Discovering Shanghai is the gateway to China's business world

WILD GEESE: James Ryan, Logistics firm manager and exhibition organiser, Shanghai

SHANGHAI’S SUCCESS is based on its self-reliance and a typically Chinese willingness to do business outside the comfort zone. Limerick man James Ryan reckons that understanding this way of thinking offers major opportunities for Irish companies.

Ryan is general manager and head of sales at ESL, a Chinese- American logistics company based in Shanghai. He also works with the 411 Gallery that he and his Chinese wife, Jiale, founded 10 years ago.

Originally from Limerick, Ryan left Ireland in January 2001 as an exchange student on a master’s of fine art course at University of Ulster at Belfast. The university had an exchange with the China Academy of Fine Art in Hangzhou, a city of seven million 200 kilometres south of Shanghai.

“I stayed there for a year, taught at the art history department and set up a small gallery space in a broom cupboard. I left China to complete my master’s course and then once that was done, returned to China almost immediately,” he said.

For years, their 411 Gallery was the only modern art gallery in Hangzhou. Running the facility without any funding was difficult, so Ryan went looking for work. He joined ESL, which has 150 employees in Shanghai, and he has now been there for six years.

He enjoys his situation in China’s biggest city and its financial capital.

“I love Shanghai,” he says. “It is a huge gateway to do business anywhere in China. It is a great place to meet like-minded people and getting advice is rarely difficult. You will meet people all the time in the most unusual businesses.

“China is now the world’s manufacturing hub which attracts people from all over the world. As a logistics person, it is also where I find my customers.

“There are always people in need of transport and warehousing.

“Someone once suggested to me that I won’t leave Shanghai in case I miss something, and they were right. There is an energy and enthusiasm for business that cannot be found in most places in the world.”

The Chinese business model has much to admire.

“The Chinese do not rely on anything but themselves and they work hard towards their goals and are willing to sacrifice a lot to get there.

“They are also more enthusiastic than Irish people and seem willing to try businesses outside of their comfort zones.”

He says business people in China are not afraid of tackling tasks that are outside their area of qualification. “The Chinese see opportunities everywhere and move fast when they have to. They are not afraid of failure and immediately start again when their businesses fail.

“They will also go anywhere to seek a place to sell their products and language barriers never seem to bother them.”

Against this background of willingness to try new things, Asia offers opportunities for career development, he reckons.

“I think as Irish people we tend to go where people speak English. There is a whole bigger world out there, where the culture differs greatly from our own and this makes it fun. If you think you can deal with that, then, yes, get to Asia.

Anyone considering a move to China should make the effort to learn the language, he advises.

“It took me a long time to learn as I had no time for formal learning and I learned slowly just from being here. A much quicker way is to learn formally.

“Also, graduates should be prepared to work in jobs that they may think they are over-qualified for. They should be prepared to put in real time and hard work to reach their goals.”

There is a strong awareness of Ireland’s financial woes in Shanghai. Ryan works as a volunteer with the expatriate group Le Chéile in Shanghai.

The Irish community has been focused on promoting Ireland in China through cultural events, and he feels the Irish diaspora is committed to pushing the idea of Ireland as a place in which to invest.

“I think businesses and educational institutes should be prepared to work together to get to a common goal. We all want to see Ireland turn around and I am confident it will. We need to get a bigger awareness of what Ireland can offer,” he says.

One of the events which Le Chéile is involved in organising is Ireland Week, which centres around St Patrick’s Day and includes a parade and a ball. It has become a high-profile public event in Shanghai.

Although living in China is challenging for first-timers, it is increasingly the centre of the world for business.

“I worked as a teacher for a long time and I now see that it was well worth doing, as I learned a lot about China and developed my language skills.

“Employers in China like to employ people who have China experience and that is how I got a start in ESL six years ago.”