I was in Guizhou upon the invitation of the Bank of China (BoC) to witness a successful engagement of a B2B matching participated in by more than 2,000 companies from the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. The BoC, the third largest bank in the world, embarked on a Cross Border trade and investment program in support of its country’s Silk Road initiatives.
The networking process is re-engineered through the six steps of interconnection with the SMEs worldwide, overturning the traditional mode of inviting investments and adapting an innovative mode of a “one-on-one” or “1 to more” negotiation or connection; establishment of a database for enterprises; customer matching; remote online matching and teleconferencing; on-site inspection and all-around banking services. We have brought this process to the Philippines and it remains a work in progress.
This B2B process, to me, is a mirror image of an old Chinese practice of arranged marriages that dates back 402-221 BC. In ancient times, it was important to follow the basic principle of the “6 Etiquettes” essential to a marriage. These are: Proposing Marriage; Matching Birthdates of Bride and Groom; Submitting Betrothal Gifts; Presenting Wedding Gifts; Selecting a Wedding Date and Holding the Wedding Ceremony.
This ancient Chinese custom reflects a deep yet pragmatic world view of a desire to maintain social order, cultivate stable relationships within the community and share time, treasure and tradition with fellow citizens.
As it was before and so it is today, we all desire peace and order wherever we are. This brings about goodwill and amity among nations and peoples, which then fosters the free flow of ideas, services and goods among the citizens and economies of the world.
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Today, the tradesmen from modern China, like their ancestors that journeyed common waters to exchange ideas and incomes, continue with this tradition through the Belt and Road Initiative. How does the Philippines benefit from all these? The answers will be presented in October at the Philippine Business Conference.
