 All right, good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our forum debate on demystifying Asia's entrepreneurs. Now, if there are two topics that are both sexier and more filled with preconceptions than Asia's growth story and entrepreneurship, I don't know what they are. But when we put them together and talk about entrepreneurs in Asia, Asian entrepreneurs, I think the area is ripe for a debate about what is the meaning. And so today, we're going to take up in proper debate style the question, are Asia's entrepreneurs different from Western entrepreneurs? Our format and our distinguished speakers, I'll introduce them in turn as they come to present their arguments. But just to give you an overview about how the session will work, after an initial introduction, we're going to have each side alternating, giving you three minute vigorous and robust defense of their position, of the motion. First, the pro side, arguing the case for why Asia's entrepreneurs are different. The con side, and we'll alternate the two sides. I might allow a bit of a rebuttal from each of them. But then comes the most important part, you. I will turn to you for your tough questions, for your debaters on stage. So keep in mind we're doing this in the spirit of intellectual inquiry, in the spirit of getting at something deeper. And also, this is not a panel, so we really want to probe the limits of each argument. So do it with a slight spirit of fun as well. That's what we ask you. So no long-winded speeches. I'll certainly cut off my panelists if they go over time. And I ask you, please, in the spirit of keeping to time and keeping it interesting, no speeches from the floor either. So I promise you, no speeches from myself either. If we all agree, we can have an even better session than any that we've attended before at this summer Davos. Can we agree on that? There we go. I'd like to set the bar very high. Great. Now, before we start, we're going to take a vote to see where the pulse of the room is. I think you all have voting devices that you can find. These are fairly standard. You should be familiar with them. And we'll take a vote now. And at the end of the debate, we'll take another vote to see how many minds have been changed. Can we have the screen up, please? Now, I ask you one thing. Before you vote, please don't abstain. Let's have a point of view. So prima facie, even if you're not 100% there, the proposition in front of this house. Asia's entrepreneurs are different from Western entrepreneurs. Go ahead and pick agree or disagree. Now, raise your hand if anyone doesn't have one of these voting units or needs help with using it. And of course, our people on stage know voting on behalf of yourself here. Come on. All right. OK, I think everyone has got a unit. And all right. OK, well, we can see a very strong view from the audience. So you have your work cut out for you on stage here. We can see you have one side as a tough road to hold. But equally, moving the needle when you've already got four-fifths of the votes can be difficult. So we don't know who this helps, but it's very helpful to know. We'll do this again at the end of the session as well. OK, I declare the voting period to be closed. Very good. Now, without further ado, and as I say, we're going to be disciplined on time here, I'm going to invite up our first speaker in favor of the motion, again to remind, Asia's entrepreneurs are different from Western entrepreneurs. The first speaker arguing in favor of the motion, Christina Lampe Honorut, founder and international chairman of Boston Power. Please give her a warm welcome. 4,000 years of different culture and heritage affects how we approach solutions and problems. Having operated in both China and the United States, starting a company in 2005, my experience has been a marvelous journey. And what I've observed is an incredible inspiration on both sides in both countries. But there are main differences. And sometimes, I think it's really, really helpful to acknowledge those differences, seeking similarities, but trying to understand a little bit the heritage where we came from to understand also how you make win-win propositions or collaborative propositions. And I'll try to share a few of my observations. And I hope that can be helpful for you as you go on to your endeavors and your journeys, as well as trying to help, basically, form those partnerships. In the United States today, you have an unbelievable admiration for entrepreneurship. And in fact, in the political debates in the United States today, you'll hear both sides argue that is the root and the basic foundation for America's job creation and the future economies. You hear huge awards and acknowledgment of entrepreneurs that dare thinking big, solving big problems. Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year program was initiated 25 years ago that recognizes that things can be done in a different way originated there. It's very much in the celebration. When I started a company in the United States, my neighbors and friends and colleagues came and served my family dinner. My colleagues at the universities helped and offset, basically, some of my costs by allowing me to be in their laboratories. What I see in China, and as I actually was in China when I was a company of one, was a slightly different reality. My Chinese friends would be very pragmatic and help me get things done. Once I had a product, it was very easy to sell the idea. My Chinese friends helped me deploy with drivers and set up collaborations. My American traditions helped me foster win-win proposition as the basic foundation. The main difference, as I see it, is America has been built on the dream of entrepreneurship for a long time. China is right now very motivated on gaining momentum in a global economy. So the cultural differences are helpful to recognize and very important to know. And I think we're looking forward to a future with more humility, but it stems from that knowledge. I'm, in fact, inspired by having operated in both the Western and the Eastern Hemisphereal business and having had an opportunity to grow a global company to solve global problems. Time's up. Thank you. Thank you. Please give a round of applause for the opening intervention. Now let's have our first speaker against the motion, Oki Matsumoto, chairman and CEO of Monax Group. Thank you, Vijay. I started my career. I got born and raised in Japan, and I've never been out of the country till the age of 20. And I joined Salomon Brothers and Goldman Sachs, the US company. And I became a partner at Goldman Sachs at the age of 30. At that time, it was the youngest ever in history. And I did see no difference in Asian and Western as regard to how to perform well in the investment banking industry. After that, I founded my company. I became an entrepreneur. And I didn't see any difference in entrepreneurship between Asia and the West. And I tell you why. We're not talking about the difference of culture. If you are asked if the Asian culture and the West culture is different or not, of course, it's different. But I think the definition of entrepreneurship is more like how to change from what the society is or company is today, how to make a difference. So of course, the foundation, the position of the Asia and the West is different so that how to play the entrepreneurs are different. But how they try to make a change is the same. If you think about the physicist or cosmic scientist in Asia or West, they are the same. Of course, a number of physicists or number of the entrepreneurs in Asia and the West may be very different. But what they do is totally the same. So I think the entrepreneurs in Asia and the West is the same. And the second, what entrepreneurs need is greed. If it's a good greed, bad greed, or social greed, or money greed, or whatever greed, they need to have a greed. And Asia and the West, entrepreneurs do have greed. It's the same. Entrepreneurs need to have a passion. They need to be crazy. And in Asia or West, wherever they are, they need to be crazy. They need to have passion. It's the same. One minute left. They need to have a vision. They need to have a power to dream, how to do. It's the same. And also lastly, statistically speaking, entrepreneurs, most of entrepreneurs to be do fail. You know, I think that the percentage of the failure of entrepreneurs to be is exactly the same in Asia and the West. So I think in any aspects, entrepreneurs in Asia and the West are completely the same. So that is my point. Very good. Thank you. And a special compliment from the chair for being within his time, underneath the limit. So we've already heard the outlines of the debate. We heard from Christina about Win-Win. We hear from Oki Matsumoto about greed and why greed is good, or certainly the right kind of greed. So you can already see there's a difference in being outlined here by the two sides, which is exciting. Let's have our next debater arguing in favor of the motion. Again, just to be crystal clear, Asian entrepreneurs are different from Western entrepreneurs. That's the proposition in front of this house. Let's have Feng Jun, chairman and CEO of Igo Digital Technology, approach the podium. So three minutes. Thank you. So although here, many friends can speak English, can understand English, but most of Chinese and most of the entrepreneurs from China, they cannot speak English. So to show my opinion, so later, now I use Chinese to speak. Please use your, yeah. So first, on behalf of the Chinese entrepreneurs, I would like to speak in Chinese. Then that's a proof of the difference between Eastern and Western entrepreneurs. And due to various factors, such as history and religion and various others, we have been traveling on different tracks. Talking about the need for respect, we've got to learn and understand the differences instead of forcing the others to adopt what you are like. And any attempt to force others into the adoption of your practices is not advocated. And the Davos as a platform is one for understanding each other's differences and to identifying the values of innovation. And for innovation, sometimes we have one plus one equals four. But if these two ones are not well-aligned, one plus one is minus one, or one plus one is just an X. It's nothing. But sometimes when the two ones are not aligned with each other, one plus one is only one. Is there any meaning to plus the two ones together if it equals one? So when we keep our differences while respecting each other and complimenting each other with our respective strengths, then one plus one equals 11, with diversity and with innovation. So I think Chinese innovation and language and English innovation has the word innovation. But in Chinese innovation has two characters, which means to create new value. So the Chinese are always giving full play to such differences while seeking commonalities. And maybe for Chinese entrepreneurs to grow their business, there might have been a different set of rules. And there's a difference between Chinese chess and Western chess. For Western chess, it focuses on teamwork and for the Japanese hockey. It's different from the Western chess and the Chinese chess. So even within Asia, the Chinese chess is different from the Japanese hockey. How can we be the same with the Western chess and Western entrepreneurs? So let's work together, although we are different. Thank you very much. Very good. Thank you very much. This is our second argument in favor of the motion. We heard about language differences, about cultural differences, and we got a good math lesson as well. And so let's see how the opposite side responds. Our final debater today will be John Quelch, Dean of the China-Europe International Business School, Siebs. Give him a warm welcome. Good morning. Thanks very much, Vijay. Well, where I was educated, 1 plus 1 equals 2. And I think that's true whether or not you're in Asia or in Europe or the United States. The fact of the matter is that, look, what is an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is someone who risks their own capital, who risks their own capital either in money or in terms of their time. And that is the same wherever you are in the world. Of course, there are cultural differences. Of course, there are differences in regulation. There are differences between British entrepreneurs and French entrepreneurs. There are differences between entrepreneurs in London and entrepreneurs in Glasgow. All of this makes entrepreneurship and doing business around the world more fascinating. But it does not detract from the fundamental point that entrepreneurship is the same. It is risking your own capital and your own time. Now, as my eloquent partner said earlier, there are three factors involved in being an outstanding entrepreneur. One is desire, vision, passion. The second is differentiation. You have to be able to put forward a differentiated proposition that adds value to your target consumers. And thirdly, you need discipline. You need financial discipline. You need not to be doing the same thing to all people trying to serve everybody. You have to have discipline to focus your efforts. These are the same characteristics for success. Desire, differentiation, and discipline, the same wherever you are. Whether you're in France or Finland or China or India, it's the same. Now, of course, look, the enabling environment. The enabling environment is a big factor in shaping the way in which entrepreneurship is carried out. And yes, in some environments, it's tougher to become an entrepreneur. One minute left. The fear of failure may be a little bit higher in some cultures than in other cultures. But I'd like to just reinforce my side of the argument by quoting from Mohamed Yunus, who's well known to all of us as the father of microfinance, who said, we are all entrepreneurs. It's just that too few of us get the chance to be one. Now, in some countries, it's gonna be a little bit tougher to become a successful entrepreneur than in others where the capital environment is more well developed. But fundamentally, entrepreneurs are driven in the same way whichever country you happen to be in. So I strongly urge you to ignore the triviality of the proposition before you and vote for the truth against the motion, which is entrepreneurship is the same everywhere. Thank you. Very good. John Quilch, an aggressive intervention, I think we can agree, arguing that entrepreneurs are the same even if cultures are different. So you can see the two sides have taken very different tax. However, the best critic of the other side is surely the side arguing one side of the other motion. I'm gonna give two minutes for rebuttal to each team and they can use it any way they want. They can divide it up, they can stay silent or they can come out fighting. I'll start with the pro team as is custom. Your two minutes starts now, go. From here? Go. Yeah, from here, thank you. Okay, thank you. So appreciate the point of what is theoretically an entrepreneur. That's, I think we are in full agreement, but I think what in reality makes you an entrepreneur is how you succeed in your environment. And I will make the point that Matsumoto-san is making on the no difference with Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs is a global company, very well established company, oops, sorry. And I think that's not really a relevant argument for how entrepreneurship works. I also think that how we make a change or how we see a difference, the reality in differences come very much from framework. And this is where I'm a trying scientist and technologist engineer, very different in the economic sciences where you basically frame the proposition. Atoms don't care they have a law of physics or chemistry. Economics is very different and entrepreneurship is very, very critical how you frame your proposition. And what you know is true and how you embrace that. So I think the cultural differences around hierarchy, how we lead in the Western world and Eastern world are very, very different. And that actually influences the companies very greatly in my opinion. The other good thing that is very different is how you are a good citizen. So that means what values do you put into your value statements and your corporations, for example, in the United States and Europe, it's very important to give back to communities in China, for example, it's very important to engage with universities in a different way. So those very much affect how you run. So our target is to understand each other, to know the difference between us. But we should respect the difference. Otherwise it's war. Yeah, so why before Japan and the German, they want all the same and the so war is terrible. So Olympic. On that philosophical point of view. So Olympic and the Davos, this is peaceful because this understand each other. Sorry, your time is up and you can blame your partner for taking up most of the time. Two minutes to the side opposite to come back with some rebuttals. Well, first of all, I would say, look at what Steven Pinker of Harvard University says. A world-class psychologist whose points out that we are all wired the same way to the point of 95% of who we are, what we stand for, what our aspirations are. Yes, there is the last 5% where there are differences from one culture to another. But 95% we are wired the same way. That's why we are able to have a globally integrated economy because there is such similarity across national boundaries. And I would also question this point about Asian entrepreneurs. You know, does anyone here believe that Japanese entrepreneurs and Chinese entrepreneurs are any more similar than American and English entrepreneurs? In other words, within Asia there's no homogeneity either. So the motion falls on the concept that there is this thing called an Asian entrepreneur. It's just something that the World Economic Forum made up to get you here at nine o'clock on the first day. And pretty successful, I would say, given how full the room is. We have one more minute for the rebuttal. Well, the environments and entrepreneurs are quite different because, as I said, environments of culture or framework, I think what entrepreneurs do is how to change all those pre-conditions. So I think the argument for you to say that environments or framework or the way to do is different is nothing to do with what is the entrepreneurship. Because entrepreneurship is, by definition, to change or to be different from those traditional way of doing businesses or whatever in that region. So, by definition, it's the same. Very good. Within time, so you've seen their initial salvos and their rebuttals. I want to put the question on the basis of the chairman's prerogative, as it's called sometimes, and to a couple of these points that have been made. But I want you in the audience to start getting your questions ready. As I mentioned, your participation is vital to the success of this, and we want to keep these guys honest, don't we? They seem to be having too much fun, so let's make sure to grill them on their points. But I thought I was struck by something that we heard from John Quelch. John, you were talking about an entrepreneur risks his own capital, if I seem to recall correctly. And that doesn't differ around the world. If you're in an economy, for example, as many Asian economies are, with a very large role for the state, of China being a great example. We're here convened in China, where access to capital, where how capital is directed, can be very, very different. Where risk capital, for example, in the culture of that early stage or venture or of PE financing is not well developed as it is in Western markets. Doesn't that actually change in practical terms what an entrepreneur does and what it means to be an entrepreneur? Well, I think it makes it more challenging for sure, but don't forget 40, 50 years ago, there was not the same ecosystem of entrepreneurial finance available in the United States at that time. And Americans who wanted to go and set up their own organizations had to rely on family money. They had to scramble around as well. And so I think that the concept of where you get the money from, that can be more challenging in one place than another, but it doesn't make any difference to the fundamental point that you have to put your own reputation, your own money, and your own time on the line, even if you're raising money from your family or from a loan shark in Southern China rather than from a legitimate bank. This by side opposite, want to jump in on that in any way? I'll give you the opportunity to do so if you like. Yeah, so I think that is of course true. We all risk both our reputation, our knowledge and our capital. But I think, again, to me, this is very theoretical. So the definitions I think we don't disagree on, but the reality of making a company happen in China or United States, we just make the two extremes of those very different. In China, you have to recognize that the government is very involved, not only in the capital structure, but also in how the markets develop. You actually have to be very connected in the government to succeed and recognize that most of the initiatives are somewhat state connected, also both locally and federally. Don't you think, Christina, don't you think if we're in the United States, what's the biggest complaint that small business has? What's the biggest obstacle to entrepreneurship in the United States? It's government regulation, government red tape, government bureaucracy. So I don't see it quite like that actually, because in America, you still have a very robust legal system. You have access to capital markets anywhere from crowd financing to venture capital to angels, to private equity, and it's all available to you. And frankly, you have the opportunity to dream up any idea and you don't need permission from the government at all. Yeah, but the motion is not that the enabling environment is different in Asia versus the US, but that entrepreneurs are different. Let me turn the tables and put a question to this side. Christina, I think you made the point about win-win in collaboration. I'm a little troubled because oftentimes things are posited as win-wins or even better, win-win-win. When in reality, there are often trade-offs in real life. So can you help us understand this point a little better and so that I can make sure to come back at you with a better question? Because at the moment I'm a little confused. Sure. So I think it's critical for entrepreneurs and I actually think this is part of what is global. So you have to establish in most economies an opportunity for you as a young entrepreneur or a young growing company with a big idea, an opportunity for others to support you in that mission and also have a win opportunity. And I think the difference here, again, that Asian entrepreneurs and operating in Asia, you have to be very, very careful what the central policy is, which in my case was a great help, which was actually not possible in the United States to do the same type of missions. We deployed green cars, but the opportunity... Was it a great help because you had the right relationships, for example, something that's sometimes emphasized in Asia? I did not have them, but I got clearly involved. So I accredited my products very early on, which I think actually benefits the consumers in the end because it's easier to pick out green products than not green products. But that's a government initiative that really works, but you have to pay attention to it and you have to recognize that as something where you grow the company and you establish the leadership and the culture in the company. So entrepreneurship per definition, in my opinion, is a people business. How do you run the people and how do you set priorities in that? Any, come back from your side? It's no different wherever you are in the world. You are an entrepreneur, you are sensitive to the local environment, you pick up on what needs to be done in any environment you're operating in and you go for it. And you're risking your capital, your reputation and your time, and that's fundamentally the same and that's why entrepreneurs all over the world have this common bond. That's why Tony Fernandez of Air Asia knows Richard Branson of Virgin so well and there's very, very great similarity between the two of them. Great, so again, no closer together than when we started, maybe further apart in our debate. I'm gonna turn to the audience in just a moment. So I want you to get your questions together. We do have microphone runners, but first I wanna welcome our expert on the topic, Lin Yu, who is going to offer a challenging question to one of the speakers of his choosing, please. Okay, I just got a question. How many foreign entrepreneurs do you know? I mean for maybe- Lin Yu, just to be clear, it looks like you're addressing the side in favor of the motion, am I right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, go ahead. And how many times do you communicate it with them and do you have to do some business with, I mean, foreign entrepreneurs and how do you feel it? Yeah, that's fine. Yeah, so five years, I meet many entrepreneur in Olympic and in doubles. Yeah, so the principle of the business is the same, but the culture, the environment is different. Yeah, so we must respect, we cannot change the point. Yeah, so now the big problem is everyone use their old way to think and think other people should understand them, should follow them. Sorry, it's different. Just now I say that the Chinese people we play Chinese chess. Yeah, so the canon, you cannot understand what's canon. Inside, because in West chess, you never have this point, canon, it can jump. A little like the middle, the Chinese medicine. You know, there is a film named the Gua Sha. Yeah, so many Chinese people have seen that film. I hope that the Western people, the friends, watch that film because that's the Chinese medicine to cure the cold. The grandfather cure the grandson's cold. But in United States, they think this is abuse of children. Yeah, so to catch the children's father and put in jail and not let them to take together. So this is not understanding each other. They always think other people should follow their opinion. Yeah, so it's terrible. So the Davos is a great place because we can understand each other. And here with David, this is the difference. Yeah, so I agree with you. The principle, we should be similar and similar, but we must respect the difference. Great. Thank you. So Feng Jun, what I understand is you're sticking with your guns on the argument that culture, social norms, which are so different, makes entrepreneurship different. So we're hearing yet more of that. Let's turn to the audience and we'll come back to our expert Lin Yu as we go forward, as he has questions coming up. Just let me know. Okay, let's have a show of hands. Who has a good question to put to our model? Do I see a hand back there? Okay, I see a gentleman back here. It was the first hand I saw. We'll come to the lady next. Just a couple of ground rules, sir. Please identify yourself. And a short and sharp question. Nobody likes a gas bag. Thank you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. My name is Herbert Chen. I come from Tsinghua University Science Park. What a science park doing is we're calculating your question, sir, please. Okay. That's a question. The culture is different, but now we are living in the same village. So if we say, why in the Silicon Valley, there are so many high tech companies can grow up so quickly. This is one by one, one by one, but not happen in China. So if you think we have to follow, if the company in some country will have to follow that country's culture, in that case, when China have a thousand of high tech companies can become IBM, so Silicon... Okay, that's a good question. So you raised the prospect of Silicon Valley and the well understood successes. I see one of my debaters wants to take the question. Okay, so if Asian guy go to Silicon Valley and became an entrepreneur, what does it mean? Is that classified as Asian entrepreneurs or American entrepreneurs, right? So we're just talking about cluster. It's not the difference between Asian entrepreneurship and US entrepreneurship. US just have a better cluster as of today, which China or Japan who may have samely good cluster in the future. I don't think it doesn't really talk about the difference between entrepreneurship, between Asian people and the Western people. Do I want to hear, will I hear a rebuttal here? Or do I need to make it myself because I have one? That's an excellent point, but I think the fundamental reality again is you will basically react to the reality with a framework that you can see. So I think without recognition of your roots or where you are. So many of us have had the privilege of living in many countries and find ourselves as global citizens in the end. But I think the way we lead and the way we execute still comes back to the fundamental traditions that we were brought up with. And hopefully as we travel our life journeys, we gain respect. So we become easier to collaborate with. I'm gonna come at you. You're much too diplomatic I think. I'm gonna be rude if I may, taking again the chairman's prerogative. You said that it has to do with clusters. Now what if somebody who was born in Japan or India or somewhere else, Asian, goes and makes a big success in Silicon Valley? And we do know that's a quite common occurrence. What does this say about Asian? And you said it's up to the cluster, right? What's sometimes been called the ecosystem. But then you posited that this can happen in future in Japan. But Japan has had a long run of development. It has not happened. Can you explain that? Especially as a veteran of both cultures. Can you tell me? That you're talking about the culture. Entrepreneurship is more like a characteristic of a one human being. Entrepreneurship is not the characteristics of the culture or society. So you don't believe that some cultures are more entrepreneurial than others? Some culture may be more friendly to entrepreneurs like the West and Asia, particularly Japan, are very not so friendly to entrepreneurs. But it doesn't talk about the difference between entrepreneurship of Japanese and Americans, or Spanish, or Indians, or whatever. So I think one way of thinking about this is that the entrepreneurship trait, if you like, the propensity to be an entrepreneur is evenly distributed across humanity. But the environment, whether it be culture, regulation, history, institutions, that can affect the degree to which it's possible for the entrepreneurial trait to be activated, to be realized. So we're really getting a philosophical difference on nature versus nurture, if I can get to that. There's a lady who's been very patient. Again, please identify yourself in a short question. Okay, my name is Yihan Hu, and I have a question to Matsumoto. So Matsumoto-san said the basic fundamental characteristic for entrepreneurs is greed, good greed or bad greed, and the passion to change, to change the precondition. But in reality, many foreign companies, when they enter the Japan market or when they enter the Chinese market, they try to conform themselves to the political and the business environment here. I know- You're gonna bring it home to a question. So, how would you explain this when they hire coordinators to try to coordinate the head at the Japan office and the Chinese office? If everything is the same, then why the coordinator is needed? Thank you. Okay, thank you for your question. Those companies you mentioned are not the entrepreneurial. They are just the traditional, boring companies. All right, so you reject the premise of the question. All right, excellent debating tactic. Let's go back to the audience for another round. I see a lady here near the front. Let's give you the microphone, madam. I'm sorry, let's wait for the microphone to come on. Sorry, not yet. Can we get a microphone that works, please? Just because we're recording this. I want to ask YU, the Chinese enterprise, the Chinese business environment here and the Chinese businesses in China are similar to that of other Chinese companies? It is the same as other Chinese companies. It is more influenced by the central government's policy. I think the market situation is quite different, but maybe it's not the focus of today's topic. Okay, all right, very deftly played, Mr. Expert Commentator. By the way, since you have the microphone, would you like to ask another question of our panel if something is burning? Preferably on our side arguing against the motion. Yeah, of course. Do you think the sprint and the sense of entrepreneurs are the same, I mean, either Asia or Western entrepreneurs? So maybe you can explain it. I mean, the sprint of entrepreneurs. Yeah, yeah. I think the question is the spirit of entrepreneurship is similar. In my opinion, yes. I mean, I have been living in China. I find many, many of our outstanding CEIBS alumni setting up wonderful companies doing extremely terrific entrepreneurial success in China. I see passion. I see differentiation. I see discipline in what they do. So I see China as having an entrepreneurship potential that is absolutely amazing. And the full fruit of it is going to be realized in the next 10 years. Because as you know, the five-year plan calls for a shift towards more of an innovation-led economy from an imitation factory to the world economy. And Chinese entrepreneurship is going to respond dramatically to the call for more innovation. I'm hugely optimistic about innovation and entrepreneurship in China. Anything from the side opposite? You're welcome to make a comment, relevant to his. Yeah. One thing. I think why we admit the difference? Because we want to learn from each other. Because when we have the difference, we can learn. So for Chinese companies, our entrepreneurs, our biggest program is our teamwork. You know, in this Olympic, Chinese athletes, we get 38 gold medals. But all is individual. No teamwork. So for basketball, for volleyball, for football, China, nothing. Why? The culture is different. Because you play international chess. So all the rule is for teamwork. So it's very easy for you to, in your country, teamwork. But in China, the canon is for innovation. But the others, we stop the innovation. We stop the teamwork. It's very difficult. So if you don't know the difference, like the football coach from Germany, teach China team, never win. Why? Because the culture is different. He never know the culture here. So he think they are the same. So never work. So if understand each other more, you will find everything is so easy to understand. Thank you. So yet more sporting and game analogies used to be said in Britain, the wars of Britain are one on the playing fields of Eaton. The entrepreneurship battles of China are one on the football pitches of the Olympics, perhaps. I think there was a microphone already in the back, am I right? Can the person stand up please, who has the microphone? Okay, again, please identify yourself. Okay, yes, sir. Oh, sorry, it's in the front. Again, share the question. Good morning. I'm from the Occult Center of China Mobile. I fully agree with Chairman Feng Jun. I think for every entrepreneur, his or her cultural setting and environment do play a pivotal role in his or her success. My question is like this. When a business led by an entrepreneur globalizes this itself, it has to observe a global set of rules and norms. So in such circumstances, Chairman Feng Jun, when an entrepreneur tries to globalize his company, then at this stage, we should look at more homogeneity or commonalities between Chinese and Western entrepreneurs. Oh, yes, I do agree with the premise of your question. Recognizing differences is the first step for improvement. How many of you can play the Chinese mahjong? Please raise your hands. How many of you can play the Chinese game of mahjong? Please raise your hand. Who can place a bridge? Please raise your hands. Bridge. Bridge car. Yeah, who can play bridge car? Yeah, all chess, international chess. So all the Western friends, yeah, they know how to play. So that's the key. In order for the Chinese to be entrepreneurs, we need to settle down our internal circumstances first and foremost. The Chinese mahjong, sometimes beaten us throughout our thousands of years of history, the Chinese emperors were afraid of their people coming together. Therefore, they used mahjong to alienate the Chinese people in pitching them against each other in the mahjong game. But in international chess, it is all teamwork, like the two what we call elephants in Chinese chess. In Chinese, the two elephants are posing each other while in international chess, the two in black and white are playing with each other. In 1979, Deng Xiaopei introduced bridge cuts into China. Then China unleashed sea changes and tremendous reforms. So with those analogies, I'd like to say that for whatever position we take in this debate, I still respect the perspectives of the opposing camp. Let's give them one applause. Well, not yet. Don't be respectful yet. But we have yet to take the vote. However, Mr. Feng, you can offer to teach the Westerners mahjong later this evening over some cocktails. Let's hear everybody. It's now time to stumble into the mutual respect mode as we're entering the last 10 minutes of the debate. So let me reciprocate that from the point of view of cultural differences, there is obviously a need for that mutual respect. Any entrepreneur doing business outside his or her own country knows that to succeed, they have to make those adaptations. If they don't make the adaptation, they fall flat on their face and fail. So they learn from their failure. But let's not magnify over magnify the differences. Let's focus on what's similar across national boundaries, what's similar across countries. The entrepreneurial spirit, the fundamentals of what it makes to be an entrepreneur and to be successful as an entrepreneur, these are the same across nations, across cultures, within nations. And I have absolutely tremendous respect for understanding differences. That is what makes the world a wonderful place. But if you're going to be an entrepreneur, you've got to know how to count from one to 10. You've got to know how to calculate your cash flow and your working capital. And you've got to know how to relate to people who you have to do business with in order to bring home the profit. That's the same wherever you are. All right. Okimatsuwara, a 30-second intervention. You're dying to say something. OK. Entrepreneurs need to be innovative. So if you think about the New Style French Cuisine Chef, if you're Chinese, if you're Japanese, French, whoever you are for the New Style French Cuisine Chef, anyone can be that, right? It doesn't, your history background doesn't matter. So entrepreneur is such that anyone can be an entrepreneur, both in Asia and the West. We will pick that up in a little bit. But let's go one last question, probably a short question, and a short answer is because we're almost out of time. Hi, it's David Michael from BCG in Beijing. And I got a pushback on my good friend John Quelch. Just a minute ago, you highlighted that because of the new five-year plan in China, entrepreneurs would respond to the call of the government. But isn't that exactly the problem? Shouldn't entrepreneurs be responding to the marketplace and to the needs of consumers and not waiting for the call of the government? You're absolutely right, David. And of course there are tens of thousands of entrepreneurs in China in the private sector who are already doing that, many of them are own alumni. But I think that directionally speaking, it does help if there is an overarching vision of where the nation needs to move. And I think that that call is going to be resulting in much greater levels of intrapreneurship within state-owned enterprises as much as it is going to motivate more entrepreneurial activity and hopefully better availability of capital for the private sector as well. I think one other thing that we're seeing develop in China is role models of entrepreneurs, Jack Ma, et cetera, just in the same way as we've seen that in Western countries. I think the ecosystem is gonna develop very fast for entrepreneurship in China. And I say, again, I'm very optimistic about world-class entrepreneurs coming out of China. But they won't be world-class if they're focusing all the time on what makes people different instead of what makes people similar across national boundaries. And consumers around the world have fundamental needs, similar aspirations, and companies that wanna be global should look for the similarities across boundaries, not focus on the differences. All right, so yet again, stark lines of contrast. Now we're getting very close to the end. I wanna do something a little bit impromptu. I'm gonna turn to each side and give them 30 seconds to sum up just one key point they wanna get across. They can figure out which of their speakers is going to do this. But in the meanwhile, I'm gonna look at the audience and say, raise your hands if what you've heard has made you change your vote when we take the vote in a few minutes. Has anyone been influenced to change their vote? I see two hands in the front row. Don't be shy, come on. Or are you all so decided? Okay, we see a number of hands. Okay, this is very good. Let's get the microphones ready. I wanna hear from one person who changed from being in favor of the motion and is going to vote against the motion. Hands up, who's going to vote that way just now? Do I see any hands of someone who voted? Okay, way in the back row. Let's get a quick comment from you, sir. What did you hear that persuaded you to change from in favor of the motion to against the motion? Again, I give your name and just a short comment on what persuaded you. Hello, I'm from CBN, I voted for the differences. However, after listening to John Quash, I decided to agree that entrepreneurship is the same across the world, despite different environments and different ramifications of it. Thank you. We were persuaded by Dean Quelch's arguments. Let's go to the opposite. How many of you decided to go against and have now changed your vote in favor of the motion? Do I have anybody? Okay, right in the front row. Why don't we come to the young lady here? I think he had her hand up. Well, both of you did. Whoever wants to speak, that's fine. So, your name, please. This is Rio Mezawa. I was against and then I voted for after listening to Oki Matsumoto. He mentioned about the environment might be different, but what's needed to be successful is the same. So, that made me change, where I believe all entrepreneurs or when John said that time and the risk that is taken is the same. All right, that's very interesting. So, you get a little flavor of a room that's in motion, a room that's in play. Now, here's the last opportunity. A quick 30-second burst of inspiration from either side. Again, as per custom, we'll give the side in favor of the motion a quick summing up and then we'll take a final vote and close out the debate. So, I think there is so much great things that will happen from the entrepreneurs now in action and also going forward. And I just want you to consider that the fact that the people that are saying it's very different are both entrepreneurs. All right, short, sweet and pointed, I might add. Let's hear from the opposite side. So, I would just give, let me give you one argument in favor of the other side, just to help them out a little bit here. So, Thomas Watson Jr., the founder of IBM, once there was a manager who he gave a million dollars to to go and do a project and the project failed and the manager was really worried. So, he came back to Mr. Watson and said, oh, we have not succeeded. And what did Tom Watson say? He said, if I was going to fire you, I wouldn't have invested a million dollars and now that I've invested a million dollars in your failing with all the learning that comes from that, I'm definitely not gonna fire you. What does that mean? It means the fear of failure is a key factor that differs across one environment versus another. But that's a contextual issue and over time I'm sure in Asian economies as entrepreneurship builds, the fear of failure will subside and it will become more fashionable and more realistic for people to become entrepreneurs. I'm gonna stop you there, John. But our fundamental point is, our fundamental point is entrepreneurs are the same everywhere in their success factors and what it takes to be an entrepreneur, risk your own capital, your own reputation, your own time, that is true everywhere. All right, very good. Only because you are supporting the team opposite, allegedly, did I give you a couple of extra seconds but I think you were quite mischievous when you said that. Our audience is clever enough to see through those arguments. This is your chance to have your say, let's get out the voting machines and to the organizers, please be ready to take the votes, to restate again the motion. Asia's entrepreneurs are different from Western entrepreneurs. How many of you agree with the proposition? And again, please no abstentions. Let's have an opinion expressed here. How many of you agree? How many of you disagree? This is our target. All right, same target. Yes, now can I have one of our organizers take the microphone, maybe Jessica. Come on, come on. Jessica, can you just to make sure there's no confusion, tell us what we're looking at because this is not what I was supposed to say, so tell us what we're looking at here. Absolutely, so on the left side, the blue agree 43 votes was the first round. After we agreed 45 votes, so you have gained two additional votes. On the disagree side, we started with 11 votes and we are now at 40 disagree votes. So Bravo to the disagree. The agree side still won, but disagree definitely gained a substantial amount of votes. Well, I suspect that there were some late comers who did not vote in the first vote as they were caught in a shuttle bus somewhere. So there is a certain sample bias if one is to be rigorous about it. But what is undeniable though is that the late comers, maybe because they're in a foul mood or they have particularly odd views about entrepreneurship and they come late, they clearly sided with the team opposing the motion. So let's give them a round of applause. I'm gonna declare them the winner in this. But I think we're all winners for having had such a wonderful, robust and spirited debate. Thank you all very much. And from my perspective, I want to thank all of you for coming in good nature, asking terrific questions. I think we started off with the right spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. I want to thank the organizers as well for letting us do a new format for Summer Davos. I hope you'll agree it worked. It got us off to a good energetic start. And in a shameless bit of self promotion, I want to mention that my book on the future of entrepreneurship and innovation called Need, Speed and Greed, your favorite topic, Need, Speed and Greed is not only available in English, but will be published in Chinese in January. So check it out. I'm happy to talk to everyone. Thank you very much.