International SOS specializes in sustainable risk mitigation
Please use three words to describe China’s changes in the past 40 years. How do you view China’s role in the world today?
Growth: China replaced Japan as the second-largest global economy after the US in 2011. It maintained double-digit growth for many years and continues with rapid growth of around 7 percent now.
Globalization: China has benefited from its opening-up and has contributed to globalization. China contributes more than 30 percent to global economic growth, becoming a key force in stabilizing and driving the world economy.
Innovation: China has the potential to meet its ‘innovation imperative’ and to emerge as a driving force in innovation globally. The country will be a growing source of innovation to serve the needs of an enormous and increasingly demanding market, and we have seen many successful innovative enterprises and national programs, such as the high-speed rail.
What’s the biggest challenge China faces today and how can the country overcome it?
Sustainability is an opportunity and a challenge for global businesses. China shares similar challenges.
Significant policy adjustments are required in order to ensure China’s growth remains sustainable. In addition, China will need to grow its soft-power, particularly in corporate governance, which will further benefit Chinese enterprises’ globalization moves.
As the world’s leading medical and security assistance company, we at International SOS strive to help companies achieve business resilience and sustainability through a robust and proactive risk mitigation program.
International SOS helps organizations protect their global workforce from health and security threats. With innovative technology and medical expertise focused on prevention, offering real-time, actionable insights and on-the-ground quality delivery, we support organizations to meet compliance reporting needs for good governance.
How has your company benefited from China’s reform and opening-up policy?
We are strongly committed to the Chinese market. We have benefited from China’s fast development in recent decades. The country represents one of our two fastestgrowing markets, along with the United States.
International SOS was one of the first international companies to bring its business to the Chinese mainland following the country’s opening-up. We provide international standard medical and security risk mitigation programs, as well as well-being solutions for corporations operating in China and Chinese companies operating in global markets.
Today we are working in partnership with nearly 70 percent of the Fortune Global 500. We also help look after the employees of China’s leading State-owned enterprises, private companies and government organizations.
With a population of more than 1.3 billion, China is the world’s second-largest economy and is increasingly playing an important role globally. The country has been the largest contributor to world growth and can become the stabilizer for the latest stage of globalization.
We can take the example of the sustainable development goals, which are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The Belt and Road Initiative will be an important international state-to-state collaboration program for building infrastructure around the world, which will continue to make Chinese and partner economies more competitive, to narrow development gaps and to help create a sustainable and prosperous world. International SOS is well-positioned and ready to contribute our share to aid Chinese enterprises as they venture out on the BRI.
Could China’s experiences and practices be used to solve global problems?
The Chinese economy has maintained strong growth, and is now moving to a more sustainable growth model.
China’s leaders have said that the world is expecting the country to become the stabilizer for the latest round of glodevelopment
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balization, and we believe China can help build an open global economy thanks to its experience in reform and opening-up.
In addition, its experience, practices and investments in the countries involved in the BRI can help boost economic and reduce poverty in these countries, which will be another significant contributor to ensure the world continues to develop in a more sustainable direction.
China’s visionary strategies benefit Chinese companies and international companies such as International SOS.
What measures are needed if China wants to deepen reforms?
China will deepen economic and financial reforms and further open its market to foreign investors as it looks to move from high-speed to high-quality growth.
We believe this is the new blueprint for China’s future development. The determination of China’s top leaders to reform and open up will usher in a new round of strategic opportunities for overseas and Chinese investors alike. We would hope to see greater support in terms of both industrial policy and the regulatory framework by which Chinese companies can take on a more active and sustainable role on the global stage.
What is the most unforgettable experience you have had in China?
The most impressive experience and interesting thing for me has been the impact of technology in such a short space of time, such as social media app WeChat, mobile payments, online shopping and so on.
This has changed everyone’s lives. It has helped China to leapfrog onto the world stage.
At International SOS we are embracing these changes and bringing our services to these new technologies and apps. For example, in 2017, our award-winning Assistance App and Travel Tracker provided over 1,500 clients with the ability to locate 10 million international travellers.
In China we have launched an online service platform for our customers for real-time communication with our medical and security professionals through WeChat.
Our e-learning and digital travel risk mitigation services serve as a complement to our assistance offering, providing our members with online tools to understand and prepare for their medical, security and travel risks.
Apart from economic development, what progress in other fields have you witnessed in China in the past 40 years?
China has made a wide range of achievements in the past few decades. The country has been the fastest-growing major economy for the past 30 to 40 years. Construction is happening at an unprecedented pace and China has built many cities and towns.
China’s urbanization has also been phenomenal, with 300 million people moving to cities over the past 30 years, and another 300 million predicted to move from rural areas to urban centers in the next 30 years.
Education is of fundamental importance for China’s long-term development and human resources are the basis of long-term prosperity. The country has witnessed historical changes and seen remarkable achievements in the field of education. The Ministry of Education said that higher education in China will also see an overall enrollment increase from the current 40 percent to 50 percent by 2020.
China now has the largest higher education sector in terms of student volume, which will help sustain its long-term development.
What will be the country’s “calling card” in the coming years?
China has experienced fast growth and has some outstanding symbolic achievements, such as its high-speed rail system, which demonstrates its innovation in manufacturing and technology development.
I want to mention that the performance of Chinese enterprises in international markets has won more recognition. This year’s Fortune 500 breaks another glass ceiling, as we have seen more than 120 Chinese companies on the list, three times as many as 10 years ago.
We can expect more Chinese corporations to enter the list as China’s economy continues to grow, which will be another significant calling card of the country’s increasing influence in the world.
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