Terrance Barkan, managing director of Association Global Services (AGS), delivered a keynote address at the World Industrial and Commercial Organizations Summit (WICO) in Shanghai, China, on September 19, 2004.

The event was sponsored by the China Federation of Industrial Economics. More than 400 representatives of major trade and industrial associations, governments and chambers of commerce gathered for this high-level meeting, which was the first of its kind and signals a significant turning point in China's rapid development, especially in the developing association sector.  

His speech, entitled, “Dialogue, Coordination and Cooperation – How to Reach Associations in the European Union and the United States,” focused on how Chinese business executives can identify association partners in the West, how to initiate dialogue, and ways to develop strategies for effective representation of Chinese business organizations abroad.

“China is a vast frontier of opportunity for associations and business executives in the West, and the Chinese are more than willing to reach out to these organizations,” Barkan explained. “This conference was instrumental in showing Chinese executives how they can do that.”

Barkan detailed the size and scope of the global association market, which includes 1,000 major associations in Europe, plus tens of thousands in the United States. His firm, Association Global Services, is a Brussels-based multiple management company that represents dozens of associations from around the world, including international representation of U.S.-based associations.

He encouraged Chinese executives to identify their internal objectives before making contact with potential partners, and then “start slowly, with a specific project or a proposal to develop a relationship,” looking for areas where both organizations have something significant to gain.

Some areas of opportunity for mutual collaboration that Barkan highlighted include standards development, accreditation, and training, which form the core of many association programs.

“Associations are the key to building and strengthening relationships across continents as business executives seek to expand their operations globally,” Barkan observes. “This conference was a positive step in that direction.”

Core messages that emerged from the conference included:

• China is aggressively making changes in its laws and practices in order to comply with its World Trade Organization obligations and has determined that business and trade associations are key to this transformation.
• The official Chinese government policy is to actively support the creation of an independent association sector. It is pushing its national trade and business associations to become independent from the government and to be more engaged internationally.
• China is actively seeking training and education for its trade and business associations in order to professionalize them, as well as to establish platforms for dialogue and the arbitration of trade issues with international partners.
• China wishes to provide networking opportunities between the heads of trade and professional associations, and with business leaders to encourage continued growth of commerce and the development of a true market economy in China.

Barkan encouraged the Chinese to access international organizations such as the American Society of Association Executives, The Center for Association Leadership, European Society of Association Executives, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to learn more about how they can connect with this important global market.