26 CultureShock! China
The story of his remarkable opening of China to foreign
investment and establishment of a ‘socialist market economy’
is well known, and perhaps best encapsulated in his classic
quote: ‘It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it
catches mice.’ This acknowledgment of the power for positive
change that the accumulation of wealth can provide is a
mantra that still guides many of the white-collar professionals
working the halls of any one of the international businesses
in China today.
From a legacy of cyclical struggle, unification, collapse and
regular periods of complete chaos, China has emerged as
one unified country, with 1 billion people living collectively
on 9,326,410 sq km of land, contributing daily to a GDP that
rivals that of the world’s most developed nations.
Adaptation and change, advancing on the foundations
created by the previous dynasty, ruler or philosopher, has
been built into the fabric of the country’s political and social
system for centuries, providing an intensity of purpose, an
ability to look beyond roadblocks, and a determination to
advance that is unfailing.
Despite the many pressures dealt by a large population,
a growing gap between urban and rural areas, and between