How have non-Chinese executives' attitudes about China changed during your 15-year run?
When we launched in 1996, there were some large Western companies whose top management had identified China as an important growth market, but many more were still struggling to understand it. There has been a sea change in the interim, with a majority of larger international companies now considering China to be a market where they must prevail in order to have sustainable success on a global basis.
What is hardest about publishing a business magazine, website and app in China today?
The business magazine segment has become hypercompetitive. When we launched in 1996, there were only three business magazines in China. Now there are hundreds, many with multiple delivery channels in print, online, apps and events. It's crowded and cluttered out there, so it's essential to have a strong brand and remain relentlessly focused on your mission, identity and values, while delivering through a multi-channel network. I remain very optimistic, despite the static.
Do Chinese executives court media attention the way some western executives do?
Most prefer a low profile, although there are a few exceptions to this.
Looking ahead 15 years, what will the Chinese business landscape look like? Will there be more global brands? Will there be more IP protections?
The landscape will be dramatically different. The affluence and modern infrastructure is already moving quickly out to 3rd, 4th, and 5th tier cities in the interior and western parts of China. China's outbound investment will be a bigger story than inbound foreign direct investment into China. China will develop more and better global brands, as she graduates from reliance on low-end exports.
IP protection is already making good progress in high-tech sectors, and it will continue to do so not because of foreign pressure but home-grown needs. The win rate for multinational patent litigation in China is comparable to that of Chinese companies, and higher than the averages in Europe and the U.S. The movie and entertainment sectors' IP environment will take much longer, but improvements will also be driven by domestic demands.
Fifteen years from now how will your customers read Fortune China?
I am convinced that print will still exist and remain a very viable delivery medium, but it will be among a growing range of platforms suiting the needs and tastes of a wide spectrum of consumers.