Look for stories or legends from Spain or Latin America.
More than 700 years ago, Kyle Polo, a Venetian businessman, came to China after three years of hardships. He first served as a local official in China after 24 years. A Travels of Marco Polo made Europeans know this ancient oriental country and its amazing level of civilization development for the first time. Today, more than seven centuries later, it is no longer necessary for Spaniard Alessandro to come to China. As a businessman, he came to China 9 times in 1 1 year, helped United Technologies International Co., Ltd., the most important construction company in Spain, to complete dozens of cooperative projects in China, and also found favorite projects for many Spanish and China enterprises in the other market. As the current Spanish ambassador to China, he likes to go to border areas that other officials in China don't like to go, such as Xinjiang, to learn about China people and China enterprises there. Let Spain know about China, invest in China, seize the international market, and let China know about Spanish technology and industry. This is what Alicia has been working hard for nearly 20 years. "Every day here, you can enjoy the modern Spanish works of art hanging on the wall and look down through the window on the other side, which is the beautiful street view of Beijing." In the office on the second floor of the Spanish Embassy in Beijing, Alicia said to us very comfortably. The 6 1 year-old Spanish ambassador to China has silver hair and a leisurely pace. From his bright and wise eyes, it is impossible to guess that he is nearly sixty. Alicia loves modern art and classical music, and is not as keen on bullfighting as we imagined in Spain. However, most China people's knowledge of Spanish is limited to "Bullfighting" and "Don Quixote". What about China? My only impression of Spain is probably the Great Wall and the large population. Up to now, no Spanish news media has a permanent office in China, and the trade volume between Spain and China and the investment in China are pitiful. These are the problems faced by the new Spanish ambassador in 2003. Alicia was born into a diplomatic family. 1943 was born in Portugal when his father was the consul general of Spain in Porto, Portugal. Because his father's workplace is constantly changing, he has completed primary and secondary school courses in Madrid, Geneva and new york. 1965 After graduating from the Law Department of Madrid University, he soon became a diplomat from his father's business. In the initial career of 18, Alicia spent most of her time helping Spanish enterprises to negotiate with Europe and other countries. He has served as Secretary of the Spanish Embassy in Vienna, business counselor, Spanish Embassy in the United States in business counselor and Spain-EU Consultative Conference. 1983, he unexpectedly transferred from government work to private enterprise. Joined Tecnica S Reunidas International S.A. as Secretary General, which is one of the most important private companies in Spain to implement engineering projects and build industrial factories. "My children often ask me,' What are you doing? Why do you want to give up your government job? I told them that it would be a more challenging job. Obviously, working in a multinational company is more difficult than working in a Spanish company. At that time, I felt that I was promoting Spanish technology and economy to the whole world. "It was at that time that Alyssey came to China for the first time. Of course, after the first time, she immediately had a second and more times." From 1985 to 1996, I have been to China for 9 times and come to China almost every month. I am lucky to see the great changes that have taken place in China in the past ten years. This change is not only reflected in the economic structure and diplomacy, but also in the investment policy and business environment. This is a very important experience for me. Now I'm going back to China, and I find that these changes are even greater. "1 1 year is a period of great economic changes in China and the west. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, China in the Eastern Hemisphere and Spain in the Western Hemisphere successively carried out economic reforms. China's huge market, excellent investment environment and low labor cost have attracted the investment of the world's top multinational companies. On the other hand, in the early 1980s, after Spain successfully completed its political transition to democratization, it carried out a series of economic liberalization reforms, implemented austerity, adjustment and transformation policies, and concentrated on developing an export-oriented economy. After joining the European Union, it became one of the first countries to join the euro zone. However, in the past 20 years, there has not been a lively economic and trade exchange and overseas investment, as people hoped. This is a land of feng shui and a moderately developed country that relies on export-oriented economic development. From 1980 to 2002, there were only 597 Spanish investment projects in China, and the actual investment was only $304 million. Spain's main trading partners are the European Union and the United States. In addition, Spain's main exporters and overseas investment destinations are Latin American countries. Alicia said, "Spanish companies have seen a fast-growing market in Latin America, where they are also the most competitive. "Alicia told us that in Latin America, Spanish companies run 40% of the telecommunications industry, 30% of banks and 23% of electronic products. There, Spain has an absolute advantage. But in Asia, the situation is just the opposite. Four years ago, the Spanish government finally realized that the Asia-Pacific region has 50% of the world's population and 25% of its economic strength, and Spain's influence in this region is minimal. Trade with this region accounts for only 3% of Spain's total foreign trade, and only 6.3% of Spanish government personnel are stationed in this region. It can be said that Spain is almost blank in Asia-Pacific region. In order to shift the focus of investment from Latin America to Asia, the Spanish Prime Minister made an unprecedented "Asia-Pacific Plan" to increase Spain's participation in the Asia-Pacific market, and China is one of the key points. Alicia said happily, "Since the implementation of this plan, Spanish exports to China have increased by 45%. China's exports to Spain increased by 70%. "As the Spanish ambassador to China, Alicia is one of the direct implementers of this plan. Before the implementation of "Asia-Pacific Plan", Alexei's business experience in China 1 1 year had laid the foundation for this. The construction industry has always been the engine of Spanish economic growth. At that time, as the secretary-general of major Spanish construction companies and vice-chairman of the China-Spain Chamber of Commerce, Alessandro led Spanish enterprises into China earlier. What Alicia is most proud of is that "many of these projects have been highly recognized by the government of China, and United Technologies International Co., Ltd. has become the most trustworthy company in China. "Spanish companies are not well-known in the China market. Twenty years ago, the first Spanish company to come to China was the transportation company ALSA. They initially established joint ventures in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong to carry out transportation business, and later expanded to Beijing, Tianjin and other places. Later, companies that invested and developed well in China included Nu delaisse Ba Company, which produced "Gao Legao", and Agrolimen Company, which produced large pieces of bubble gum. But "Bubble Gum" has been acquired by American Wrigley Company, and the market share of other Spanish companies in China is very limited. In the contact with China enterprises for more than ten years, Alyssey has been examining all this. In his view, lack of understanding is the most important aspect of Sino-Western trade. " Spanish companies don't know China. Spaniards seldom come to China, and China seldom goes to Spain. China enterprises need a long time to understand Spanish technology and industry. "Li Sai said. When he was the secretary-general of an enterprise, he thought of many ways to enhance the understanding of Chinese and western enterprises. At that time, a delegation from China visited Spain almost every two weeks. I will show them around Spain and introduce the industrial and technological development in Spain. "Alicia let many China entrepreneurs know that Spanish artists include not only Picasso, Gaudi and Domingo, but also developed industries and outstanding entrepreneurs. However, it is not easy to let the Spanish know about China. Alicia herself went through many obstacles before she understood how to do business in China. Alicia once talked with a company in Liaoning Province, China on behalf of Spanish enterprises about a cooperative project to produce washing powder, which took three and a half years. Later, President Ai Lisai said, "In China, interpersonal relationship and family relationship are very important. If you want to do business with a company, you must know him for a long time and talk a lot before you can cooperate successfully. This is a very different point between eastern countries, Spain and some western countries. In many other parts of the world, I will tell people there that if you go to an Asian country, you can't do business with people or enterprises you don't know, because that will often fail. "Alicia, a diplomat, seems to be very calm in dealing with this matter." 1985, the first time I went to China, I brought a big project. The negotiation has been progressing smoothly, but at the last minute, it didn't pass. I remember my friends from China came to my room. They were very sorry that the negotiations failed because of the government's decision. My reaction is that this kind of thing may happen, but the friendship is still there. We should not care too much about this failure, but should take this opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the two sides. Many years later, those partners said that this reaction to me was very strange. They didn't expect a European to have such a reaction. I say this is the difference between the Spanish and other Europeans. We know that if a plan goes through a very difficult period, we will strengthen our friendship, even if we don't like the result. "The wisdom and coordination of diplomats finally made Alicia have many friends in China and do a lot of business. This business experience has become a valuable resource for Alicia, the Spanish ambassador to China, which not only provides him with contacts and a familiar market environment, but more importantly, ambassadors who have worked as businessmen have a better understanding of the real needs of enterprises. After seeing the huge market potential of China and the competitive situation of major multinational companies in China, Alicia offered two suggestions to Spanish enterprises investing in China: Only by investing in China can we strengthen our strength in China, and we can establish joint ventures or subsidiaries. But they can't just serve the China market, they should think of serving the global market. On the other hand, China's industry and service industry are developing rapidly and are changing from labor-intensive to technology-intensive. Spanish investment in China should focus on product research and development (R&; D) go. This is a question that Alicia talked about when she became the Spanish ambassador to China last June, 65438+ 10. Unlike many officials in China, Alyssey likes to blend into the cultural and social atmosphere of China. Besides entrepreneurs, he also has many friends in the art world in China. Ai Li Sai can't speak Chinese yet, but he can speak fluent English, which does not prevent him from communicating with friends in China. " Many of my friends in China speak English with me, and some even speak Spanish. So I am very willing to spend more time getting to know China people instead of learning Chinese. But my wife is learning Chinese. She likes China very much. "The ambassador's wife is a China fan. When Alicia ended her business status and went to Germany to be the Spanish ambassador, the ambassador's wife often went shopping in China alone. After Alicia became the Spanish ambassador to China, the ambassador's wife came to China as she wished. Li Sai said it was difficult to find an accurate word to describe himself, but he told us, "I was a successful businessman in business. Now, as an ambassador, I have just been in office for six months. Give me some time, and I will tell you that he is also successful. "