July 23, 2009
Window of Opportunity in China Is Closing for Taiwan: Ohmae Kenichi
Taipei, July 22, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan should step up its incursion into the Chinese market, since it has less than one year of time to capitalize on its experience and advantage in tapping the huge market potential of China, said Dr. Ohmae Kenichi, a leading Japanese business strategist of the world, yesterday (July 21).
During the "Forum on Global Economic Outlook," organized by the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce and supported by the Chinese-language Economic Daily News, sister publication of Taiwan Economic News (TEN), Kenichi stressed that the window of opportunity in China for Taiwan "is virtually closing."
In a meeting with Premier Liu Chao-shiuan yesterday, Kenichi suggested Taiwan strive to win special treatment from China in tapping China`s domestic market, especially in the fields of steel, communications, transportation, and harbor, for which the Chinese government is reluctant to grant access to foreign investors, adding that Taiwanese firms can cooperate with the U.S. and European companies in the effort, so as to win their technological support.
To achieve the goal, Taiwanese businesses should set up sales and service networks in China, according to Kenichi, who also pointed to Taiwan`s unique advantages in developing the Chinese market, including culture, language, and the understanding of the corporate culture of the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
In his keynote speech at the forum, Kenichi lamented the inaction of the Taiwanese government to utilize its experience and advantage in tapping the Chinese market over the past five years, in response to his suggestion five years ago, noting that there has left less than one year for Taiwan to make a final effort to enter the market, as the window of opportunity is virtually closing.
He discounted the concern over the over-reliance of the Taiwanese economy on the Chinese market, saying that there doesn`t exist the danger of putting all the eggs in one basket, since the Chinese economy is 20 times that of Taiwan and investing in China is like investing in European Union, both of which consisting of more than 20 constituent economies with different nature.
During his speech, Kenichi also warned that it will take several more years for the global economy to recover, citing sluggish consumption willingness and soaring savings.
He pointed out that the monopoly status of the U.S. in the global economy will no longer exist, predicting that the EU will put Russian under its banner and become the world`s largest economic entity by 2020, followed by the U.S., China, India, and Japan.
(by Philip Liu)
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