The Eleven-Hour Drive-- Part One
In May, 1979, I attended the 45th Canton Trade Fair. During the Fair, I joined some meetings between members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and various Chinese counterpart organizations to discuss trade and business issues.
Compared with just a year or two earlier, big changes were clearly gaining momentum in China.
Advertising billboards, long taboo, had sprung up at various strategic locations around Guangzhou, initially promoting foreign banks, booze, and cosmetics. Official periodicals such as “Peoples’ Pictorial” also jumped on the new advertising bandwagon, offering one page full color ads for the princely sum of US$25,000.
Some signs of change had begun prior to 1979. At the Fall, 1978 Trade Fair, the Dongfang Hotel’s new wing lobby suddenly sprouted China’s first hamburger and hot dog stand --RMB 1.00 (US$0.64 at prevailing rate of exchange) for a hot dog; RMB 4.00 (US$2.60) for a hamburger. It was arguably also the first place in China you could buy a cup of coffee. Underlining the experimental nature of these changes, however, this pioneering fast food venture lasted only six months or so. It disappeared without explanation by the time the Spring, 1979 Fair opened.
New forms of business such as compensation trade were now permitted, as a part of the first stage of opening to foreign investment. American banks were jostling for position in establishing relations with the Bank of China, especially in the wake of the normalization of US-China relations earlier that year.
Change was in the air. A massive search for offshore oil was underway in the South China Sea, sending Hong Kong real estate prices into the stratosphere. Expectations were sky-high. Trade Fair visitors included big corporate heavyweights as well as carpetbaggers and scam artists.