China Study Tour: U.S. Embassy

As much as I like to complain about my country, I am, like many Americans, very patriotic. There would be no sense in complaining unless I actually cared about the place that I live. So, it was really fun to see and visit the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for that reason only – seeing the Great Seal of the United States of America. It took awhile to get inside, though, due to security measures. Since my name was submitted with my old name, it was confusing to the officers. Three of us in the group have different names, due to marriage, and apparently this completely threw a monkey wrench into their well-oiled security machine. In all seriousness, though, the security was quite good just to get inside to see the Marine military guard. The doors are strong, and there are multiple doors to get through before you’re inside. It makes me feel happier about the level of security that our diplomats and local staff enjoy when working at the Embassy.

The presentation by Rosemary Gallant of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was the most candid and realistic picture of doing business in China that we’d seen or heard . She was very clear about what the U.S. government could and couldn’t do in terms of facilitating trade, advising companies, and working to improve the balance of trade. Being there made me want to apply for the Foreign Service again.

Some of the most interesting things she told us:
- 30% of the water supply is contaminated
- 20 new nuclear sites are under construction (none have been approved in the U.S. since Three Mile Island)
- There are 53 open positions in Rosemary’s team, but she has only 40 employees due to the hiring freeze
- 70% of healthcare costs are incurred by urban population, but 70% of the population is rural
- All Americans visiting China should assume that they are being watched, and their goods are subject to snooping at any time

Overall, the visit to the Embassy painted the clearest picture so far of what American businesses would really need to deal with when doing business in China. Also, the bathrooms were standard American bathrooms – it was heavenly.

And I didn’t see any pictures of children or butterflies anywhere.