Interview-Series: Huang Zhengxin

• You were born and raised in China. How would you describe your home country?
  
• • China is one of the most time-honored countries in the world. It achieved great successes in the ancient time, fell into downfall in the past two hundred years, but is reviving currently. During the past twenty years of my life, I have witnessed huge changes in my country. The fast speed of urbanization, the increasing of living standard, and the continuously extending global influence make me proud to be a Chinese. There are many ways to describe China, but as a student studying business, I would better talk more from the business point of view. China has transformed from a poor country to the second largest economic entity in the world. By utilizing the foreign divestment and its cheap labor market, China has accumulated huge amount of capital. With the increased strength, China is now changing its character to play as an investor. The country invests capital to developed countries to get access to advanced technology, to African and South American countries to satisfy its demand of energy, and to other potential markets such as India, Brazil to make profit. I am always attracted by the stories about Chinese entrepreneurs, such as Jack Ma. This group of well-educated and ambitious entrepreneurs has brought fresh blood and energy to China’s economy. However, the problem is that the Chinese state-owned enterprises are still in the dominance. The further develop of China’s economy is the thriving of private enterprises and break of government-dominated model, which will provide many chances to businessmen.

• You now study in Rotterdam for your Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. What made you decide to go abroad?
  
• • Deciding to study abroad came from my ambitiousness. I refuse to be an ordinary person and spend my whole life in my home country. The world is so large. There are many developed civilizations. I am eager to enlarge my vision, to be more international, and to improve my quality. I chose Europe because this is a multiple-cultured continent, with deeply historical and cultural atmosphere. I decided to study in The Netherlands because there is high-qualified English education. It is a compromise since I am not able to use other languages like French and German.

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of leaving your country and studying abroad?
  
• • For the advantages, first of all, studying abroad provides me an access to better education. I get more chances to study with ambitious students, which could be helpful for me to make progress. Secondly, I obtain experiences about how to get along with people from different cultural backgrounds, which is important for me to be an international businessman in the future. For disadvantages, usually it takes a long time for people to get familiar with the new cultural environment, as well as the language barrier. It will take people a few years to overcome the outsidership. However, it is worthy to put effort and integrate into the host country. I am still working on it. Beside, studying abroad means being separate from your family, friends circle, and many things you have get used to. Nevertheless, as I mentioned before, ambitious people should never rely too much on your previous lifestyle and be affected by these factors.

• How do you keep in touch with your friends and family back in China?
  
• • With the help of advanced communication technology, keeping in touch with my family and friends in China is easy. Normally, I have video talk with my parents weekly. Sometimes I contact my friends via social media. I care about my family members so much, especial when I am now studying abroad. Also, keep contacting with friends is important. Those friends could be the potential cofounders or partners in the future. A businessman should always think highly of this kind of relationship.

• What are your plans for the upcoming summer break?
  
• • The upcoming summer will be exciting. First of all, I will travel back to China and stay two weeks in my hometown. During the time, I am going to visit some small and medium sized companies and get in touch with a few managers and businessmen. I want to hear some good ideas and field experiences from them and enlarge my understanding about really business. After that, I am going to a summer school which is held by LSE and PEK in Beijing. There will be two-week study about entrepreneurship, including lectures, workshops and exams. The summer school will definitely enrich my brain and introduce me a few good professors and ambitious students from the world.

• What was the best thing you learned or the biggest take away from your experience abroad so far?
  
• • The best thing I have obtained is that I have learned a lot from my friends. Not only about how to study, but also how to work and achieve a comprehensive progress. Firstly, it is important to find the gap between the ambitious young people and myself. Then, it is more vital to seek for a way to reduce the gap. This can be done by simply imitate what those people do. However, it is much better to plan a way which is most suitable for myself. I am happy that I have designed a developing track based on my situation. I think this is the biggest take way from my experience.

• What are your plans for the future? Do you have a specific job or career that you aim for?
  
• • My short-term plan is to finish my bachelor degree and keep going for master degree. The medium and long-term plan is to be a successful businessman. It is hard to make a specific design for long run, since things are changing all the time. However, what I can do is to focus on nowadays. By studying with effort and keeping improving, I think I will be able to face the challenges in the future.

If you have a specific interview-suggestion, do not hesitate to shoot me an e-mail to silvan@silvank.com

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