‘Trade whisperer’ battles Trump, one factory at a time

US President Donald Trump’s $250-billion economic battle with China has run into a one-man obstacle. A trade-war whisperer working for the other side.

From a Hong Kong apartment, entrepreneur Ben Chu runs contract negotiation lessons online for Chinese factory owners and businesses to give them a leg up with American buyers.

The 40-year-old is emerging as a resistance leader among small local manufacturers grappling with US tariffs — and he’s beaming a clear message to his followers: China has the upper hand so get out there and cut a better deal, he tells his classes.

In the intensifying trade conflict, Chu’s muscular in-your-face approach has struck a chord on the front line. He now has 20,000 online followers and says more firms are asking for help. Some of his hundreds of clients, who sell goods to companies including Apple and Walmart, boast of landing larger orders and of staring down requests to cut prices.

“Most importantly, I tell them the international clients need them more than they think,” says Chu, who was a purchasing manager in the US and Europe for more than a decade.

The trade fight between the world’s two biggest economies has businesses on both sides jostling to adjust.

China’s manufacturing dominance has forced some US companies to buy those goods whatever the cost, meaning price increases for American households may be inevitable. Trump has slapping levies of 10% on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, and the rate is scheduled to rise to 25% on Jan 1 if he and Chinese President Xi Jinping cannot find a way to resolve the standoff. The pair are scheduled to meet later this week at the G20 summit in Argentina.

Chu’s curriculum is a much-needed helping hand, however modest, for an army of small and medium-sized manufacturers

in China that typically don’t receive as much help from the government as stateowned enterprises.

After working for years at one end of the supply chain, Chu concluded that in many industries Chinese manufacturers had an advantage over their US customers. They just didn’t have the skills or the language to turn that power into money.

So he ditched his corporate career for shirts and jeans and started helping small firms, some with annual sales of less than

$1 million, sharpen their negotiation tactics. Chatty yet polite in person, the Hong Kong-born consultant gives seminars in cities such as Shenzhen, Dongguan and Ningbo, production hubs in southern and eastern China.

“Most people in the manufacturing industry are low-profile,” he said. “They make excellent products but don’t know how to deal with clients. They sometimes lack confidence on how powerful they are.”

Sariel Meng used to be one of them.

She’s an export manager for a Nanjing, Jiangsu-based maker of aluminium alloys that are subject to US tariffs. Meng said the skills she learned from Chu are helping her company.

When US buyers this year asked Meng’s company, which has annual revenue of about $1.4 million, to help bear the cost of tariffs, she held her ground. She crunched the numbers on client selling prices and profit margins and reckoned there was room to maneuver. She negotiated a price

discount — but only if the customers increased their orders.

“Before taking the course, I was always worried I’d lose those clients if I pushed back,” said Meng. “Now I feel we should fight for our benefits.”

To be sure, there are doubts over how long China will continue to be the factory for the world. Already companies are scouting for facilities outside China, often in Southeast Asia, to avoid US duties.

“Both Chinese manufacturers and US

retailers will eventually look for more business partners elsewhere,” said Lu Zhengwei, chief economist of Industrial Bank Co in Shanghai. “The damage to the relationship would be very long-term.”

But even Lu recognises the business potential in China for the kind of training Chu offers small manufacturers. “They have to learn how to do business directly with foreigners,” Lu said.

The digital era has given Chinese businesses direct access to US buyers, reducing the need for middlemen sourcing companies. Chu’s courses aim to help Chinese manufacturers bridge that divide.

Chu has set up groups on WeChat, where followers ask for advice and course graduates share the challenges of work. He said he’s surprised at his popularity.

Melissa Shu, one of his former students, was impressed by Chu’s lessons on “multi-dimensional negotiation”. He encouraged her not to just argue over price. Exploit the quality of your product, as well as payment terms, when clients want a price cut, Chu instructed.

An export manager for a Jiangsu-based maker of car lights, Shu has been travelling to the US the past two months meeting clients who wanted a better deal. She offered them a 10% discount when 25% tariffs hit next year but raised the minimum amount for any order.

“Ben tells us we are able to negotiate in a stronger way,” she said. “That’s what Chinese manufacturers need now.”

China’s domination of exports to the US spans multiple industries, from frozen tilapia fillets and mattresses to travel bags and e-cigarettes, giving America little choice over suppliers.

US companies have been talking about reducing their dependence on China for years, to little effect, according to Chu.

It’s a “sellers’ market,” he said. “The reliance on China is still very heavy.”

Most people in the manufacturing industry ... make excellent products but don’t know how to deal with clients. They sometimes lack confidence about how powerful they are” BEN CHU