Getting Acquainted

Of my many beliefs about friends， two I hold truest： “One more friend， one more way，” and“Depend on parents at home and on friends away.” Friends are indispensable， and it’s always a delight to make new friends. I acquired a better understanding of the relationship after reading Of Friendship by Francis Bacon （1561-1626）， an English philosopher and author， who believed that those who couldn’t make friends were destined to remain pitiful loners all their lives， and that a society without friendship was nothing but a prosperous desert.

On November 2005， I attended the First China-Spain Business Summit held in Madrid， along with then-Chinese President Hu Jintao during his visit to Spain， where I met new friends from both China and Spain. During the Summit， every entrepreneur was active， exchanging ideas and making new friends. I was glad to see my good old friend Li Jie， president of Zhejiang CaLiLee Communication Technology Co.， Ltd.， who remained young， smart， and social. Li enjoys reading， which makes him quite wise. I have learned a lot from such an outstanding young businessman who has endured trials and hardships. As good friends， we’ve shared a lot of life experiences since meeting.

One of the new acquaintances I made during my stay in Spain was young entrepreneur Liang Apao from Wenzhou， Zhejiang Province. Despite operating a large enterprise， amiable Liang keeps his head low and likes to make friends. Another new friend， Zhang Zhentang， 13 years my junior， hailed from Hebei Province. A frank businessman， he spoke Chinese with a strong Hebei accent， which was very impressive. The four of us had a great time together and all agreed that businessmen should pay back society – and not just for later generations. We all believe that it’s not wise to force our offspring to carry on our businesses if they are drawn to other choices， or don’t work diligently.

To Li Jie， building relationships is key to business success. An extension of one’s personality， many situations are solved depending on who you can reach. Making good use of connections means prosperous business.

“We should conduct business with conscience，” I asserted. “You can make more money when it dries up， but you can do nothing when your integrity is used up.”

I feel blessed to have found such friends and want to meet more like them. The summit gifted me a chance to enhance ties with old acquaintances while making new friends.

Then-President Hu Jintao addressed the Summit， expressing wishes for Spanish businessmen to join hands with their Chinese counterparts for future development， as well as hope that Chinese businessmen could contribute to the acceleration of economic development in Spain.

During group discussions， I was lucky to meet the president of the Spanish Society of Machinery Industry and several Spanish entrepreneurs， from whom I learned more about local business.