Thought and a well-planned strategy key to success

South African exporters keen to enter the Chinese market need to ensure they have the right strategy in place if they want to achieve any measure of success, said Kobus van der Wath, founder and group managing director of The Beijing Axis. “China is set for continued rapid economic growth, having become the second largest economy last year,” he said at a conference in Johannesburg recently. “The question now is really when it will surpass the US to become the largest economy in the world – and as a business it is important to get one’s head around this. But it is not an easy market to penetrate, it needs much thought and a well-planned strategy.” According to Van der Wath, businesses in South Africa need to ask themselves if they have the right strategy in place to take China to the centre of their radar screen. “You must get the basics right and that starts at the initial engagement process. The GDP in some Chinese provinces is bigger than that of small countries in the world. It is geographically huge with a different culture – and language is but one of the major barriers.” He said those thinking this was a wave they could just jump on and ride would be sorely disappointed. “You must understand the Chinese market and for that intelligence, due diligence and a strong relationship is needed.” Van der Wath advised companies to break their strategy into manageable components. “Be systematic in your approach. Be surgical and be tactical.” He said it was also often not possible to find answers on the Internet. “Those serious about importing or exporting from China will soon realise one must visit the country to really understand what it is all about. Don’t make the mistake of thinking China is nothing but a mass producer of low quality products or a plastic toy maker – you will be left behind.”