Construct a greater pattern for foreign affairs work Boost international upgrade for central SOEs

Liu+Yaping

【Abstract】As central SOEs increasingly go global， the internal and external environments for their foreign affairs administration are undergoing profound changes. This thesis， using a SWOT method， gives a comprehensive analysis of their strength， weakness， opportunity and threat under new situations， and provides thoughts and methods on constructing a greater pattern for their foreign affairs work. The aim is to boost their international cooperation management， inject new vitality to foreign-related work and make their international operations more healthy and sustainable.

【Key words】foreign affairs work in central SOEs； internationalized operations； mechanism building

As a major part of internationalized operation management， foreign affairs work is an important guarantee to the international strategies of central state-owned enterprises （“central SOEs” hereinafter）. During the course of their internationalized operations， foreign affairs work plays a major supportive and driving role in a comprehensive， multi-tiered manner.

I. Main contents of foreign affairs work in central SOEs.

Foreign affairs work is a general term for all foreign-related tasks， covering many fields including diplomacy， trade， finance， tax， customs and port management. Foreign affairs is an important field of management， in which a foreign affairs division， acting upon state policies， guides and handles foreign-related tasks and problems.

In the traditional mode， the foreign division in a SOE is confined to the “service plus management” dual role. In the principle of “unified leadership， specialized department， layered responsibility， and coordination”， it carries out tasks of all foreign visits （including short-term business trips and long-term station abroad for the projects） and inviting foreigners to visit China. This is in nature a role-oriented static mode of work.

As the Chinese economy developed fast and enterprises grew in strength， many central SOEs adopted a “go global” strategy. As their foreign communication grew in frequency and depth， the strategy has lent new meaning to foreign affairs management， which as a result has been expanded from traditional tasks—approval of trips abroad on business， group organizing and reception—to such tasks as foreign information collection， investigation of cooperative partners， building of communication channels and recruitment of overseas talents， which has pushed foreign affairs divisions to the very frontline of enterprises overseas expansion and international exchanges.

II. SWOT analysis of foreign affairs work in central SOEs under new situations. Presently， the world is under complicated situations and China has entered into closer ties with the world. Central SOEs have been increasingly “going global” and the internal and external environments of foreign affairs work are undergoing profound changes.

SWOT is an analytical method of enterprise strategy， which， according to an enterprises own realities， finds out its advantage， weakness and core competitiveness， and thus combines its strategy with internal and external environments. S stands for strength， W weakness， O opportunity and T threat.

1. Strength.

First， acting upon an enterprises strategy， a foreign affairs division is strong in collecting information. A foreign affairs division， being at the frontline of international exchanges， has a unique advantage in language and communication， and is able to obtain from vanguard media the latest developments in trade and market. Through contacts with a potential partner， it can learn about its business conditions， intention， strategic goals and clashes in interests， and therefore serve decision makers by providing support in project selection and risk avoidance.

Second， multi-tiered exchange channels can be established with strengthened efforts on public relations. Relying on the government background of its enterprise， a foreign affairs division has usually established long-term communication channels with the government， large enterprises， international organizations and embassy of the target country， and has become an expert in this regard. On such a platform， multi-tiered exchanges， from high-up strategic visits， communication between partners on business， to technical inspections， can be carried out to provide foreign-related support to the main business.

2. Weakness.

First， institutions and mechanisms are weak. On the one hand， a foreign affairs division had long been regarded as a service department responding to requests. One at grassroots level， particularly， often under the name of “office”， “comprehensive division”， has limited powers and can hardly play the role of coordination and specialized management. On the other hand， the enterprise management and employees often neglect the inter-woven relationship between foreign affairs and such departments as production， operation， safety， human resources， law， planning， auditing and finance. As a result， they fail to cooperate closely with foreign affairs in business handling， might pass the buck to one another， resulting in incomplete implementation of policies and increased cost in management.

Second， personnel are varied in competence. “There is no small matter in foreign affairs.” As foreign affairs management demands high sensitivity to policy and professionalism， workers must have an expertise in policy， language and other professional skills. Not receiving due attention， foreign affairs divisions have long been in a weak position in terms of headcount， staffing， promotion and personnel training.

3. Opportunity.

The state has increased its policy support to enterprises “going global”. Since its accession to WTO， the state， in view of new patterns in world economy and needs of sustainable development of the economy and expansion of enterprises， gradually launched a series of measures supporting and facilitating enterprises “going global”， creating a favorable policy environment for their accelerated international operations.

4. Threat.

The world is under complicated security situations and trade protectionism has increased. As China and its enterprises have become increasingly competitive， with their strategic interests going beyond borders， the vested interests and market dominance by western countries and their transnational companies have been affected； and， under the backdrop of global financial crisis， trade protectionism， trade frictions and barriers targeting China returned. Transnational companies， ever since an early stage and relying on their advantages in international politics， economy and technology， have occupied quality assets in most areas of political stability. Whereas Chinese SOEs， as late comers， could only have chances in countries and regions of relatively poor stability， and faced bigger difficulties in establishment and cooperation for their overseas projects.

III. Construct a greater pattern of foreign affairs work.

Through the above SWOT analysis of the interwoven relationships between central SOEs strength， weakness， opportunity and threat， the author believes that a change in foreign affairs work pattern is a must for development strategies of central SOEs in a new period， and building a greater pattern is a guarantee to more internationalized operations of these enterprises. To achieve such a change， an enterprise must shift from the traditional mode to the strategy-oriented dynamic management mode， and efforts shall be put into the construction of the following five mechanisms：

1. Introduce flexible long-term mechanism in foreign affairs system construction.

On the one hand， we need to continue to improve administrative rules， sorting out major documents in current foreign affairs fields， and， according to situations and needs， promptly formulate more targeting and practical regulations and detailed rules for implementation； we need to further optimize the regulation system， expand its coverage to ensure that in all fields rules are available to rely on； according to internal control needs， we need to keep standardizing and improving work procedures， cutting off unnecessary links to ensure efficiency in daily work.

On the other hand， while sticking to the bottom lines of foreign affairs management， we need， within the institutional framework， leave room for the role of overseas institutions and grassroots departments and delegate powers in specific tasks， so as to rouse the enthusiasm of workers， meet the needs of dynamic management of overseas projects and maximize the efficiency of foreign-related work. While sticking to the rule of confidentiality， we need to further publicize policies and regulations， make regulative documents more transparent， increase the understanding and implementation capability of policies by foreign affairs workers， especially those at grassroots level， and increase the understanding of and support to foreign affairs work by enterprise employees.

2. Introduce coordinative mechanism in international business management.

According to the current situations at home and abroad， we need to innovate the ideas of foreign affairs management， establish and maintain coordinative and liaison mechanisms in foreign-related work， and establish and maintain emergency handling mechanisms.

On the one hand， all functional departments of an enterprise， including foreign affairs， shall form a horizontal mechanism focused on overseas business and cooperation， perform their respective responsibilities and coordinate with one another in specific tasks， so as to effectively implement decisions and reduce management cost. On the other hand， foreign affairs divisions of Chinese enterprises shall form a stable vertical mechanism to ensure communication and virtuous interaction with one another， so that they can give full play to their roles， effectively push forward international cooperation and minimize the risk of overseas operations.

3. Introduce a mechanism of dynamic service in daily foreign affairs.

As management is the means and service the aim， they shall serve each other and be realized in each other. We need to raise the ability of a foreign affairs division to serve the overall goals of its enterprise， and enable it to handle emergency and special matters by special procedures； we need to transform the “soft” achievements of foreign affairs into “hard” power， increase its say through promoting truly competent people， demonstrate the value and function of foreign affairs division so as to achieve better coordination and specialized administration.

The expansion of overseas business shall be led by specialized departments and supported by a foreign affairs division. A foreign affairs division should actively follow up a project， learn about business needs and establish effective communication with specialized departments.

4. Introduce full-course control in IT-based foreign affairs files.

Foreign affairs files are important information assets of an enterprise， which serve as a major reference for international exchanges.

On the one hand， we need to shift the work mode and upgrade service ， by making full use of the digital platform to shorten the time of document application and approval as well as preparation of other materials， so as to realize full-course digital control， promote digital files and data bank management. On the other hand， we must pay high attention to information security， handle confidential files and information strictly according to regulations， strengthen the daily maintenance of files and information， educate groups going abroad on confidentiality， forbid the carrying out of confidential information so as to identify and remove security risks.

5. Introduce internationalized training in personnel cultivation.

Internationalized personnel shall meet the following standards： they have international vision and strategic mind， are familiar with international practices and standards， capable of cross-culture communication and exchanges； they are highly educated and culturally sensitive and tolerant； for new problems in work， they have a relatively strong sense of innovation， and are capable of learning and independent handling of complicated problems； they are able to communicate in foreign languages； they are experienced in their fields and hold internationally accepted qualifications； they are highly educated， accept the core values of enterprises and are capable of voluntarily safeguarding the overall interests of enterprises.

Sticking to the “relying on people” principle， we need to strengthen systematic trainings to foreign affairs workers， boost their comprehensive competence， sharpen their awareness to serve the overall goals and thus build a highly qualified foreign affairs administration team.

IV. Conclusion.

During the course of central SOEs pushing their international operation strategy， we must abandon the “small foreign affairs” mindset， based ourselves on enterprises development strategy， improve administration and shift to a “greater foreign affairs” pattern， and comprehensively enhance international cooperation administration. Only in this way can foreign affairs workers defend enterprises strategic interests， publicize enterprise image and brands on international occasions， push forward their overseas explorations and deepen overseas cooperation， so as to achieve higher overall efficiency and sustainable development of the enterprises.

References：

[1]Wang Fuchun，An Introduction to Foreign Affairs Administration [M].Peking University Press.2003.

[2]Zhang Yong，Construct A Strategy-oriented Foreign Affairs Administration Mode in Central SOEs China Petroleum and Chemical Industry.

Author： Shao Yingni， China Railway Resources Group Co.， Ltd.

Translate by Liu Yaping， China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.