Recent Stanford MBA Grad Jason Jianyu Tu was born in 1989 in a small village 125 miles south of Xian--in what he termed a "sixth-tier city," meaning, "There's a very slim chance you can be successful." (See post one.) His parents, well aware of this, searched for ways out of this small village, and eventually found a path to Xian. (See post two.) The big city of Xian--although only a hop, skip and a jump away--was like a different planet, with buses and fast food and a really tough school. (See post three.) Jason gave up trying to do well in school, instead focusing his energy where his passions lay: guitar and blockbuster movies. (See post four.) While Jason's high school headmaster did not have high hopes that Jason would get a college degree, Jason jumped through hoop after hoop to get accepted to the University of Washington. His only problem? Funding. (See post five.) Thanks, however, to a mass e-mail marketing campaign, Jason found himself accepted to the University of Evansville in Indiana. (See post six.) He was thrilled...until he landed in what felt was the middle of nowhere. (See post seven.) As Jason was one of two Chinese people at the school, he was immediately the expert on anything and everything that had to do with China. (See post eight.) Not only that, but he was soon paired up with an American host family, something he looks back on as a very important part of his life. (See post nine.) Despite the warm welcome in Evansville, he decided he needed to move to a bigger place. (See post ten.) Upon graduating with a degree in Economics from Purdue University, however, Jason still had trouble finding a job. He was initially relieved to get a Research Fellowship at Toulouse School of Economics in France. (See post eleven.) The inefficiency of France drove him nuts. (See post twelve.) When his professor failed to grade an important exam, Jason realized he was in the wrong spot. (post thirteen.) After a two-year stint working in Hong Kong, Jason applied to Stanford MBA program--and was accepted. (post fourteen.) As part of the MBA program, he was charged with leading a group of students to China. (post fifteen.) Upon graduation, Jason decided to start his own company Mioying and join the ever-changing landscape of China (See post sixteen.) When asked about that landscape, he said that today's young people aren't that political, and not that concerned about the "speech issue." (post seventeen.) Their biggest concerns are Law/Order and Faith (See post eighteen.) As for the U.S., his chief concern is the media, its use and mis-use. (See Post Nineteen.)
As our conversation waned to a close, I asked what Jason thought about future relations between the two countries. (This was well before the November 2016 election.)
“I think the Obama admin did a very good job. I think compared to a very white traditional president in the past, Obama actually did a lot of things in the Chinese way. George W Bush, before he ever did something he’d say, “I’m gonna do that!” Obama wouldn’t do that."
Instead, according to Jason, Obama just got things done.
“So I hope into the future the leadership in the U.S. can be more geared toward tangible stuff of the two countries, and less about fighting words about territorial stuff and words that don’t make much sense. Getting deals is better than firing words at each other. "
“I think U.S., if it focuses on technology, will keep leading the world for the next century or half century. But if it focuses too much on asserting power on the rest of the world—even some of the strongest allies in the Middle East don’t like when America does something that. ‘You have to do it.’....
"If America focuses on its core technologies and takes a less strong stance on some of these international issues, and China tries to be open-minded and to manage the information better (not everything centered to the Communist party), then I think the countries will be so well-integrated we won’t have any major problems.
“A lot of people are saying that China is the biggest debt holder of the U.S. because the savings rate is high, and a lot of ordinary (Chinese) people hold U.S. assets. (But) similarly, a lot of Americans can buy Chinese investment products. Once the two countries are so interconnected, it’s going to be just like a big family who quarrels from time to time. ‘I’m not happy with you. You’re not happy with me. But we still get along.’"
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