I posted this in the PESA forum 3 weeks ago.  Thought I would share it on my new blog as well.

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Hi All:
Just finished attending an amazing summit in Hangzhou, China and I want to share my thoughts with everyone while I had a chance here in my hotel room.

It was a joint summit between APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) http://www.apec.org/  The 2nd APEC Business Advisory Council SME Summit & Alibaba with their 5th e-Business Conference

It was a packed event with around 4,000 attendees from around the region and the focus of the event was on the SME's.  The room was filled with small business owners, a few celebrities, and some major keynote speakers.  I was definitely a minority in the room but never felt uncomfortable due to the generous hospitality and the fact that about ½ the speakers presented in English.  Headphones for translation were available for the various languages.  Here is a quick overview of the event:

Day 1:

Keynote: SME, Winning the Future - Massayoshi Son - Chairman and CEO, Softbank Corp.
Panel: SME, Influencing Society and Our Life Style
Panel: How can SME survive?
Panel: Well to Start with Jet Li and Jack Ma
Ceremony: The 5th e-Business Champions Grand Awards Ceremony

Day 2

Micro Credit & SME with Dr. Muhammad Yunus (2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
Panel: Financing SME
Panel: SME and Entrepreneurship

We then headed over to a trade fair called SME Cross the Border

My new buddy Gene did a great job on stage:

My evening was topped off with a special dinner with Alibaba executives at their famous Louwailou restaurant located on West Lake.  We then headed over to a local tavern where this small very talented Chinese lady could sing and entertain with such an amazing voice.  We convinced the band to hand over the mic to an Indian guy who was traveling with us to sing Hotel California.  When you think about it all, in a tavern in the middle of a Chinese province filled by Chinese people there were 12 people from around the world such as USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, Ireland, and India all listening to western style music and enjoying ourselves together.  A very surreal moment if you ask me.

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I have to say, I was totally blown away by the opening keynote speech by Mr. Son from Softbank.  It was very inspirational and he did a tremendous job at explaining the opportunity that is sitting here in China for everyone to prepare for in the years to come.  Everyone I have talked to agrees that his speech alone made the entire trip worth it.  He also mentioned how Softbank will soon be bigger than Google, and I have to believe he is right on this one.  If I can find a video copy of his speech I will share it with everyone.

The discussion with Jet Li was also inspirational.  The locals were swarming the place with standing room only and camera's flashing during his session.   He presented his "One Foundation" idea to the group and wants everyone in China who has a cell phone (like 500 million people) to donate just 1 RMB ($1USD ~ 6.8 RMB right now) per month and in time they will be ready for any natural disaster and can react quickly when they happen.  The idea was well received and they discussed how they will need to use technology to pull this off.

The e-Business awards ceremony was great as well.  I did not win the award myself but was able to celebrate with my new friends for winning and so it was still a great event.  I consider the trip, the things I am learning and the new relationships I am forming to be the best award.  It was great running into an old friend I have not seen in many years (we first met at eBay Live 1) and a chance to catch-up with each other while attending the event together.  I have also developed new friendships that I'm sure will last a lifetime.

I'm 2nd from the left on stage here.

The part that really shocked me is the situation and the mood of the attendees.  If you were at the last eBay Live you can somewhat relate to this but most of the attendees were not excited or very happy with their current situation.  The major theme the entire event was about how can SME's survive this challenging situation they are all in.  The term "Long Winter" was mentioned many times as well as "Cash Flow Problems" all coming from the pressures of resource costs going up, inflation of the RMB, very challenged borrowing times with tight lending policies, and no ability to raise prices on goods globally.

The last session was on SME's and Entrepreneurship and the attendees were going crazy to ask Jack Ma questions with people literally pushing and shoving to get to the front of the question lines.  I bet 30 people did not get a chance to ask their question.  The questions were focused on how to survive their situation.  Jack mentioned that everyone must remain focused on what they do and to do it the best that they can as well as make sure they understand their customers and understand their needs.  I remember his comment of not wanting to be the guy who is trying to sell combs to the Buddhist.

In summary, the SME's feel they are in a Long Winter, times are very tough, cash flows are very challenged while the times are difficult right now, the long-term future is very bright as China continues to grow and mature.  It was mentioned that China already has more broadband users than the US and in time 50% of worldwide online users will come from the Asia region.  The other important point from Mr. Son was the transition from computer or laptop to "Mobile Internet Devices" and that with 3G and 3.5G being the tipping point.  He explained that this was his first trip where he did not bring his laptop and was able to do everything he needed with his new Apple 3G phone.

With this being my first trip to China, some things I have learned: 

You don't tip people (not even the taxi driver) it is embarrassing to them
Exchanging business cards is an experience using 2 hands and bowing
Don't put your chopsticks in your bowl, I think it means death
The Marriot still have the best beds
Taxi passengers ride in the font seat
Driving, walking, or riding a bike is like an orchestrated chaos that everyone understands but me
You can easily entertain people by eating with chopsticks (at least I can)
Little kids are easily scared of a white person in an elevator
It is easy to go on a diet and hit your goal
You need to bring your own soap and towels in the public bathrooms
You can buy new underwear for 30 RMB in your hotel room bathroom
Coke is truly a national brand
If they ask if you would like some mice, they might be saying rice
Personal space does not exist on a bus or train
Everything is negotiable

So a day on the town today and then my 30 hour trip back home begins early Tuesday.  Man, I'm craving a big juicy cheeseburger right now.

Zi-jee-ahn,
Brandon