Just arrived back in China. And boy I can tell China is changing! And it truly has been for a while. The pressure in the society feels everywhere. After spending 2 months in a laid-back Helsinki, the contrast was staggering. “Hey, get away from here, I have a business to run!” “Hey, please get it done quickly, I need to run!” Many of my foreign friends living in China – even the Chinese themselves – say the same: the society truly has got really “neijuan” (内卷), “competitive”. Everyone struggle, everyone fight, everyone try to do their best to work hard and make some more money. And how to spend it then? For the best clothes, for apartments, for family’s living costs, for investments… Some people struggle just to get a living, some people struggle to make another million. Doesn’t matter which social class you’re coming from, the idea behind most people’s lives seem to be clear: make more money, work hard, make a great living, get rich. Consumerism is the key word to describe the Chinese society.

Walking in the streets of Hangzhou or Shanghai, I don’t feel that I’m spiritually reinvigorated, or emotionally uplifted. I feel that I have almost all kind of stuff around me easily available, easily reachable, ready to order, ready to deliver, ready to eat, ready to wear, ready to enjoy… But for what worth? For what cause? The haziness of life, the constant chaos, the people around you. Yes, everything gets worked out. Yes, hotels are super fancy, with even a modest cost. Yes, I can choose any Chinese 15 different food regions, or Asian – or even Western – in the shopping mall, and the tastes are super good. And the cost limited. Yes, we can buy nice clothes, or souvenirs, or tech stuff with no price, and the quality is pretty good already. But I have a constant dazzle around me. A huge amount people strolling around. A couple of car accidents, a dozen more closeby, and 15 people in the elevator.

Yes, there is the beauty of the legendary West Lake. Yes, there is an amazing new airport with a super convenient Grand Hyatt hotel. There are the water spring fountains, that dance in different colors alongside the pleasing classical music. There are the gardens and boats alongside the Lake.

But something is missing. What that is? I feel it’s the direction or the mission in your life. I feel like China is a huge company, which is super effective in its operations and organization, there’s plenty of people, there’s a clear understanding how things should be done – and everybody get their salaries pretty much paid on time, and the salaries are rising constantly. But it’s a company that has not asked, why are we here? Which problem are we trying to solve? What is the deeper reason and meaning why we are here? There are echoes of the effective party apparatus’ slogans. But even they are often written falsely, and the majority never looks at them very deeply – unless you’re an official who has to. “The great rejuvenation of Chinese Nation!” I bet the majority think, how can I get my kids to schools, to improve their homework and exam performance, how I could get a slightly better car, if I could go traveling somewhere nice this year, and that my parents and grandparents would be healthy, and I wouldn’t necessarily need to look after them for too much.

When talking with the folks, it’s often about business. How can we make something profitable together? How can we make money together? Yes, there are the interesting discussions about culture, about music, or even arts. But very often – too often? – it goes back into that same consumerism. Or just simply: capitalism. “It’s a communist capitalism.” Oxymoron… “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” Government jargon, that is smart, but leaves everything open in the end. A little like our president’s new foreign policy: “Value-based realism.” (Arvopohjainen realismi). It sounds great, it has a high and fine feeling. But it can mean anything in the end. We condemn Israel’s occupation. But sell them more guns. We condemn China’s policies. But do close business with them.

Sometimes I truly feel, China has lost its soul. Or is searching for it. The body and the mind are not in par with each other. The body is running crazily around. The mind doesn’t stop to think. It just follows the body.

And what do I do in the middle of this? Keep doing the business. Keep trying to do my best. Keep a hope in my heart, that one day China will be a place, where people think independently, feel independently, have independent faith, and lead the country independently with their own ideas, own feelings, own values. And that she truly would have found herself. Because now she hasn’t. She’s too traumatized of the past, to be able to be fully sane. That’s why the focus is on material things. Maybe with family too, at least a little. Yes, the Chinese millennia long traditions live here still, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Spring Festival, and various ways of celebrating those. People are still often afraid of the dark, or ghosts, and there are several beautiful buddhist temples and wise daoist monks.

Am I just being turnt towards the “White Man’s Burden”? Am I backwards? Am I echoing Cobineau in my thinking? Well, I love my wife. I think that she is truly equal with me (and so often much wiser and smarter actually.) 🙂 I don’t have too much of a challenge with my Chinese friends – or the traditional culture. I guess it’s more about how the country has been set up for now. I do understand those yearnings for the change. But maybe China tried out – and the results were not ideal. Look at the experience of Yuan Shikai’s government. Or Mao’s cultural revolution. Or the Taipings who truly wanted to rejuvenate the whole society bottom-up. In most of the cases the result was bloodshed, chaos, misery, famine, desperation, and much more. Somehow I feel China is still on the path of “opening up and reforming”, such as Deng Xiaoping outlined. It’s still a process ongoing. It hasn’t gone anywhere. Beforehand I tended to think that after Mao’s and Deng’s around 3 decades of influence each (own or through named followers), was followed by a “New Era” of Xi Jinping. Kind of a “green era”. Mao had a red era, of socialistically setting up the ready for the sail. Deng’s blue era brought the capitalism, competition and materialism strongly into the Chinese society. And then Xi’s “Green era” would be the one, where China leaps to the highest levels of Maslow’s pyramid, under his strong leadership and modernizations. Yes, I guess there has been several positive elements, and China is truly leading in innovation and green transition in several fields. But somehow I feel that Xi has just continued the “blue” era. China is still following the reform and opening up, that it set almost 50 years ago. In a way, also some “red” elements from Mao have returned to the playfield. Maybe it’s a mix of 50% blue, 30% green, and 20% red. So let’s call it a “mixed era”, or “rainbow era”. Or like the Finnish great sinologist Pertti Seppälä said, sometimes China’s idea (or religion) is like a “mashed oat meal”, it has elements from everywhere pushed and squeezed into one.

After living over a decade in China, been here, done much stuff, visited most of the Chinese provinces, several regional capitals and centers, lived in the countryside, in the innovation hub of Shenzhen, political capital of Beijing, international finance hub of Shanghai, and the cultural and tech hub of Hangzhou, and spend several months at the central Hunanese countryside, I have very mixed feelings about it all. What have I achieved? What have I managed to get done? Have I positively impacted this society? Have I made more people’s lives happier? Have I truly become a part of this society? Should I even? Have I stayed at the right distance? Whether I have – or have not – been here for the past 10 years, China would still be the same. I may have impacted a few lives here or there, perhaps put a few good things rolling, or a few positive new ideas into someones mind… Hopefully. But in the end, China has its direction, its way of doing things – and keeps doing it the way it has done for several millennia. Lord Macartney came with high expectations – and left with a devilish disappointment. What followed was the path to the Opium Wars. Several leaders, explorers, politicians, and many more, have come – and disappointed. Not everyone though. Marco Polo thought China – and particularly Hangzhou – was simply splendid. Matteo Ricci found a new life here – and became emperor’s right hand, sharing Western innovations, ideas, even faith, for the local elites and common folks. Henry Kissinger found a way to work things through with the Chinese. And even more deeply, one John Leighton Stuart, who was born in China, to a missionary family, and made a deep impact and influence as an American in China, educating hundreds of bright reformers, building a church, negotiating with both Mao Zedong and Jiang Kai-shek, and earning a deep respect of both parties. Until failing to make a connection between the US government and newly established Chinese government in Beijing. Well, his ashes were brought back to China, and both ambassador Jon Huntsman and the future president Xi Jinping were joining the com memorial in Hangzhou in 2005. What a chapter of Sino-American cooperation – and collision. I have faith the ration will prevail when managing Sino-American relations. But that has not always been the case.

How about the companies then? Should ANY company anymore come to China? Didn’t the US and Finland even return the pandas back to China? Isn’t it even more competitive than ever? Aren’t the Chinese making it (almost) impossible for foreigners to come to China and have an even playing field in the markets? Well, yes, that’s pretty much the case. It’s not a good time to come to China. But then on the other hand – it has never been a good time to come to China. China is what it is. You can’t help it too much. You either choose to accept it – and try to navigate the Chinese waters. Or then you don’t. And then you should rather stay at home. Or come for a few days travel to China to eat some good food and visit the Great Wall. Or Shanghai Bund. But that’s about it.

The companies that HAVE succeeded here, are one who have had at least some – or many – of the following things:

⁃ a great leader or a person, who has independently been able to navigate the challenging Chinese waters.

⁃ A product that China really needs

⁃ Perseverance and persistence in reaching out your vision

⁃ A strong mission and reason to be here

⁃ Humble mindset and willingness to adapt elements of Chinese culture to your work, life and business (but without losing who you are – that’s the spice and the value that interests)

⁃ Good communication between you in China – and the sender (HQ), responsible for funding the operation (unless you’re fully on your own)

⁃ Ability to inspire the people around you, a message that attract both the foreigners and Chinese

⁃ Somebody to tell the summarized story of Matteo Ricci – and couple of companies successful in China

⁃ Understanding of the principles and directions of Chinese government and the Chinese communist party

⁃ A genuine interest for the Chinese culture and people (and hopefully some experiences already; if not, the interest is enough, Chinese will note that). Start with something small, and deepen your understanding along the way.

⁃ A good way is to choose ONE of the 4 classics (e.g. Journey to the West or the Legend of the Three Kingdoms), and choosing 1-2 characters there you like – and telling Chinese why. Or: “if I could choose any character, I would be Zhou Yu, as he’s not just a great warrior, but also ethical and seems to take care well of his family too.”

This list goes on and on… I don’t think you absolutely need alcohol with you to build trust with the Chinese. But some people have said that it was the way they created the trust with the Chinese. I have never drunk much alcohol with the Chinese. But still I have made my business and 10M for our company. So it’s not about that only.

To be honest, I hate to talk about money. I never came here as a businessman. China made me a businessman. China made me a capitalist. It planted the seed in my heart. It taught how to make your way, how to create value, make deals, create partnerships, provide great service to your partners. But it also taught me how to be materialistic, opportunistic, and blur the lines of what’s right and what’s not. Is it ok to take a 50k dollar bonus, which is not clearly in the contract, but it’s neither illegal to take it? “Sure, just take it, we don’t have to put that into the records… I’ll find a way to donate it to you – through my sisters account… Let’s not leave a mark.” I remember when already as a student, I learnt in Shenzhen, that it’s better not to always tell your real intentions and plans to the administrator. He might not be on your side. However if you blur the lines a little bit – and then manage things in your own favor, but it doesn’t hurt the benefits of the administrator – he won’t make a big fuss about it, but usually just leaves it there. If you can remember him in a nice way in some other occasion, you may be relatively certain, you can do it also again in a future occasion. So personal connections rule. And the rule of law doesn’t. Except you’re in some of the most modern cities that slowly try to change into a more positive direction. (Like Hangzhou). But don’t expect any full transparency and full rule of law here either. It’s just much better than in some other places.

I think China has corrupted me. Or I have corrupted myself. China just gave me an opportunity and a platform for that. It’s truly “fubai”. And it’s partially culturally rooted. There is no way to take fubai off from its roots – without reaping the culture itself. There’s a chance to do some polishing work, and cleaning up a little bit. But fubai is in the Chinese culture. It would need a thousand years for China to become as uncorrupted as someone like Finland, or Canada – or even worse, Japan. But it can take some elements from our society and start making positive adaptations already tomorrow. Finland, e.g., is happy to share many of our practices or lessons-learnt. And we’re actually doing that. Professor Hallberg told me how he discussed with Jiang Zemin in 1995 in Helsinki and how he collaborated with China on the improvements of China’s legal system. I guess we also shared some of our cultural ideas and perspectives too. Yes, there’s much stuff on-going. But the basics of a culture won’t change rapidly. P.S. Martin Jacques wrote strongly about that in his book “When China Rules the World”.

Ok, it’s time to go sleeping, and preparing for tomorrow’s meeting – with China’s Prime Minister! Ok sorry, I’m exaggerating a little… as a company representative, I won’t be in the first row there – probably somewhere at the back, or maximum in the middle. However it’s great that China acknowledges the work we have done. Maybe in the end there has been some impact we have been able to have, and support the nation to go into an inch better direction. And yes, I’ve had much from this nation too. I’ve learnt a lot. Hopefully more positive than challenging. I’ve contributed, I’ve learnt, I’ve… many things I could have done much better and more correctly. Many things I could have done differently. But I’ve walked the path…. Without much to start with.

I recall the final verse from our national (and slightly controversial) epic Kalevala. These are the words I hope to feel to think being here for the past 10 years. Even if it sometimes may feel that world has not yet fully recognized your contribution. At least in my daydreams I have the freedom to think whatever I want about myself. I can choose to be a hero – or a villain. I can choose to think that I followed the path God paved for me – or that I didn’t, and devil got the most out of me. A saint or the devils advocate? A Hero or a villain? Or something in between…? Or both?

I don’t know. Who decides that? Future generations? Past ones? My children? My friends? My parents? God? Myself…? Sartre would say it’s you. You give yourself a title.

I refuse.

I just keep on living. Let’s think about that on another time. There’s work to do. I gotta wake up at 7am in the morning…

Back to the dragons mouth!

And back alive. I hope.

Anyway, here’s the beautiful chapter from Kalevala. Do you see yourself in it? Do I see myself? Make a guess! After getting so far and reading this long text, I’m sure you’ll figure it out! No need guessing… Thank you for getting up here! I really appreciate! And now I show who you are! The doctor, researcher, businessman, politician, housewife (or husband), the explorer, the mathematician, the poet, the bus driver, the… hero! Restaurant servant, beef maker, hamburger maker, salad maker… living in the streets, living in a billionaire’s flat, living nowhere… having a strong memory, having no memory at all. Or eyes. Or… heart? Can anyone have no heart? We all have. We just sometimes may lose it. Don’t lose yours!

This is for you!

“Muut kaikki oli opissa,

mie en joutanut kotoa

emon ainoan avusta,

yksinäisen ympäriltä.

Piti oppia kotona,

oman aitan orren alla,

oman äitin värttinöillä,

veikon veistoslastusilla, s

enki piennä, pikkaraisna,

paitaressuna pahaisna.

Vaan kuitenki kaikitenki

la’un hiihin laulajoille,

la’un hiihin, latvan taitoin,

oksat karsin, tien osoitin.

Siitäpä nyt tie menevi,

ura uusi urkenevi

laajemmille laulajoille,

runsahammille runoille,

nuorisossa nousevassa,

kansassa kasuavassa.”

The English translation misses some important nuances, but it gets the basic idea.

“Homeless, friendless, lone, and needy,
Save in childhood with my mother,
When beneath her painted rafters,
Where she twirled the flying spindle,
By the work-bench of my brother,
By the window of my sister,
In the cabin of my father,
In my early days of childhood.

Be this as it may, my people,
This may point the way to others,
To the singers better gifted,
For the good of future ages,
For the coming generations,
For the rising folk of Suomi.”