I’ve watched Silicon Valley my whole career now its time to watch Shenzen.

I dont understand enough about China, and that’s a problem.

There are certain places you can pretty reliably find high profile American CEOs - Davos, Burning Man, TED and - over the last month - China.

Characters such as Jamie Dimon from JPMorgan, Laxman Narasimhan from Starbucks, and Elon Musk have been flooding into the country. They’re not just there because they fancy Shanghai in Spring. They are trying to strengthen relationships in a critical market for many American companies, especially as tensions rise between the two nations.

The US–China relationship isn’t plain sailing. Due to concerns over human rights, Taiwan, and China’s relationship with Russia it shows no signs of improving. It was even reported that Bill Burns, a top CIA official has been tasked with a secret trip to Beijing to try and keep the tensions at bay.

Whatever might be going on between the two governments, all these business trips show how reliant the world's largest economies are on each other and the danger it would pose to cut more ties. But how about us over the pond? How are we approaching the business of China?

With a population of over 1.4 billion and a rapidly growing middle class, China is one of the most significant trading opportunities for us on the world stage. But there is much more to consider alongside this, from our national and corporate security to  how we manage our supply chain and resources.

As citizens we want our politicians to think deeply about the country, but as corporate leaders, should we as well? I would argue yes. Whatever your business, it is increasingly important that UK bosses have an understanding of what's happening in China.  We need to maximize trading opportunities while being aware of the risks coming at us over the next decade. 

Firstly, China is changing at an unprecedented pace.  In recent years, we have seen the emergence of new business models that have disrupted traditional industries. These include innovations in e-commerce, mobile payment platforms, and big data analytics. And this is before even considering their AI strength.  Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu have quickly become global leaders in their respective fields. UK businesses benefit by paying attention. The old narrative used to be that Chinese companies were just imitations of western ones, but that is an old fashioned trope. Innovation abounds.

Secondly, more and more UK firms are looking to expand into China and capitalize on the country's high consumer spending. I am President of the British Chambers of Commerce and China is always in the top ten markets for our members. We have a vibrant chamber in the country which facilitates easier trading. We are working with businesses  providing healthcare products and services, facilitating cultural and art exchanges and  supporting sustainable development. The UK expertise in green business alone means with the right focus and determination, we could be an important player in China's vital energy transition.

But BCC data also shows business relationships are understandably tinged with caution. Business tells us that robust engagement is still needed between the UK and China in order to provide some much needed certainty and stability. Businesses are concerned about sudden shifts in policy and the complex restrictions. The only way that the landscape can be improved is through direct business to business and government-to-government engagement. 

Perhaps you are reading this thinking, I will never operate in China and even if I could, I wouldn’t want to against the backdrop of extremely difficult politics and human rights issues. Fair enough. But I think it’s still important to have an eye on the market. The scales definitely fell from my eyes when I read “Fire of the Dragon” by Ian Williams recently.  This well respected journalist lays out a compelling case for why successive policies towards China have been unhelpful and how we are all going to be affected more dramatically by issues emanating from the country. In his opinion, we all need to get wiser, and fast.

One of these issues is cyber attack and China is one of the main sources. In 2019, BT was targeted by a sophisticated hacking campaign backed by Chinese hackers. The attack aimed to compromise BT's infrastructure and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. Just a few days ago Boots and British Airways suffered hacks, although the origin is still unknown.  These incidents highlight the ongoing challenges faced by companies in securing their digital assets from state-sponsored cyber threats. Although security is firmly on the corporate agenda, understanding how and why it happens will become more not less important over the next few years. 

Another live issue is TikTok and its use by companies. How are you able to make the right judgment about it without understanding the structure of its ownership and how it operates in its home territory? The BBC,European Commission and Parliament have changed their policies towards the Chinese owned app, banning it on work devices and advising caution in its use respectively. Again, these judgments are going to become more and more complex in the coming decade.

I am determined to try and get wiser by reading widely, listening to podcasts and talking to businesses. I have tried to spend a lot of my career understanding Silicon Valley but now I think it's time to concentrate on understanding Shenzhen instead.