Hi, I’m Eva. I was born in the small Chinese city of Zhuhai. I grew up within spitting distance of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. During my lifetime, these three cities, which anchor the Pearl River Delta region aka Guangdong Province, have become the fastest growing, most economically vibrant and exciting part of China.
Graduating with honors from Beijing Institute of Technology, my bachelor’s degree in International Economics and Trade has served me well. I was always interested in international business and recognized early the need to speak perfect English. So, for the last 20 years, I studied English and became so fluent that people think it is my first language. Actually, my first language is Cantonese (mother tongue of Guangdong) and second is Mandarin (now taught in school to all children in China). I am a native speaker of both Mandarin and Cantonese, using both languages daily when doing business in China.
My early jobs were as an international sales rep. for several Chinese technology companies. I traveled the world visiting customers, exhibiting trade shows and worked as a liaison between my customers and our factories. I am very detail oriented and believe most problems can be prevented before they happen. By having a good plan and making sure both my client and the factory have the same expectations, I make sure our project kicks off on the right path. Early on I recognized that cultural differences between the way business is conducted in China versus Western countries could lead to big problems in price negotiations, product manufacturing and quality.