The practice of doing private equity investing in China has come into question early this year. The disputes between Google Inc. and the Chinese government have been one factor; others have included the continued concerns raised in the West about China’s currency policy, and in China about Western financial policies. Moreover, questions about intellectual property protection in China have not gone away. At the same time, the consumer markets within the country are more vibrant as its pace of growth increases, and Chinese businesses are becoming innovative, fierce competitors within their country, and increasingly in the world outside. There has never been a time when getting China right is more important — or more difficult.

Whatever friction there is between US companies and China, I think it is time for us all in the West to step back and try to understand what China means to their business. We also have to understand what China has been achieving over the last couple of decades, since it started its economic reforms. Ignoring China is not an option. The only way any company can take advantage of its massive opportunities is by placing its China activities in a global context — as part of an integrated web of capabilities, including manufacturing, marketing and sales, innovation, new business model incubation, and talent development.

Hence, we would recommend that global executives not pay too much attention to the day-to-day news. Instead they should step back and take a longer view. You could begin by looking back to the start of economic reform by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. And, more precisely, to 1992, when Deng made his now famous visit to Shenzhen. It was called the “Southern visit” at the time, to one of the places where entrepreneurial China got its start. And it was basically to set the tone: We’ve got to continue to open up and integrate ourselves into the global economy. Over the decades since, China has held true to that path — and it will continue to do so, at least for the next couple of decades.

For example, China has become an incubator for every kind of business — from tiny startups to giant multinationals, both foreign and homegrown. Local companies are building platforms with sufficient scale to take their business worldwide. International companies will go to China to integrate this vast market and sourcing hub with their global strategies and operations.

Historically, China has without a doubt been a largely rural society. But the government has decided that China should urbanize itself to a large extent. We at Blackhawk believe we’ll see a fundamental change in the nature of Chinese consumers: in the number of people who can afford consumer products, and the way that they think about buying products and services. No longer are they just one large army of people with similar clothing styles. This provides major opportunities, still untapped, for global companies that are interested in the Chinese market.

About Blackhawk Partners: | Ziad K. Abdelnour is a deal maker, trader and financier with over 20 year experience in merchant banking, private equity, alternative investments and physical commodities trading. Mr. Abdelnour has been a trusted advisor to a number of the largest family offices in the United States, Europe and the Middle East and a turnaround investor in a number of companies where Mr. Abdelnour’s corporate capital commitment through Blackhawk came either through acquiring those and other companies through their distressed debt or through the chapter 11 process.

Web site: http://www.blackhawkpartners.com