Lesson for Chinese Companies From a U.S. Senator’s Gratitude Toward a Chinese CEO

Recently, U.S. Senator John Kerry proposed a resolution in Congress to express his gratitude towards COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) CEO Wei Jiafu. He wanted to thank COSCO for setting up shop in the port of Boston in his home state of Massachusetts, creating a local economic boom and job opportunities.

For many people, this news has at least two intriguing points. First, Congress usually has an arrogant attitude toward China. Oftentimes senators speak up to criticize China; why is there now an intimate relationship between a U.S. senator and China? Second, what is Kerry’s intention in saluting a Chinese company’s CEO in Congress?

The two questions above illustrate that it is not easy to understand U.S. politics and frequently it is hard to draw conclusions by using logic alone. Congress is a melting pot consisting of all kinds of thoughts mixing with all kinds of interests. In order to understand Congress, one must first understand that it is very difficult to judge it generally. For example, Senator Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, besides having a close relationship with CEO Wei Jiafu for many years, also had dinner and reminisced with the State Councilor of China, Dai Bingguo, who was on a visit to the U.S. two weeks ago.

But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who is from the American west coast state of California, is a long-time China-attacking gunner and a big fan of the Dalai Lama. Her tough and aggressive attitude toward China has not altered a bit. These two people belong to the same party and are both leaders in Congress. Based on these facts alone, can we deduce the attitude of the Congress toward China? We cannot, and therefore in order for us to acquire a better understanding of the U.S. Congress and to have an influence on its politics, we first need to shift our vision away from the whole of Congress and towards its individual members. This is the first insight we can obtain from these recent events.

From the point of view of an individual senator, there will always be a group of senators that is knowledgeable about China and also a group of senators that is skeptical about China. There is even a group of anti-China senators. However, the immense change in political and economic relations between China and the U.S. has had great influence on the growth and decline of the power as well as the voices of both countries. Thus, two years ago, we saw the Congress award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama, but this year we find a new resolution saluting the CEO of a large Chinese company. Behind these events is a broad gradual change in the political current.

Despite this, there is still something unusual about Kerry’s proposed resolution to salute CEO Wei Jiafu. The direct consequence of the resolution is to raise the reputation and popularity of COSCO in the United States, which helps COSCO’s expansion in the U.S. market. What in the world would cause senators like Kerry to give COSCO such a big present?

It turns out to be that in 2002, the Port of Boston was facing the prospect of shutting down. COSCO gave a helping hand and saved 9,000 dockworkers’ jobs and created more than 26,000 additional new jobs. Blue collar workers are always big supporters of the Democratic Party. The feelings of local workers toward COSCO and its CEO Wei Jiafu have spontaneously affected the attitude of the powerful Massachusetts senator. For many years after that event, Kerry has publicly commended Wei Jiafu. U.S. labor organizations even awarded the “Job Creation Award” to Wei Jiafu. Chinese companies have built a sound relationship with local governments and Kerry has become aclose friend with the Chinese CEO.

Premier Zhou Enlai advocated that Chinese diplomats should make more friends and have sound relationships with them. The story of the Chinese CEO and U.S. Senator has deepened our understanding of the nature of diplomacy. It has also provided insights for overseas Chinese companies. The moral of this story is easy to understand. CEO Wei Jiafu explains his success with a simple phrase: “Fit in and win.”