International Conference Antwerp 7 June 2013 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Contents Preface . 5 Business Communication and Management Haiyan Zhang & Daniel Van Den Bulcke Corporate governance of Chinese enterprises in Europe: A preliminary study on ownership structure and management control . 9 Zhe Cheng Influence of Chinese and Western Cultural Differences on the Management of Multinational Companies – Application of Cultural Four-dimensional Model . 28 Mateusz Czepielewski China is a Global Leader . 38 Krzysztof Pstrong China, again innovation leader . 47 Language and Culture Adina Zemanek Grammar explanations in Chinese language textbooks – problems and possible solutions . 63 Hongjuan Liu & Xiaoli Wu Sinology Studies and Chinese Education at KU Leuven . 84 Bogdan Zemanek Teaching culture – teaching language. The role of popularization lectures and seminars – case study of the Confucius Institute in Krakow . 95 Ting-Yu Lee Dynamic Cultural Impact and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for Second Language Acquisition (SLA) . 107 Contents Sławomir Czepielewski Micro Mobile Mandarin in Education . 112 Małgorzata Jendryczka Chinese, new lingua franca in the world? . 131 Paola Costa Good practices for studying Chinese via video conferencing. Case study: Orientalmente methodology . 143 European Projects Francesca Bonati Chinesecom and Chinese for Europeans: contemporary tools to improve European awareness of Chinese world . 149 Aiste Dabuleviciute Mission Possible: Chinese for Europeans . 161 Gileta Kieriene INTEGRA Migrants’ Integrating Kit – Basic Language for Dealing with Financial Matters . 163 Varia Wolfgang Pape East Asia ahead with visualization . 167 Barry Tomalin Summary of the keynote presentation made by Barry Tomalin to the China for EU conference in Antwerp on June 7 2013 . 174 Agnieszka Putkiewicz Differences in inbound travelers profiles between Chinese and Polish tourists . 178 The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Gauging the business climate . 183 Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency GoChina Strategy . 186 Authors . 189 Preface According.to.the.European.Commission.Directorate-General.for.Trade,.China. is.the.second.biggest.business.partner.of.the.European.Union.and.the.EU. is.the.largest.trading.partner.for.China ..It.is.worth.noting,.that.the.volume.of. trade.exchange.between.these.two.parties.has.been.growing.rapidly.every. year .. Not. only. is. business. increasing,. but. there. is. also. an. increase. in. the. number of projects in the fields of education and culture. One such project is “Chinese.For.Europeans”.which culminated.in.an.International.Conference. “China.–.Language ..Culture ..Business”,.held.in.the.Antwerp.Management. School on 7th June 2013, Antwerp, Belgium. This.publication.contains.articles.written.by.experts.participating.in.the.event. and other professionals in the field who couldn’t participate but wanted to.share.their.opinion.about.EU.–.China.dialogue.for.better.understanding. between.European.Union.and.China . Background This conference is the final product of the European Union co-funded project “Chinese.For.Europeans”,.which.was.developed.and.realized.by.consortium. of.six.institutions.from.Poland,.Belgium,.Italy,.Germany.and.Lithuania ..This. project.produced.self-study.materials.for.studying.Chinese.language.on-line,. which are available in all 23 official EU languages for free atwww.Chinese4.eu .. They.are.compatible.with.computers,.tablets.as.well.as.mobile.phones.and. they.can.be.used.anywhere.in.the.world.by.any.person.interested.in.Chinese. language,.culture.or.business.with.China ... The project offers four targeted courses applying appropriate methodology for different target groups: . Tourists.–.mobile.phone.application; . Students.–.regular.e-learning.approach; . Entrepreneurs.–.micro-learning.using.e-mails; . Children.–.game-based.learning . Preface Conference The.International.Conference.“China.–.Language ..Culture ..Business”.was. hosted.by.“Chinese.For.Europeans”.project.partner,.Antwerp.Management. School.(AMS) ..All.project.partners.were.also.involved.and.actively.took.part. delivering.presentations.and.workshops ..The.objective.of.the.conference. was.to.develop.a.dialogue.about.EU-China.relations.as.well.as.delivering. a.promotional.presentation.with.discussion.about.the.project ..During.the. conference experts from different fields shared their knowledge and experience.with.participants ..There.were.almost.one.hundred.participants. from all over the world, interested in different areas of EU-China relations, from.language.through.business.to.culture . Proceedings This publication is divided into 4 parts. The first section is related to “Business Communication.and.Management” ..This.section.looks.at.subjects.related.to. direct investment, cultural differences in company management (especially MNC), innovations and patents as well as the substantial influence of China on.the.global.market ..The.second.section.is.about.“Language.and.Culture”,. addressing.issues.related.with.the.process.of.learning.the.Chinese.language. and the need to include education about culture and cultural differences within.this.process ..The.second.very.important.issue.mentioned.here.is.ICT. applications for learning Chinese. The authors prove how effective the usage of.technology.could.be.and.how.rapidly.it.can.increase.positive.results.in. the.process.of.Chinese.language.acquisition ..The.third.section.is.“European. Projects”, where different European projects related to Chinese language teaching.and.learning.are.presented ..Most.of.them.use.the.latest.technology. to. accelerate. the. process. of. learning .. In. some. texts. www.Chinese4.eu. project.is.mentioned.as.an.example.of.a.good.practice ..Last.but.not.least.is. the fourth section called “Varia”. Within this section different types of articles can.be.found.which.address.issues.of.EU-China.relations.not.mentioned. in.the.previous.sections ..The.authors.are.representatives.from.academia,. as. well. as. professionals. who. are. actively. engaged. in. business. and. trade. relations.with.China,.together.with.some.whose.life-passion.is.China.and. EU-China.relations . Preface Acknowledgments We.would.like.to.express.many.thanks.to.a.number.of.people.who.contributed. to.this.publication ..We.are.most.grateful.to.authors.of.articles,.who.decided. to. share. their. passion,. enthusiasm,. experience. and. knowledge. in. many. different fields of EU-China relations. Neither the International Conference “China.–.Language ..Culture ..Business”,.nor.this.publication.would.have.been. realized.so.successfully.without.the.great.work.and.deep.engagement.of.all. “Chinese.For.Europeans”.project.partners ..Here.is.the.place.to.thank Antwerp. Management.School.for.their.great.hospitality ..We.are.also.truly.grateful.to. Warsaw.Academy.of.Computer.Science,.Management.and.Administration. and.many.other.contributors,.who.dedicated.many.hours.of.hard.work.to. contribute.to.this.publication . Last. but. not. least. are. all. participants. of. the. International. Conference. “China.–.Language ..Culture ..Business” ..Thank.you.for.your.presence,. engagement.and.professionalism ..We.have.learned.a.lot.from.you.all ..This. event.would.not.have.reached.such.a.high.level.without.you ..Thank.you . Business Communication and Management Corporate governance of Chinese enterprises in Europe: A preliminary study on ownership structure and management control Haiyan Zhang Antwerp Management School. University of Antwerp Daniel Van Den Bulcke University of Antwerp 1. Introduction The.corporate.governance.literature.strongly.focuses.on.the.parent.com- panies of multinational enterprises, especially the largest and listed firms. As.many.of.the.subsidiaries.of.emerging.multinational.enterprise.(MNEs).are. rather.small.and.medium.sized.legal.entities.in.the.host.countries,.the.man- agement.and.corporate.governance.dimensions.of.these.overseas.subsid- 10 Business Communication and Management iaries.are.less.often.studied,.although.they.constitute.an.important.aspect. of.multinational.groups ..With.regard.to.the.Chinese.companies,.the.studies. about.corporate.governance.are.relatively.new.and.have.almost.entirely.ne- glected its international dimension. On the basis of Amadeus dataset which provide.information.on.the.shareholders.and.board.of.directors.of.European. based.companies,.this.paper.investigates.the.ownership.structure.and.cor- porate.governance.(e g. ..shareholders.and.board.members).of.Chinese.com- panies.operating.in.Europe ..The.study.also.provides.some.insights.into.man- agement.aspects.of.Chinese.companies.in.Europe . 2. Data source sand sample description The firm-level data which are used in this study were compiled from the Amadeus European company database in November 2010. This database contains comprehensive financial and business data on over 18 million com- panies registered in 43 European countries. The database consists of annual accounts (consolidated and unconsolidated), financial ratios, sectoral activi- ties.and.ownership.information.of.the.large.public.companies.and.the.un- listed.private.companies ..This.unique.pan-European.database.also.provides. information.about.the.board.members.of.each.company,.such.as.the.name. of. the. directors,. their. title. and. management. function,. nationality,. home.