The past was brilliant, the future uncertain. About Swedish companies in China

This year, 2021, is a good time to sum up Swedish business activity in China. Our companies have gone through all sorts of phases, the pioneering years, the joint-venture years, the sole foreign ownership years, the tough competitions years and finally, we are at the end of the pandemic years. I have tried to research the issue to find out lessons learned and who can survive in the future. I have interviewed 45 companies and studied a few others through open sources.

We are honored to welcome Bengt Johansson in another installment of ISDP’s China Lectures. He started as China area manager at the Swedish Trade Council in 1974. After that, he joined the foreign ministry as China trade officer. Later he worked at the consulate in Hong Kong, twice at the embassy in Beijing, and twice as consul-general in Shanghai. In the last years he has been an adjunct professor at Shanghai University teaching CSR to Executive MBA classes.