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| China, the country with the longest continuous civilization of the world has always been a paternalistic government in the mould illuminated by Confucius (551-479) BC. It has been governed by dynasties since time immemorial. Like most dynasties, China’s influence on the world stage waxed and waned depending on what part of the dynastic cycle you happen to put your magnifying glass on. For instance, during the time of Marco Polo (1254-1324), China was way ahead of all civilizations in the world. Europe benefited from the inventions, culture and philosophy of China, transported to Europe, not just Marco Polo but famous missionaries like Mateo Ricci. SJ (1552-1610). If you looked at China in |
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the1800s, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was in its waning stages; it was politically and militarily weak while still under the delusionthat it had the “Mandate from Heaven” to exact tribute from all foreigners as it had for eons past. It was in this context that China lost the opium wars, ceding Hong Kong to the British, opening up trading ports for foreigners to exploit. China would most likely have been carved up, the microcosm of which is exemplified by the foreign concessions in Shanghai of which the Bund is a prominent example, and colonized, like Africa and India, had the foreign powers been able to act in |
| concert. The 1800s and early the early 1900s were difficult years for China. It was in this long period thatsaw the migration of Chinese, mostly from the Guangdong Province, to all points of the globe. After overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, the world, besides China was in turmoil. There were the 2 world wars and then the civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists which the communist prevailed in 1949. It took many more years before Premier Deng Xiaoping |
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turned the country in the capitalist direction. This act was summarized by his statement that it does not matter if the cat is black or white. What is important is its ability to catch mice. It took a number more years before China embraced CCIM about 2 years ago.The Chinese didn’t just embrace CCIM, they recognized a good thing when they saw one and in just these many short years, there are in excess of 300 CCIMs in the People’s Republic of China. They sprinted into our |
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| fraternity.This enthusiasm engendered the first foray of USA CCIMs to visit a foreign country on an “individual to individual” basis. From a number of diverse points in the USA, on September 11th, three from Hawaii for a total of 16 from the USA despite the heavy initial interest, met in Narita Airport and thence to Beijing. |
The Beijing CCIM Chapter organized a number of tours and we saw a number of huge projects by the government. There was a technological center which had all kinds of supporting facilities, there was an older development almost as large and we were introduced to modern residential high rise dwellings. Everywhere we went, we saw building cranes, scaffolding and new large buildings sprouting before our eyes. All the |
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| CCIMs in our group agreed that they have neverseen so many cranes on any skyline. This scene repeated itself in the other cities where the Chinese CCIMs directed us. The other common denominator was the ubiquitous smog, far worse than anything we see in the USA. Indeed, there is little doubt that this minute; China is the fastest growing economy in the world which is one reason why the gas prices here are so high. The other thing that was peculiar about Chinese real estate is that since everything is government owned, all real estate is parceled out in leasehold interest only. Commercial properties had lease terms between 3o and 50 years and residential apartments between 50 and 70 years. |
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Yet, leaseholds which are diminishing assets appreciate and it seems that every body is making money. The major US real estate players, like CB Richard Ellis, Marcus and Millichap, Cushman and Wakefield, have a presence in the both Beijing and Shanghai. In both Beijing and Shanghai, we visited, bantered and ate dinner with the CCIM chapter members. |
In Shanghai, we were introduced to more than half a day of fraternization listening to an entrepreneur who had Hawaii connections, raised capital for not just real estate projects but other potentially money making projects from dredging the Shanghai harbor and using the fill to create quality real estate in much the same way Walter Dillingham did in Wailupe circle, to generating ethanol from natural products. The Chinese welcome foreign capital. It was not all |
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work; we visited the major tourist sites in all the cities we stayed in. Most impressive was the Great Wall just an hour North of Beijing and the Grand Canal, about 1,000 miles long connecting Beijing to Suzhou. Both the Great Wall which is 4,000 miles in length was built before that time of Jesus Christ, way before the advent of respectable earth moving machinery. Suzhou, an hour by bus east of Shanghai is a very interesting city because it has always been the silk capital of Cathay, as China was known to the Europeans in the early days. Silk was transported to the then known world via the “Silk Route”. Suzhou is the land of canals, very similar to Venice. It also has a pagoda that leans about 10 degrees off vertical which is not as bad as the “Leaning tower of |
| Pisa”. Recall that Christopher Columbus was interested in finding a easy route to trade with China; the discovery of America was just one of those serendipitous events that happens all the time Beijing which hosts the 2008 Olympics is already busy building facilities for that event. It is the seat of government, much like Washington DC is. Shanghai, was a booming town where a whole area called the Pudong district, now a booming metropolis, was developed specifically for economic endeavors just |
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| about 10 years ago on the other side of the Huangpo River which separates it from old Shanghai. An ancient city reinvents itself. Suzhou also boomed because of tourism, manufacturing, besides silk products which is its original claim to fame. After Shanghai, we flew to Shenzhen which is a “Special Economic Zone” (SEZ) created by the Deng Xiaoping government for the specified purpose of economic advancement. There are a number of the SEZ, all created for making China an economic power house. Shenzhen, for instance was a little fishing village on the China side of Hong Kong with fewer than 30,000 people. In 10 years, besides the huge concrete structures, there are now in excess of 7 million residents. After a couple of days in this city, we crossed the border into Hong Kong which is a separate economic administrative district. It is functioning as if the British are still running the place and will be so for 50 years after 1997 when Hong Kong reverted to China and will function as “One Country two systems”. Hong Kong is more like home, because the people are bilingual being very proficient in English. We met a Hong Kong CCIM who is American educated for a breakfast meeting. We also shopped in China. The |
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government setup “Friendship Stores” in most placesand in such establishments, the Chinese government assured that whatever you are buying is the real thing. Street vendors sell all kinds of things. You could get a functioning fake Rolex watch for about $5.00, for instance. For that reason, these government shops posted signs saying that there is no bargaining. CCIMs are natural |
| dnegotiatorsand we were able to get sharp iscounts in these shops which sold real pearls,real silk and real jade, sometimes by as much as 40%. So much for posted policies. The lesson? Ignore posted signs! Better, most things are negotiable! What was surprising about the mainland CCIMs was the big proportion of them who started off as brokers doing other people’s deals and who are now doing their own. What is surprising about the Chinese CCIMs is the pride they took in having the designation. In Shanghai, for instance, there was a picture of the chapter members dressed in trencher and hood, as if they really did get the PhD in real estate. The whole trip only lasted 12 days. Certainly, having confreres who speak the same real estate language as we do, should engender ways of making money in this internet age. There has to be a follow up visit.It was Napoleon Bonaparte who once observed, while looking at a map of China, that in his time, China was a “Sleeping Giant”, sure to be awake one of these days. Napoleon uttered these words almost 150 years ago. A few months ago, in Athens, China outperformed its previous haul of medals, coming 3rd overall behind the USA and Russia. A 21 year old high hurdler, Liu Xiang, literally sprinted onto the track and field stage, surprised himself not only by |
winning the gold medal but he broke the Olympic record and equaled the 11 year old world record with more wind resistance than the original setter of that record. Has this “Sleeping Giant” of Napoleon beginning to shake off its long hibernation? Has that time arrive?
For the sights, smells, sounds and valuable fellowship CCIMs in Cathay, we have one person to thank for he single handedly almost, organized the tour with “Pali Travel and Tours”, coordinated with the CCIM chapters in Beijing and Shanghai besides attending to a myriad number of details……Thank you, Albert Sun Pui Wong, CCIM |
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