The curious case of the Chinese expert
By Sven Agten
No country in the world has so many experts as China. That is to say, no country in the world has so many experts about China. Just looking into the world of consultancy, HR, marketing and any other sector there are all kind of so-called China experts. We are talking here about a foreign individual, who has been staying in China for a considerable amount of time, even might speak the language and has some experience in working in China.
The question is though why anyone would or could brand oneself as a China expert. I have been living in China for fourteen years, and I carefully avoid to be called a China expert. Not only is China changing way too fast to really understand what´s going on, it´s just too complicated anyway. As a matter a fact, the longer I stay here, the bigger the enigma seems to become.
Foreign graduates talk with recruiters at a job fair especially held for foreign students in Heilongjiang University in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, April 25, 2015.[Photo: Xinhua]
I myself am flabbergasted by the concept of the ´Chinese expert´. Let me explain: Once in a while I receive an invitation on Linkedin by someone who calls him/herself a ´Chinese expert´. Every few weeks I meet someone during a meeting which is introduced as a ´Chinese expert´. And it has happened that I even bumped in to a ´Chinese expert´ on the street. It seems they are everywhere! But why on earth does anyone need to call oneself a ´Chinese expert´. I have met non-Americans who have lived in the United States, non-Germans who lived in Germany, non-Mexicans who have lived in Mexico, and non-Thai who lived in Thailand. But interestingly enough none of them ever referred to themselves as American, German, Mexican or Thai ´experts´. One can argue that these countries are not as intriguing or complicated as China, and thus the term ´expert´ doesn´t apply. But I don´t think that argument is absolutely correct. The reason is because I met even a Hungarian who lived in North-Korea for several years. And even he would not refer to himself as a ´North-Korean expert´, which is actually astonishing given the well-known fact that North-Korea is one of the least accessible, and thus on of the most difficult to understand countries in the world. Even Chinese don´t seem to understand the complex workings of their northern neighbor, which is absolutely amazing given the fact that Chinese people can handle all kinds of complexity. So if there is one person that is entitled to carry the title of ´expert´, it surely is my Hungarian friend. But nope, even he would not consider him as a ´North-Korean expert´. So that leads us to the first observation: being a ´Chinese expert´ seems to be a truly unique concept, where the word ´expert´ can only be related to China, and not any other country in the world.
What then is it the underlying reason one calls oneself a ´Chinese expert´, and even more importantly, why? From my observation and dealings with so-called ´Chinese experts´, the title is apparently bestowed on oneself or others for having some kind of experience in China. If this is true, then any one of the 900,000 foreigners living in China should be ´Chinese experts´. But I think we can safely assume that not all of them are experts. So what it is then that makes someone into a real ´Chinese expert´? To try to answer this question, I conducted a search on the one channel where anyone can give oneself any professional title one wants: Linkedin. Indeed, as most users are aware now, Linkedin is by far one of the best professional platforms to find self-proclaimed experts, visionaries, enthusiasts and other related -mostly empty- titles. So I was quite sure I would be able to find relevant profiles related to a ´Chinese expert´.
Unsurprisingly most ´Chinese experts´ could be found in the field of the Chinese language. Linkedin is flooded with people who carry the title of ´Chinese language expert´. In second place there were numerous profiles with the title ´Chinese culture expert´ or ´expert in Chinese communication´. I also found ´Chinese travel experts´, ´Chinese art experts´ and the very generic Chinese business or ´cross-cultural experts´. So far so good. However the search turned out to be more interesting as we continued. It seems there are also ´Chinese astrology experts´, ´mobile app Chinese localization experts´, and ´experts on Chinese society´. Not bothered by any form experience in the field, someone called himself a ´high-end expert on China´. Another Linkedin-member profiled himself as a ´Chinese tooling expert´ which made me wonder whether there is anything special about Chinese tools. Someone called himself a ´expert in Chinese gynecology, gastro and oncology´, which seems to suggest that the Chinese body is unique among the human race. Then there was also an ´expert speaker on Chinese nutrition´, and of course several Chinese food experts. Some profiles seemingly failed to capitalize on their expertise. An ´expert lecturer for China and arts´ seemed to have made a career switch as she is currently working for a travel agency. And a ´Chinese language & communication expert´ is between jobs. I guess being an expert is sometimes hard.
Not only is there a ´TrustedPeer expert in interpreting China´ as if Chinese is a foreign language, but also several experts who offer assistance in understanding Chinese society. Some people are highly specialized on certain Chinese issues which makes me wonder whether their niche is not a bit too niche. I found a ´highly recommended expert in Chinese Neolithic Jades´, and someone with ´expert knowledge of the Chinese people and of the Chinese production of leather goods´. One company employs a ´Chief expert of after-sales department of Chinese brands´ while another person works as ´Load line expert for Chinese shipbuilding industry´. To conclude, I would like to mention the profile of an ´expert in Chinese traditional fitness´, which is truly unique. I thought going to the gym is a relatively new trend in China, but apparently China has a longstanding tradition in fitness too.
So somehow it seems that China has this amazing ability to attract ´experts´. And somehow these ´experts´ feel a genuine need to proclaim their expertise about China, which brings me to my last point. Although there might be real Chinese experts around, the more one mentions it, the more it seems unlikely. Linkedin is the living proof of it. As a matter of fact, I think it´s wise to avoid anyone who calls him or herself a ´Chinese expert´. The very fact that one defines him/herself as a ´Chinese expert´ is living proof that he or she is not. It´s also my experience that those who understand something about China often don´t mention it. They probably don´t need to either. So if you really want China-expertise, come to China, live it, breathe it, feel it. The real thing beats everything else.
(Sven Agten is the CEO Asia Pacific for a German multinational based in China.)