience with ‘Guanxi’ having worked and lived in China for several years, and she deconstructed the term so that businesspeople can better understand its meaning and importance. Her personal stories about ‘Guanxi’ provided insight into the intricacies of ‘Guanxi’ relationships and put the spotlight on its potential pitfalls and advantages when doing business in China. We also heard from David Van Dyke, Managing Director, Thinknao Consulting, who shared stories of his experience with Chinese business culture and etiquette, and Vera Huang, Mandarin Instructor, Toronto Mandarin School, on the importance of giving yourself and your business a Chinese name, and how proper Chinese names help build trust in business relationships. 

 

The link to the video presentation is available upon request. Please contact your regional Chapter Director to request access:

 

• Atlantic: Edward Dai
• Quebec: David Perez-Des Rosiers
• Ontario: Jeff Zhang
• Prairies/Nunavut/NWT: Lotta Ygartua
• BC/Yukon: Lotta Ygartua
• Beijing: Noah Fraser
• Shanghai: Edward Dai

 

 

Sponsor remarks by:

 

Michael Drake
Partner
McInnes Cooper 

 

 

Tianpeng WANG
CEO and Founder
Trustiics

 

Presentations by: 

 

 

Vera Huang
Mandarin Instructor
Toronto Mandarin School

 

Vera Jing Huang is a Mandarin instructor at Toronto Mandarin School and Research Assistant at University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Arts in Language and Literacies Education at OISE, University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from Beijing Normal University. She teaches various individual and group classes, including adult classes, kindergarten virtual language classes, after-school children’s classes, and business training, and has been teaching Mandarin as First, Second and Foreign Language in Canada and Malaysia for seven years.

 

Vera has also been a Research Assistant in the SSHRC Partnership Grant Project, “Reciprocal Learning in Teacher Education and School Education and School Education between Canada and China,” since 2018. She has participated in a wide range of research activities that facilitate communication between teachers in Shanghai and Toronto. As a young researcher, she is passionate about promoting Chinese language and culture to different age groups, and her research interests include young Chinese immigrant students’ plurilingual practices at home and school, bilingual and multilingual education, and teacher education.

 

 

Sarah Kutulakos
Executive Director & COO
Canada China Business Council (CCBC)

 

Sarah joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Sarah has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

 

Prior to joining CCBC, Sarah worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Sarah managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Sarah has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980’s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

 

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Sarah’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.

 

David Van Dyke is a global senior leader with significant business experience in Asia and China. An entrepreneur, management consultant and Fortune 100 leader, David has managed large and small cross-cultural teams, set up offices and operations, and led business units at Nokia, Motorola and Cisco. As an independent consultant, he has advised private companies and public sector agencies in a variety of strategic initiatives in China and elsewhere. A Canadian, David speaks Mandarin Chinese and has lived in seven different countries over his 20-plus year business career.

 

About the moderator: 

 

Jeff Zhang
Regional Director, Central Canada
Canada China Business Council (CCBC)

 

Jeff has over 20 years of international experience in private, public and non-profit organizations in a variety of sectors including E-commerce, oil and gas, retail, commercial real estate, education and financial services. Prior to joining CCBC, Jeff worked in establishment and operation management at a Sino-Foreign joint venture company and in strategic partnership management at a Fortune 500 multinational company. He also led and assisted a number of Canadian companies and educational institutions into China where he was responsible for strategic partnerships and branding establishment.

 

Jeff has an MBA in marketing and international business from Concordia University in Montreal and is fluent in Mandarin and English. He has also been a guest speaker at professional business associations in China and Canada.

 

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CCBC’s China Ready Series Third Edition schedule and topics to be covered include:

 

• Session #1: Exporting to China – How to Ensure a Smooth and Consistent Experience, September 14   
• Session #2: The E-commerce Revolution – Get Your Product into the World’s Largest Consumer Market, September 21
• Session #3: Marketing Your Brand Successfully in China, October 5
• Session #4: Manage Legal Risks and Improve Your Prospects for Early Success in China, October 19
• Session #5: Guanxi (关系) – Building Social Networks for Better Business, November 2   
• Session #6: Find the Right Business and Sourcing Partners in China and Asia, November 17