The current economic rise has made it very clear that people with knowledge and first-hand experience living in China will have great advantages in terms of employment.
Although China´s economy only grew 6.9 percent last year, Jiang Jianqing, chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said the country was “still the locomotive for the world economy, contributing a quarter of world growth”, at the Davos conference.
Two years ago I finished my Bachelor Honours´s degree in journalism in London. In the United Kingdom, the number of British citizens studying or undertaking internships in China is expected to reach 80,000 by 2020. At the moment, Norway sends approximately 350 students in the same direction.
“Norway needs to understand China,” the Norwegian MP, Trond Giske, told me during his term as Minister of Trade and Industry. The country serves as a huge market for multinational corporations, and employers are well aware that a real understanding of China is a huge benefit for those seeking to become the world´s next generation of leaders.
Talking with ANSA (Association of Norwegian Students Abroad) they said the low number of students and people undertaking internships in China is primarily due to the substantial language and cultural differences. Just a few can adequately speak Chinese and it is geographically far away from Norway. In addition there is not an adequate funding system to support the presence of Norwegian students wanting to go to China.
But I was curious, so I packed my bags and went to undertake an internship at the private equity investment company Origo Plc. As an intern, I got the opportunity to take part in Beijing´s working environment, and I saw how hardworking and competitive the market is.
When I arrived in Beijing, despite the cultural differences, it was the contrast between the distant past and super-charged present that developed my fascination. I noticed that when you widen your perspective you begin to see the beauty in a city where the sky is rarely blue.
You’ll find yourself opening your eyes not just to China, but to the whole world.
Outside of the office I could see some of the world´s most innovative modern constructions built at a scale that screams for attention. I could see a capital set to dominate the 21st century, timeless and traditional, yet is intoxicated by the spirit of change.
