opportunity-china.co.uk
December 2014 5
“
I thought I wasgoing
tobecome fluent in
Chineseand return
toSouthAfrica
inone year.That
didn’t happen.
Many assume that economicmigrants in China
areworkers who flock from the countryside to
the cities in search of work. We forget that the
growing number of foreigners setting up homes and
businesses in China are also part of the economic
migrant landscape.
PublicRelations inChina
D
uring his 12 years inBeijing, SouthAfricanMichael
Jones has established a successful public relations
company, but many wonder whether China can be
a permanent home for entrepreneurs. Jones arrived
inBeijing in 2001with only short-term plans.
Twelve years on, andwith a successful business, his situation couldn’t be any
more different fromwhat he had planned.
“I arrived inChina in 2001 as a student on a scholarship thanks to the
Chinese government. They gaveme a scholarship to come out here. I thought
I was going to become fluent inChinese and return to SouthAfrica in one year.
That didn’t happen.”
What did happenwas a series of events that would lead Jones to set up his
own public relations company. Having fallen into a jobwith one of theworld’s top
agencies, Weber Shandwick, Jones possessed the experience needed to branch
out on his own. He started his own company that focused on promoting African
brands andAfrica’s image inChina.
“We’ve got an office here calledAfrica Create,” Jones explains. “Africa Create
does promotionwork for African lifestyles and tourism brands. Effectively we can
helpAfrican brands get promoted properly here inChina.”
The reality of running a business inBeijing by nomeans lives up to the glitzy
reputation that PR has, although there are exceptions such as the recent visit
toBeijing by one of SouthAfrica’smost famous sportsmen. “I’m sure you’ve
heard of Gary Player. He’s themost famous SouthAfrican golfer of all time. And
the great news is that Gary Player is going to be inBeijing next week andwe’ve
arranged an interviewwith him,” Jones excitedly proclaimedprior to Player’s visit.
Player’s visit was a big event for Africa Create, as the retired sportsman
travelled to China to promote his design of golf courses. Jones’ PR agency
arranged a series of interviews with a number of lifestylemagazines, but a
surprising amount of work also goes into the organization of an event like this
and as Jones explains, it’s not always exciting.
“PR always looks very glamorous, by these kinds of events, hanging out with
celebrities and stuff like that. But there’s normally a goodmonth of preparation,
of sitting behind a keyboard, knocking out PowerPoint and Excel spreadsheets.
There’s a lot of hardwork in the background.” ForMichael, though, the cost of
living inChina isn’t just in the long hours and hardwork that comes with running
a business. His yearly visa applicationsmean he can never plan too far into the
future, though he knows he is not alone in this respect.
Scan towatch
the videos
During12 years inBeijing, SouthAfrican
Jones starteda successful PRcompany.
