On June 20^th, Dr. LU Chun, Former Chairman of the China Three Gorges Corporation and Member of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth Plenum of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, joined a full house of eager students, alumni, and business executives at the Guanghua School of Management to share his insights on the value being created by the Belt & Road Initiative. During the lecture, which was jointly organized by the Peking University Belt & Road Institute and the Guanghua School of Management's EMBA program, LU used the internationalization experience of the China Three Gorges Corporation to illustrate how companies can leverage the historical opportunity created by the BRI. According to LU, the BRI can help companies transform into truly outstanding businesses and build strong international brands.

Event Speaker: LU Chun

Guanghua Dean and Professor of Finance LIU Qiao, who hosted the event, thanked LU for making a special trip to Guanghua to discuss the benefits of the BRI and share the wealth of knowledge and experience accumulated by China Three Gorges Corporation on its path to becoming an international company with global brand influence.  

Event Host: LIU Qiao

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the BRI's Value

Dr. LU reflected on the 26 years since the founding of China Three Gorges Corporation，starting as a construction management company and transforming itself into an international clean energy conglomerate, recording many remarkable achievements along the way. China Three Gorges Corporation has already become the largest global developer and operator of hydro-electric power projects and is the largest clean energy company in China. LU identified the BRI as an initiative full of foresight and global vision that does more than simply provide a platform for international cooperation. The BRI represents China's contribution to maintaining a multi-polar world and promoting continued free trade. It helps build a common destiny for humankind and is an opportunity that China is providing to support global development. The "Silk Road Spirit" promoted by the BRI will help bring about a more rational, open, and bright future for the world.

Using the BRI to Transform International Operations and Promote Innovative Development

Dr. LU introduced the "five phases", "eight stages", and "nine upgrades" that composed China Three Gorges Corporation's international development experience. He also summarized the seven practices the company used successfully during its internationalization process and shared eight of his own takeaways by expounding on strategy models used in five specific examples of expansion projects. These included the "Built a Boat and Follow the Country" model used in Pakistan, the "Borrow a Boat and Go Further" model used in Portugal, the "Incrementally Upgrade and Go Deeper" model used in Brazil, the "Integrate Investment and Loans, Unify Construction and Operations" model used in Guinea, the "Diversify Stock Holdings, Emphasize Permanent Intellectual Property" model used in Peru.

LU emphasized that Chinese companies seeking to internationalize are in dire need of talent with international perspective, strategy development acumen, and the ability to make wise investment decisions. Companies lack talent who can navigate global operations, are capable of cross-cultural communication, possess the ability to direct overseas projects, can recognize risks inherent in international operations, know how to assess the value of overseas assets, and who can avoid legal, financial, and tax-related risks. Chinese companies are also in need of people who are capable of 0 to 1 innovation. How to cultivate these kinds of employees, utilize them to the fullest, manage them properly, and encourage them to stay is a very important question that Chinese companies, and even the country as a whole, must solve.

During the question and answer session, LU addressed a question from an audience member regarding the preservation of the Yangtze River ecological system in light of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The conclusion of his presentation was met with an enthusiastic round of applause.

"Understanding China and the Belt & Road"Lecture Series

Over the 2018-19 academic year, the Belt & Road Institute is organizing a series of lectures entitled "Understanding China and the Belt & Road" for local and international scholars alike, aiming at providing a platform for high-level analysis and critique from leading Chinese academics, industry professionals and commentators on what lies ahead for businesses as the global environment changes and boundaries shift. The lecture series was officially launched in October 2018 with its seven events attracting more than 1000 students, diplomats, business executives, and organizational representatives from over 40 countries.