Sat, Jan 26, 2008
The Straits Times
Chinese firms hire 'foreign talent' to show
off
BEIJING - A DUTCH student's lack of business experience was no
barrier to his dressing up as a rich foreign investor to provide
'face' for a Chinese company sending a team to visit a textile
factory.
In return for lending his Caucasian looks to the delegation
visiting Sishui in the eastern province of Shandong, 24-year-old
Gerard was put up in a top hotel and treated to a tour of the local
sites, he said in an interview on Thursday.
'We were never told why we were there,' said Gerard, who did not
want to be identified by his full name, of his factory visit.
The charade went to the extent of him being introduced by Chinese
go-betweens to other travelling 'investors', he said.
'The Chinese contact introduced me to the other foreigners (in the
party) as a foreign investor. Everyone in the group knew that none
of us was a foreign investor. There were students, diplomats and
teachers in our group, but as far as I could see, no foreign
investors,' Gerard said.
As China's economy charges ahead and local governments scramble to
attract investments, the 'hiring' of expatriates has become a way
for some Chinese companies to put up a supposed symbol of
commercial legitimacy.
The hiring process is opaque, often arranged by mutual Chinese
acquaintances and sometimes leaving the foreigner unaware of the
assignment at hand.
Other foreigners are better informed of their roles, though the
exchanges rarely go beyond the superficial, said Kuwaiti professor
Hussein Mussallam from Qinghua University.
'Some people ask me to pretend to be something that I am not,' he
said.
In one extreme case, a Caucasian American was asked to pose as a
priest at a Chinese wedding.
According to Prof Hussein, hiring agencies keep a database of
foreigners and are often paid for meeting quotas.
'If they bring in 20 foreigners, they get paid a certain amount.
They don't care if you are a businessman or not,' he said.
'The Chinese need to invite someone for respect to a party or a
company, and if you have foreigners present, it shows how important
you are,' a sociology professor at Beijing's Renmin University
said.
While non-Asian foreigners are sought after, Caucasians are the
ones most in demand.
'White people are an expensive commodity in China. It is a glorious
thing to show off that you have foreign friends,' said the
sociology professor, who declined to be identified.
'You can brag about this.'
