China is really an awesome country for the good and the bad. Which country in the world would have the balls and the competency to launch a wide scale search engine backed by... the state itself? It is tragicomic but this is exactly what happened this week. Panguso.com, backed by a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, was launched officially by The Communist Party through a joint-venture between the Xinhua news agency (the chinese Reuters) and China Mobile, the largest wireless carrier in the world. Both companies are state owned enterprises and controlled by the party. 

Panguso.com has it all: news, videos, images, travel, music, maps, etc. It seems very complete and useful but the government DNA can be seen everywhere from the pathetic biblical name (Panguso means Adam Search Engine in Chinese), to the 1990's layout and the low quality JPEGs showcasing the logo. Well, and of course, a very "strambotic" censorship filter that returns errors for any terms deemed sensitive such as "Tiananmen Square Massacre" or the religious group "Falun Gong". For other searches, such as "China censorship", you'll see wonderful handpicked pages showing what the goverment wants the people to know. 

Panguso also contains the whole content of the state owned press; in a move that could make Baidu obsolete very soon. If chinese goverment blocks access to the chinese press content, they'll simply kill the competitiveness of Baidu to find relevant information. It is no surprise their stock plunged in the last days. To make the founder of Baidu even more concerned, Panguso will be the official search engine for all the China Mobile subscribers (currently more than 500M) from now on and probably for all the state owned press sites, blogs and microblogs.

Ironically, Panguso.com is launched in the middle of the protests in the Arab World which will reach China sooner or later. Probably in a ten years timeframe. So better prepare the terrain from now on and fully control the Internet ASAP. After Twitter, Facebook and Google, Baidu seems to be the next victim of the Chinese schizophrenia with controlling the information. 

Call it People's Search Engine or a Baidu killer but the fact is that Panguso shows a very sophisticated face of China. And a very scary one indeed. 

Few people know but Japan practically shut down its borders for foreigners during the EDO period, from 1603 to 1868. If you add up decades of military expansionism during the beginning of the 20th century, it turns out the country population had little contact with the rest of the world for almost three centuries. Maybe this is one of the reasons why some strange traditions and outdated customs still persist today. In business, specifically, there are some quirkiness that can not be understood even by the well informed western or Japanophile. I'll list some good examples below:

Bushido Way

Nobody disputes that the Japanese have created some of the most awesome companies in the world. Robots and vending machines are a national obsession, Japan's telecom infrastructure is years ahead of the rest of the world, their buildings are the safest and most well built and the awesome TOTO "bidet" toilet seats are the pride of the nation. BUT, there is also a side that most Japanese overlook which doesn't seem to bother them: technological obsolescence and slow decision making. 

For instance, most robots are useless experiments and/or expensive toys such as the lovely AIBO dogs or the inumerous humanoid lookalikes. They're generally a commercial failure and billions of dollars and years of research spent in vain don't seem to change the Japanese pride of their robots. Actually the americans are the ones who develop useful robots for good or bad uses such as the vacuum cleaner Roomba or the military drones/vehicles. 

Other examples: 1) Despite having some of the most awesome and powerful phones last decade, Japanese mobile phones of today lag behind the Iphones and Androids forged in Silicon Valley. 2) Their awesome buildings of the 70's and 80's such as the impressive Fuji TV complex (pictured below) pale in comparison with the creative and massive skyscrapers of Shanghai or Dubai. 3) The TOTO seats, which should be the standard of excellence in any part of the world, are largely ignored and unknown by people outside Japan. 

Why does it happen? Because Japanese society is based on the code of conduct (Bushido) adhered to by the samurai since the feudal medieval period. This code is based on virtues such as honor, obiedience, loyalty, duty, respect for ancestors and self-sacrifice with the ultimate goal to have a perfectly harmonious society. Unfortunately, the Bushido Way doesn't lead to a meritocratic society and makes decisions painfully slow (group-centric). 

This characteristic generally makes the japanese very good at perfecting things like videogames, cars and toilet seats but very bad at innovating and readapting themselves quickly to the changes in the marketplace and business models. It can explain why Japan's economy and creativity are stagnant in the last twenty years. 

Honne and Tatemae

If you've ever engaged in business in Japan, you probably became very puzzled with some oddities such as NDAs that take forever to be signed (opposed to some hours in America), endless business meetings wih smart and kind people that never produce real results or the absence of the word "NO" in any of the deals. So, to make sense of all of this, you need to go to the heart of japanese culture and grasp the meaning of two important words: Honne and Tatemae. 

Honne refers to the real feelings and opinions, the literal truth. It is not something one is encouraged to show in public, especially during business dealings. It is something a Japanese shows only to his closest friends and family.

Tatemae is a face that Japanese shows in public. They may have a specific role due to their social status or position in the specific group (such as the company). They behave as they are expected to behave in a specific situation, regardless of their personal opinions about the matter. The core of tatemae is politeness to avoid confrontation. To the westerner, this may sound dishonest and illogical. It is a classic case where culture superseeds common sense. 

So, you need to know those polite smiles and encouraging words heard during the last twenty meetings you took are just Tatemae. The company and your interlocutors have never had the intention to close a deal with you but they "cannot say it". Unless, of course, you take them to a Karaoke bar or other "appropriate venue" and then they tell you what they really think. It seems alcohol is a good antidote for the poison of Tatemae.  Thus the urban legend that deals are really closed in Japan after work hours, which is absolutely true. 

Since Honne and Tatamae are no secrets, all Japanese people know that everyone around them are actually putting up a show, but it seems that everyone just goes along playing the game anyway since it ensures that as long as harmony is maintained it is acceptable to engage in this type of behavior. 

Just for the record, I took five years to understand this part and I am still puzzled how deep it is entrenched into the Japanese psyche. I hope you're smarter than me and don't take that long to figure out this is real and more pervasive than you think. 

Technological Paradox

Japan is a very technological society right? Errrr, only when they want to be. Cash is still used everywhere and few businesses, comparatively to the west, accept credit cards. Even at the airport. Bring cash or otherwise you'll have trouble. Ah, by the way, your fancy western credit cards work only in very few ATMs throughout the country. 

Film can be found abundantly in every convenience store because of Japanese love for the perfect "imperfections" of the film cameras. Try the same in America... 

And by the way, do you believe most institutions have amazing information systems to keep track of their inventory or services offered to the customer right? Wrong. I've seen whole departments of companies without a single computer and with information catalogued and stored in piles of paper by some of the most patient and badass people on the planet. 

Go figure. 

Sleepy Bosses

For some strange reason, most Japanese bosses sleep at least a minute during hour long meetings. But they seem to capture everything you have said even with their eyes closed and their heads bouncing up and down. Judging by the level of people sleeping in trains, I infer the Japanese have a darwinian tendency to sleep faster than other human beings. Don't feel offended, it is actually pretty awesome. And that is another reason I continue to love Japan. 

Today the post is light. If you talked to me just once in your life, you know that I love Japan. For me, it is the most fascinating, beautiful, civilized and puzzling country in the world. One of the things I love about Japan is that I'll never be able to figure it out. Nobody understands Japan, it simply doesn't make sense in business, fashion and traditions. Below, some of the characteristics that make Japan this lovely place in which I plan to live one day. 

A Female Country

My theory is that the A-Bombs dropped in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 changed the way how japanese perceive masculine behavior. In a society obsessed with honor and shame, the turbocharged "conquistadors" of the WWII need to be forgotten. Today Japan is definitely the kindest, politest, cutest, humblest and most organized society in the world; all of them feminine attributes. The pic below caricaturally shows the changes of the last 100 years.  

Kawaiiness

My friend Bruno, also a Japanophile, once said to me that every japanese company has a cuteness department. Why? Because nothing can exhude testosterone in the land of the rising sun. It does not only need to look feminine, it needs to look cute. 

Strangely, even the beings look cute. From humans to animals, Japan is definitely Kawaii. 

Well, maybe the Yakuza is an exception, but they're a paralegal criminal group. 

Spicy Sense of Humor

Westerners sometimes despise this side of Japan but I find it very fascinating. Why? Because japanese are not afraid to be ridiculous, and coming from me that is a big compliment. I like original and authentic people. 

This peculiarty of japanese culture can be best exemplified by the local game shows and pranks. They're absolutely delightful to watch if you have a twisted sense of humor. 

 

???

This category includes everything that I believe nobody still understands. From stores selling porn and maps, men using bras, a capsule apartment the size of your bathroom to the fashion in Harajuku, Japan is full of interesting stuff. 

Next week I'll talk about some strange business practices in Japan that defy logic and reason. 

Want to know why Silicon Valley is THE center of innovation of the whole world? Here is my opinion:

Entrepreneurs

It is funny but a lot of cities in the world are trying to replicate the success of Silicon Valley creating "innovation clusters" where they offer fancy buildings, broadband connections and tax breaks. All these guys couldn't be more clueless. Innovation is not generated by policy or infrastructure. It is blatantly obvious the entrepreneurs are the ones who can disrupt business models and create new products. And the best and most ambitious ones are here. Pretty obvious huh? Human capital is what drives innovation. The rest is irrelevant. 

Culture Matters

When you visit or live in Silicon Valley, you notice something different about this place which is unique in the world. People like to meet strangers, discuss ideas, share information and networking. Everybody is very accessible and open minded, even the top guys. There are many events, everyday, where you can meet people. Count on acquaintances to make introductions. In a nutshell, Silicon Valley has the right culture to foster innovation. Understanding this culture makes all the difference.

Execution 

People like to learn from each other and nobody is exaggeratedly concerned about intelectual theft because the main rule in the Silicon Valley is to master the execution. Ideas are worthless without good executors. So prototyping your product or service is fundamental to have the attention of colleagues, investors and advisors. Don't worry about the future, execute well the present and you'll be fine. 

Simple is beautiful

Don't try to take on the world. Be humble, one step at a time. Focus on something unique, simple and easy to be understood by consumers and do it really well. Define your business in one phrase in the back of your business card. Simplify everything and then be ready to scale. Remember vividly the examples of success of Youtube, Twitter, Quora, Pandora Radio or Google: Less is more. 

Mentorship

In Silicon Valley, the most experienced help the newbies in a very informal and cool way. Some stuff that you would need years to learn can be mastered in weeks. People have great joy to be mentors of talented entrepreneurs. Ask questions, don't be shy. When you become successful, pass forward what you have learned and don't break up the virtuous cycle. 

Powerful Ecossystem

Angels, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private equity folks, advisors, executives, press, big companies, startups; the valley has a vibrant and integrated ecossystem that self sustain itself as no other place in the world. There is no government involvement of any kind; it simply works.  

Mindset

Think big. Dream. Your imagination and your boldness are the only limit you'll face. Don't be afraid of failure, it is considered part of success. Push people forward, stimulate them. Be positive and be yourself, always. Winners start to be recognized by their optmistic attitude early on. Don't think about working for the big companies of today, think about building the big companies of tomorrow. 

Coffee Shops

Believe it or not, this is where you meet the most awesome people and have the best conversations of your life. Don't underestimate them. ;-)

Imagine the following scenario: You're China and you're growing so fast that you cannot produce food or commodities in large scale to supply your demands. Even being a continental country, your agriculture and your geology is simply not good enough. You have two options to feed your population and buy commodities from: Brazil and Africa. 

You knock in the door of Brazil first (it is more developed, easier to understand, more civilized) and what you receive in response is: no, thanks. I fear your rise and I am not willing to have a long lasting strategic partnership with you. You need me, we don't need you. 

You start to look at Africa and start to become demotivated. African countries, with 3 or 4 exceptions, are unstable, have no qualified workforce, are engulfed in tribal disputes or civil wars and display the most unprepared and corrupt governments in the planet. But... There is no other choice to propel our country to the status of a superpower. So you make a decision: let's invest in Africa no matter what difficulties we encounter ahead. We'll persevere and succeed. 

All this investment is paid with natural resources as cash starved African countries have no money in the bank. You build and airport and exchange it for oil. A road can be worth some iron ore. The chinese are not necessarily well regarded in the continent. Cases of almost impracticable conditions to work, very low salaries and even abuse of natives by chinese employers are common. 

Nevertheless, thanks to the Chinese (and to some extent, Brazil), Africa is becoming a great investment opportunity and the last big frontier to be explored on earth by both investors, entrepreneurs and companies alike. For instance, in 2000, there were only 16 million cellphones in the continent. In 2010, more than 500 million. Airports, road and railways are being renovated at a record pace. Entrepreneurs are flourishing everywhere. 

African countries should work together somehow and seize the opportunity created by China and start to change their own fate investing in education, rule of law, entrepreneurship and its huge internal market. The world is watching carefully the African development but yet, most developed countries have prejudice against investing in the continent. It is a big mistake. 

My gut feeling tells me that whoever thinks about Africa as an impoverished and war torn continent, he/she should take a look again in 2030. Things will be much different. And when this happens, one question remains: what is next? How the world will solve their own problems without cheap labor, food and commodities?

A big worldwide paradigm shift might occur still in our lifetime. Will we dominate nuclear fusion to solve energy problems on earth by 2050? Will countries merge? Will be already out of this planet and start a new civilization elsewhere? Will our planet endure climate change?

The dice are rolling. 

After some deserved vacations and now that I am comfortably installed here in San Francisco, it is time to restart the blog. I'll begin with my lessons learned in 2010, divided by topic. Pardon the clichés but sometimes it is good to hear the obvious again. 

The price of Being a Citizen of the World

Travelling around the world is both a bless and a curse. A bless because you can experience the best of each culture and place, learn about how different peoples face similar challenges, observe and understand curious behaviors and know your real place in the world context. It is a humbling experience. It is also a curse because you tend to compare the best of all places you've seen and experienced with the place you're currently in. So you're never satisfied and become excessively critical.

I.e.: San Francisco is a wonderful city with great service, entertainment options, mindset, business ethics and full of people who want to change the world. IMHO, so far, the best balance between professional/personal life in the planet. Actually the Bay Area is the only place in the world that I can be myself and speak without self-censorship about my ideas, ideals and ideologies.

BUT... I wish San Francisco had the weather of San Diego, the "blade runner-esque" skyscrapers of Shanghai, the "asian factor" of Bangkok, the warmth of my fellow brazilians, the safety, public transportation and cleanliness of Tokyo and the friends I left behind everywhere else. 

Got my point? Balancing these expectations after seeing many places and living totally different experiences is a great lesson of 2010. 

Humanization

I noticed that most countries in the world where I lived or travelled to are kind of inhospitable to humanity. In almost all developed countries, you're kind of stripped of all the characteristics that make you human.  Due to the turbo-charged capitalism (and now communism), you're encouraged to compete, follow excessive rules or processes, accumulate material wealth and elevate your status in a society that, of course, only values people who are "material" winners. It is interesting that most of the people in these societies struggle all their lives to achieve what the top one percent have, which is in most cases boredom, unhappiness and a lack of purpose in life. I've seen very successful people who are really empty and sad, still looking for a purpose; families that have serious issues with relationships so cold and distant; friends who are trustworthy until you really need them. In a nutshell, people seem to have everything and at the same time have nothing.

Meanwhile, in developing countries, you see the opposite: people full of life, happiness and purpose, even without eating three meals a day. Maybe this is due to a darwinian natural selection mechanism that adapts entire populations to the vicissitudes of living in dire conditions. I don't know, and it sounds paradoxical but material wealth, success and status are not a priority for billions of people in the world. They have nothing and at the same time they have everything they need.  Bill Gates is absolutely right when he stated that his fortune won't be left to his children. 

A lot of people in the developed countries do not understand this concept because they never lived the other side. My last trip to Brazil made me realize how important humanization is for having a balanced and exciting life.

People X Environment

I like a lot a branch of psychology called situational psychology. It states that even good people in bad environments can act as bad people. For instance, if you lived in a slum in Liberia, and some paramilitary knock on your home to rape and kill your family, what would you do? Of course you would kill them at the blink of an eye. 

With this in mind, I've learned on how not judge people without taking into consideration the situation they are or were in. I believe children are born good and naive, from China to Haiti, but as they grow up, the environment or the "system" makes them misbehave. Take China for instance: minor bribery is so accepted socially that you do not progress in life without resorting to it. In China, this was a matter of survival some decades ago. Now it is matter of cutting corners and habit. So, if there are no punishments for bribery, people will continue to do so. I've seen corrupt people who are often wonderful parents, friends or business partners. It is a complex dichotomy. 

Again, most people in the developed countries do not understand this concept in its entirety because they were born in a society where the basic needs were fulfilled and the rules were set by their ancestors. What I generally advise to someone who want to change behavior of a group of people is to be yourself and loyal to your values. I've done a lot of business in China without any single bribe or favor. Because I could and I wanted to. If I were born in China, within the same context, probably I wouldn't.

It is much more difficult to act clean in societies like china but is also much more rewarding. 

FEAR

I am no psychologist but I can anecdotally infer that fear and insecurity are the two major psychological issues people have anywhere in the world. Everyone has some degree of both feelings and they generally push people backwards in both their professional and personal lives; It is human.

I've learned that trusting yourself and acting with determination and focus is the best way to overcome both. Don't listen to specialists, parents, friends and colleagues too much. If you do, you'll live their fears and not yours. You are what you think you are, not what the others think. As a good example, in the image below of the famous Rorschach test, some people see a bat and others see a butterfly. 

As Master Yoda wisely said once: "Do it or do not, there is no try." Whatever it is. If you make a mistake, you won't make it again next time. 

In the last articles about China I've been very fair and often condescendent with the problems and challenges the country faces. I wanted to understand them by another angle and avoid the cliches. Now, I'd like to show the other side and point the major issues I noticed while living here. I'll focus on the human side because in the political and economical fronts everybody knows what actions the country should take to progress even more. Of course there are exceptions for every observation I'll make but the points below tend to be the norm. 

Low tolerance to criticism

Maybe it is a symptom of the political system but the fact is: the chinese don't like to be criticized. In my opinion, you learn when you're criticized and you evolve. It is a basic assumption we take for granted in the west. But the Chinese avoid criticism in every institution of the society (family, working environment, marriage, friendship, etc) and when you're a little bit more honest and straightforward you can seriously offend people. 

So, in most aspects of the society, people don't say what they really think. And this always backfire at some point in time and lead to misunderstandings and mistrust. Actually I find the chinese very immature and spoiled in this crucial aspect of life. They act like little kids from time to time. 

Freedom of speech is the only solution to change China from a very immature emerging country to a respected and responsible superpower. It will bring innovation and will teach people the power of learning with criticism and failures. 

Cutting Corners

This is the #1 sport in China: cutting corners. It is weird but the chinese have this societal trait that is very antagonistic to Confucian values. They don't have patience, don't care about the details and most of the time, think there is nothing wrong. For instance, a new and upscale shopping mall is erected in record time. A great ceremony is held to inaugurate it with great fanfarre. But... The next day you'll check it out and you'll see that it is still a work in progress! The mall lacks proper cleaning, most stores are not open yet, there are changes in the last minute in the project and so forth and so on. Pressed by market forces and this sensation that time is money, chinese actually spend a lot of the time doing rework. Nothing that cheap labor cannot fix but this lack of proper planning has the opposite effect in the long term. 

Also, because of this mindset, I see people being very superficial in their approach about problems of life and business. They always treat the symptoms and not the causes of the problems. 

I always say that in America people plan and then execute. In China they execute and then plan. It worked so far but it won't work for much longer. 

Hardware X Software

China is a country that loves hardware, metaphorically and practically speaking. They can build great infrastructure, machines, chips, soap, clothes, etc. But they don't spend much time making sure that everything works well or is maintained correctly. So you see some interesting stuff around here. 

For instance, most recently built skyscrapers are so badly maintained that they look very old. Fancy restaurants have very expensive but awful food. Service is a disaster. People buy Iphones and use only voice and SMS. Copycats look great in terms of hardware, but ridiculous in terms of software. People do business with companies that have fancy offices and thousands of unqualified employees; but they don't respect startups and lonely entrepreneurs. And the list goes on. 

This mindset, of course, is generated by the difficult history of the country in recent decades. But it needs to change if China wants to move one step further and stop being the factory of the world. 

Losing Face

This is maybe the cultural aspect that I despise most but it is sine qua non to understand people in China, and therefore, business relationships. For the ones who aren't aware of what this is, you can understand it in this way: NOT losing face is about being right even when you are wrong. It is a macho culture spin-off which states that a boss, a boyfriend, a government official, a father, etc, cannot be proven wrong in front of other people he commands. Because being wrong erodes respect and failure is seen as weakness. It also apply to women as well but for men it is much stronger. 

So, for instance, if you're in a very important meeting in the middle of a negotiation. Your boss say some BS and you disagree with him in public for the good of the company. He loses face and will be stereotyped as someone weak and dumb. He'll probably fire you for that, even if you're right. So what most people do: they shut up and don't show any disagreements with the boss. And get promoted. 

I learned how to respect this trait but I won't be able to agree with it for the next 20 years. Because it laud autocracy and demeans meritocracy.

Today I am going to talk about some values of modern China, a subject that can be as controversial as (it is) fascinating.  There is no way to stereotype a country as large, diverse and complex as China. What you'll read below is based on observation and anedoctal evidence only. 

(Lack of) Religion

Influenced by communism and secular emperors, China has become and still is an atheist state. Chinese constitution allows freedom of religion but in practice the space is heavily regulated and some religions are banned in the mainland (i.e.: Falun Gong). It is unbeknownst to me that the chinese government fear god. What they fear are organized movements that can destabilize the communist party rule and therefore the country. 

About 50 million Christians practice their faith in China, most of them in unofficial and secretive churches. China is one of the few countries in the world where the Vatican needs the bless of the communist party to appoint new Bishops or Priests, many of them affiliated with the CCP or sympathetic to the government. The country has also a huge Buddhist and Taoist population (100M+) and is home of approximately 65 million Muslims.

But statistics about religion are not China's forte and show how the communist party despise the subject. The last censuses didn't ask any questions about religion and reliable information is scarce. It would be interesting to see how many millions of chinese practice Maoism, a kind of quasi ideology in adoration of Mao Zedong, an atheist by principle but a godsend messias for the poor peasants in the rural areas. 

The information above, although relevant to understand the role of religion in China, is even more important to help explain what is the relation between religion and moral values. Actually, most americans and to some extent, westerners, think our values come from religion, which is a fallacy. Religion can provide a moral guidance but so do the family, the civil society and the legal system. 

China's faults in moral values have absolute no correlation with the fact it is mostly a non-religious country. Its recents historical developments and the corrosive influence of ideological communism are the ones to blame for the flaws in the society. 

Education

During the "Cultural Revolution" of 1966-76, Mao Zedong had closed down many traditional schools because they represented the bourgeois lifestyle. The big shift in China's education system started with the death of Mao and the reforms started by Deng Xiaoping in the late 70's. Schools resumed normal activities and universities started to admit students again in 1977.

In 1986, China enacted the Law of Compulsory Education, which required every child to complete 9 years of formal schooling. Also, in the same year, the finance and governance of schools was decentralized and focused in the provinces. In 1988 textbooks were revised and diversified. 

China claims 99.4% of enrollment in primary school level and 99% in Junior Secondary School. In 1998 China broke-away from its long-standing policy of restricting higher education to a small percentage of population. The result was spectacular: from 6 million students in 1999 to 29.8 million in 2009, the largest number in the world. Even though the ratio of enrollment in higher education is still low, about 24.2%, the sheer number of people receiving very good education will be more than enough to supply the country with the engineers, scientists and thinkers of the future. 

The numbers above only reinforce the Chinese care a big deal about Education. If you live in China for a while, you'll understand this is the #1 priority of families both poor and rich. In a society of 1.4 billion people with the stiffest competition in the world, failing in an exam or going to a so-so university can make a lot of difference for the rest of your life. 

Needless to say, education is deeply entrenched in the chinese psyche. Parents will do anything to give their kids a good education. And most kids won't live a normal life as we know in the west, full of free time and without much pressure. It can create geniuses as well as social psychopaths. The future will tell if the population can withstand the responsibilities of building a superpower. 

Capitalism

Older generations of Chinese (above 50's) have very traditional and clearly delineated moral values. They value the family, health, are kind, warm and altruistic. Lovely people in most cases but without a sense of western politeness, ethics and manners (remember, they didn't have any reference in their whole lives). These folks, most of them uneducated due to Mao's policies, have suffered a lot with communism and maybe their values were forged out of darwinian natural selection itself to cope with a very hard life. I admire them, they're always smiling and are optimists. 

The kids born in the 80's, mostly victims of the "One Child Policy", are a totally different breed. They were the only child in their families and started to live in a China that was changing faster than its people. Maybe because of this fast rise, the consumerism and the references in US culture (which China hates and loves at the same time), their value system is a mix of traditional and modern influences.

Materialism, success and money are worshipped and desired. Propelled by the "new" values, the haunted past of the country and the lack of established and trusted institutions, most chinese act without an appropriate code of conduct for business. The means justify the ends. But at the same time, they appreciate their traditions, are friendly, nice, have a profound national pride and care about their family.

I sense most of the chinese youth is lost in a sea of values. The pressure is so intense and the changes in the country so dramatic that they don't know who they are anymore or what they have become. Chinese are social chameleons in a constant metamorphosis. 

But in one thing everybody agrees: socialism with chinese characteristics (a.k.a. Capitalism) is here to stay. 

Family

China is a 100% family centric society. One of the reasons is the confucian influence which places emphasis on hierarchy and ancestry. The other is the lack of good social security system that historically made the children responsible for the parents until they die. It seems there is a direct correlation between family union and economic status. 

In China, still today, it is very common to have single kids living with their parents until they get married (late 20's, early 30's). And later to have the parents living with the married couple under the same roof. This is extremely powerful because the family is present in your life you wanting it or not. 

Family, in my opinion, is the only institution really strong and defined in China, above of the Communist Party itself. If you want to rule the country in peace, don't touch it. 

Contextualization

In a Wikileaks Cable of March 2007, Xi Jinping, the future president of China, summarized well the problems of comparing China with any other country:

"China is a big country, with a population exceeding one billion persons. When you multiply something by more than one billion, you get a big number; but if you divide something, like GDP, by more than one billion, you get a small result. Deng Xiaoping was right in obsrerving that China is still at a primary stage of development."

So when you hear bad things about China remember the magnitude of the country. Maybe, only 0.1% of the population agree with a certain point of view. But this 0.1% is 1.4M people, bigger than the population of San Francisco. That compounds the problem and overexpose our perceptions leading to superficial judgments. 

I like to compare China with Quantum Physics. As brilliantly written by physicist Richard Feynman a long time ago: "I think I can safely say that nobody understands Quantum Physics".

China is the same and it will be in that category for a long time.