CPEC: Chinese work ethic and its implication for Pakistan

[Kabira]

ISLAMABAD: The $1.8-billion Sahiwal Coal Power Project, now part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), employs 3,000 Pakistani personnel and 1,000 Chinese.

The Chinese construction firm deputed at the new Islamabad International Airport has around 200 Pakistanis and 100 Chinese. These ratios are indicative of the mix of human resource pool that CPEC is now generating. These projects have long gestation period, demanding long term commitments of these personnel. Today, I will not talk about the economic aspect of this blend, but will comment on the work ethic, and the possible influence that Chinese workers may have on Pakistani workers, having come from a considerably more developed economy than Pakistan’s.

According to a Gallup survey, China’s staggering economic growth has been fuelled not only by the attempt to replace a socialist “command economy” with one built along market lines, but also by an extraordinary commitment to hard work among the people of the Middle Kingdom.

Harvard theologian Michael Novak has argued that certain Confucian values are similar to those analysed by Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904). Such values help explain the extraordinary performance of China’s economy following economic liberalisation. According to the British historian Niall Ferguson, “If you were a wealthy industrialist living in Europe in the late nineteenth century, there was a disproportionate chance that you were a Protestant…. It seemed as if the forms of faith and ways of worship were in some way correlated with people’s economic fortunes.”

Confucianism is often characterised as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism was built on ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. It was what sociologist Robert Bellah called a “civil religion.”

What do the Chinese themselves say about their personal values and philosophies? Since 1994, Gallup has asked the people of China which of these six statements comes closest to describing their basic attitude toward life: Work hard and get rich; Study hard and make a name for yourself; Don’t think about money or fame, just live a life that suits your own tastes; Live each day as it comes, cheerfully and without worrying; Resist all evils in the world and live a pure and just life; Never think of yourself, give everything in service to society.

In its last count, the Gallup survey reveals that not surprisingly, the credo “work hard and get rich” is by far the most popular choice, selected by 53% of respondents.

I wonder if such a question is posed to Pakistanis, how most will respond, though I am tempted to select “Live each day as it comes, cheerfully and without worrying”. In my last bus ride on Metro, I became part of a conversation between two young men – one who had graduated from a vocational institute two years ago and was still jobless – the other just got admission in a vocational institute and had spent only a day there. The graduated young man was advising the student to find a reference or seek job opportunity outside Pakistan. When I asked him how he has spent last two years, his answer, without a sense of remorse, was “wandering around.” This is certainly cheerfulness.

A leading Pakistani commentator Khaled Ahmed drew a comparison of work ethic within Pakistan. He writes that there is no doubt that in the west there is a kind of trust in individual transactions that one doesn’t always find in Pakistani society. At least, society offers an uneven manifestation of it. For instance, in Punjab, where the individual is still a “warrior,” it is minimal: people don’t trust the “other” enough to enter into firm commitments (commitment is an important part of trust) and end up not paying for goods bought. On the other hand, in Karachi, where businessmen belong to traditionally trading communities, trust is fundamental to economic success. The Lahore trader is notorious for his “pipeline” payment system; the Karachi trader pays promptly on receipt of goods.

In the recently held CPEC Summit, someone asked the question of cultural implications of CPEC for Pakistan, to which Minister Ahsan Iqbal replied that government is setting up Confucian Centers throughout the country.

In a society, which is overtly religious and ritualistic, yet does not practice honesty and hard work in general, the introduction of values from a Civil Religion should be welcome. However, I hope that Chinese businessmen will not inspire their Pakistani counterparts to get more dependent on the government, which is unfortunately still a hallmark of businesses in both countries. It is also hoped that Chinese will adopt the Confucian full circle, as the old Confucianism also required officials to criticise their rulers and refuse to serve the corrupt.

The writer is founder and executive director of PRIME Institute, an independent economic policy think tank based in Islamabad

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2016.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1175988/cpec-chinese-work-ethic-implication-pakistan/

 

[Kabira]

@Kaptaan this article posted today on tribune sound very similar to one of your posts on CPEC.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

@Kaptaan this article posted today on tribune sound very similar to one of your posts on CPEC.

That is great article which almost reflects my thinking (don't want sound pompous like that Viper guy) and CPEC will bring in a fresh winds that might begin to influence and change in society. Like I said it is the ideas and mindset that will bring change - not the concrete. The latter only gives Pakistan a chance to change, to capitalize a golden opportunity.

I will give full reply later.

@Sinopakfriend

 

[war&peace]

I think it will be an opportunity for both cultures to exchange values and ideas and I wish that both sides cherry pick only the good ones and leave out the bad.
A large number of Pakistanis are religious in a ritualistic term but they have not adopted the values of work ethics taught by Islam.

 

[Azadkashmir]

we are easy going and wonder bout rather than race for job we go with the flow. it also our culture of lack of trust that messes up alot of job opportunity. you get job with uncle firm you going to be worked to death and then he pay yoou lower than promised and still complain. plus the some guy wants to buy, wants the goods it cheaper and cheaper you go bankrupt. or that dodgy uncle who sellls overdated food in his shop or cheats in his prices and weight of goods.

we are corrupt.

bro i know loads of hajis who abuse their workers in thier cash and carrys and the worker beats his wife out of frustration. but haji gets full respect from people. oh hai allah apko lami zandagi dayn. i wish these guys do die awfull death. tuba if i ever work for apnay.

pakistanis are hard workers but you can be abused or stuck with dead end jobs or low wages.
when i go pakistan sum mangator begs take me england. i warn them we dont have life its work, bills sleep eat work etc everyday. these mangator dont listen then that big day comes
he lands in england thrown straight into the war zone yes those hat or sock making factories 12 hour shift, where the owner is namazi but will give no breaks very low wages swear at them, make them do task which is not his job,. after this the mangator learns the hard way after that he is turned into 12 hour shift zombie for 6/7 days. once he quits he is changed man no more big ego talk no more i buy you this your my nephew, no more time for volleyball games, ciggerrettes sorry only capstan rations, i chip u on it lolz, and sleep. from here he turns sly and conjuse and a user.

pakistani conjusy and of abuse, which destroys ones heart to become rotten, and the next generation starts to do same. history repeats.

 

[Shotgunner51]

That is great article which almost reflects my thinking (don't want sound pompous like that Viper guy) and CPEC will bring in a fresh winds that might begin to influence and change in society. Like I said it is the ideas and mindset that will bring change - not the concrete. The latter only gives Pakistan a chance to change, to capitalize a golden opportunity.

I will give full reply later.

@Sinopakfriend

Please tag me when you do so, thanks!

 

[Indus Pakistan]

A few words on work ethic. Some years back my brother was living in a student house and it was shared with quite few Chinese students. One of them a girl - Vicky, many Chinese show no hang ups about adopting anything for convenience or if they think it is better from anywhere. They don't get constipated like our lot do with terms like "Westernized" or "Ghora" or whatever. They remain steadfast to their core values but show no hesitation in imbibing anything from anywhere if it provides some advantage.

This Vicky was from mainland Chinese city near HK and was only 18 year old, slim, short and probably below 7 stone. She presented a child like figure and had the physical presence of skinny 12 year old. Yet here she was on other side of the world living in house of strangers(all males) in UK on other side of the world.

But don't let size fool you. Inside that small immature frame was a powerhouse. On Saturdsay she would get up 5am and go to another town nearby. She would take suitcase with her full of pirated movies including XXX rated. She would sell these and come back by afternoon making over £100 net profit after costs.

By 8.00pm she would slip into tiny minskirt and tight top and she was off again to club where she would work as waitress in environment full of drunken louts who towered over her like giants. That did not by slightest bit slow here. She finished by 2.00am. She was making over £250-£300 week while a full time student.

Now what did she do with the money? Maybe you think she had elderly poor parents back in China and she was working like crazy in hostile conditions to pay of the debts. No sir. Her parents were reasonably well off. They had paid for all her education and living costs.

But she wanted the good things in life. She did not save penny. She spent every penny as soon as she made it. On what? Expensive clothes. Latest gadgets like mobiles. Perfumes. Holidays to Europe. She was like those mouse you see on those treadmills. Running like crazy but remaining at the same place. However taken as purely a economic factor she was giant. Making and spending. over £30,000 was moving through her little fingers evey year.

And she was by means no exception. All the other Chinese were at it. They would make money and then go to some stupid event and spend all of it. It was then I realized that with 1,300 million Chinese doing the same thing the result would be a economic super power. There were other aspects to the Chinese. Very clean. Very orderly. The kitchen had to be exactly ordered and every user would make sure everything was left exactly the way it was before. They would use milk but then make sure that milk was replaced. There was exactness and honesty there.

“work hard and get rich”

This defines the Chinese. They do not let culture, religion, dogma or tradition in any away come in the way of theirquest to "work hard and play hard".

This is just intro. I will develop on these points as and when I collect my though or get time.

@Shotgunner51

 

[HAIDER]

A few words on work ethic. Some years back my brother was living in a student house and it was shared with quite few Chinese students. One of them a girl - Vicky, many Chinese show no hang ups about adopting anything for convenience or if they think it is better from anywhere. They don't get constipated like our lot do with terms like "Westernized" or "Ghora" or whatever. They remain steadfast to their core values but show no hesitation in imbibing anything from anywhere if it provides some advantage.

This Vicky was from mainland Chinese city near HK and was only 18 year old, slim, short and probably below 7 stone. She presented a child like figure and had the physical presence of skinny 12 year old. Yet here she was on other side of the world living in house of strangers(all males) in UK on other side of the world.

But don't let size fool you. Inside that small immature frame was a powerhouse. On Saturdsay she would get up 5am and go to another town nearby. She would take suitcase with her full of pirated movies including XXX rated. She would sell these and come back by afternoon making over £100 net profit after costs.

By 8.00pm she would slip into tiny minskirt and tight top and she was off again to club where she would work as waitress in environment full of drunken louts who towered over her like giants. That did not by slightest bit slow here. She finished by 2.00am. She was making over £250-£300 week while a full time student.

Now what did she do with the money? Maybe you think she had elderly poor parents back in China and she was working like crazy in hostile conditions to pay of the debts. No sir. Her parents were reasonably well off. They had paid for all her education and living costs.

But she wanted the good things in life. She did not save penny. She spent every penny as soon as she made it. On what? Expensive clothes. Latest gadgets like mobiles. Perfumes. Holidays to Europe. She was like those mouse you see on those treadmills. Running like crazy but remaining at the same place. However taken as purely a economic factor she was giant. Making and spending. over £30,000 was moving through her little fingers evey year.

And she was by means no exception. All the other Chinese were at it. They would make money and then go to some stupid event and spend all of it. It was then I realized that with 1,300 million Chinese doing the same thing the result would be a economic super power. There were other aspects to the Chinese. Very clean. Very orderly. The kitchen had to be exactly ordered and every user would make sure everything was left exactly the way it was before. They would use milk but then make sure that milk was replaced. There was exactness and honesty there.


This defines the Chinese. They do not let culture, religion, dogma or tradition in any away come in the way of theirquest to "work hard and play hard".

This is just intro. I will develop on these points as and when I collect my though or get time.

@Shotgunner51

Interesting .....I was thinking to replace my Samsung with Iphone 7.....lolzz...engulf in economic sarcasm ...

 

[Azadkashmir]

yes its true chinese do work like that and the funny thing is it doesnt matter how much the customer complains to them they take and smile. my friend worked as delivery driver for chinese take away. they run it like military precision. they would even pomise customers they get the food to thier address in such minute or if its late then its free lolz.

we would have customer deliberatily pay pound or 50p less, my friend would ring up the chinese take away and they would reply its ok they customer regulars.

the richer they are, the smaller the tips.

 

[HAIDER]

yes its true chinese do work like that and the funny thing is it doesnt matter how much the customer complains to them they take and smile. my friend worked as delivery driver for chinese take away. they run it like military precision. they would even pomise customers they get the food to thier address in such minute or if its late then its free lolz.

we would have customer deliberatily pay pound or 50p less, my friend would ring up the chinese take away and they would reply its ok they customer regulars.

the richer they are, the smaller the tips.

When come to tip...no one can beat American yuppies .....

 

[Azadkashmir]

When come to tip...no one can beat American yuppies .....

well american is size up xxxl.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

One thing I have to admit I found very annoying about one particular Chinese. when he ate food he sort of snorted it up and made very loud annoying sounds. All in all very undignified.

I don't agree with the notion of Pakistani's being hardworkers. They are "survivalists". That is they will kill themselves to make enough to survive, then save some and then relax. They won't spend any money other than what is absolutely neccessary to survive. No holidays. No trinkets. No fancy clothes etc.

That is why if you go to Pakistan see you see all they guy's hanging around or slouching about, busy but busy in doing nothing. It's not that there is no work to be done. The entire country needs rebuilding. I always wonder why can't villages get together and use all that young under employed youth to dig up the streets and lay underground sanitation pipes and then surface the street. Then plant some trees along the street and that village would look and feel like quaint village. Instead all the young are going around holding guns, using all that energy to cause mischief, while the elders on the way back from the mosque are busy talling about about some other villager.

Meantime the drainage is wide open, stinks like hell and these guy's are lecturing about halal and haram while inhaling stink. When work is done it is minimalist and everything is done to cheat. corners are cut. The clever is the one who can get through the day with minimal done. This reflects in everything. Shoddy workmanship. We are not talking about building stealth fighters or rocket technology. The shoddy work shows in small things. The cleaner does not clean properly. The bank clerk does not service his customer properly. The police officer does not put real effort in his work. The builders do not build properly. The final product shows to the human eye.

Look below. This is the ATC building being built at the new Islamabad Airport. It looks shoddy even before it is completed?

Look at the kerbs on the edge of the road. Terrible quality. In UK kerbs that are 40 years old look in better condition. Same below. You can see each kerb piece. They should all lock into each other seamlessly. This shows first that the kerb is poor quality that it does not fit into each piece properly and the workman don't bother aligning them exactly. This shows to the human eye in the incorrections. If you look at the road in the foreground next to the worker you can see the stupid kinks in the line. Why not a gentle curve? Why is straight, bend, straight, bend? Why not smooth gradual curve? You might think I am being over picky but quality resides in the fine details. A BMW and Suzuki are cars but it is the attention to detail that the human eye is attracted to in the former. In other words quality shows to the eye. This all exposes the shoddy mentality behind the builders.

Another thing I never understood is why Pakistani builders are incapable of building sloping roofs. You might wonder what is the big deal? Well there is. Sloping roofs allow rain run off with appropriate piping to the ground. Flat roofs cause rain to trick along the walls. This not only leads to ugly discolouration but cracks. That is why Pakistan urban areas present a ugly, worn out look. The only thing I can asume is Pakistan society never goes for the proper way of doing things. I do know when the English were in what is Pakistan almost every building had a sloping roof. Below Karachi 1900.

Karachi 1900

Therefore we can only hope that Chinese interaction causes a slow but sustained change in society where they pay more attention onthe tangible and less on dogma and religion. A few hundred British changed the shape and scape of Pakistan in less than 97 years. With China being neighbour however a lager more sustained change may come about. CPEC is a corridor down which many things will flow down from China. Most precious will be the mindset of the Chinese.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

A few words on work ethic. Some years back my brother was living in a student house and it was shared with quite few Chinese students. One of them a girl - Vicky, many Chinese show no hang ups about adopting anything for convenience or if they think it is better from anywhere. They don't get constipated like our lot do with terms like "Westernized" or "Ghora" or whatever. They remain steadfast to their core values but show no hesitation in imbibing anything from anywhere if it provides some advantage.

This Vicky was from mainland Chinese city near HK and was only 18 year old, slim, short and probably below 7 stone. She presented a child like figure and had the physical presence of skinny 12 year old. Yet here she was on other side of the world living in house of strangers(all males) in UK on other side of the world.

But don't let size fool you. Inside that small immature frame was a powerhouse. On Saturdsay she would get up 5am and go to another town nearby. She would take suitcase with her full of pirated movies including XXX rated. She would sell these and come back by afternoon making over £100 net profit after costs.

By 8.00pm she would slip into tiny minskirt and tight top and she was off again to club where she would work as waitress in environment full of drunken louts who towered over her like giants. That did not by slightest bit slow here. She finished by 2.00am. She was making over £250-£300 week while a full time student.

Now what did she do with the money? Maybe you think she had elderly poor parents back in China and she was working like crazy in hostile conditions to pay of the debts. No sir. Her parents were reasonably well off. They had paid for all her education and living costs.

But she wanted the good things in life. She did not save penny. She spent every penny as soon as she made it. On what? Expensive clothes. Latest gadgets like mobiles. Perfumes. Holidays to Europe. She was like those mouse you see on those treadmills. Running like crazy but remaining at the same place. However taken as purely a economic factor she was giant. Making and spending. over £30,000 was moving through her little fingers evey year.

And she was by means no exception. All the other Chinese were at it. They would make money and then go to some stupid event and spend all of it. It was then I realized that with 1,300 million Chinese doing the same thing the result would be a economic super power. There were other aspects to the Chinese. Very clean. Very orderly. The kitchen had to be exactly ordered and every user would make sure everything was left exactly the way it was before. They would use milk but then make sure that milk was replaced. There was exactness and honesty there.


This defines the Chinese. They do not let culture, religion, dogma or tradition in any away come in the way of theirquest to "work hard and play hard".

This is just intro. I will develop on these points as and when I collect my though or get time.

@Shotgunner51

Regarding orderliness and being organized, compared to my Chinese or Korean or Japanese colleagues, my desk is always messy. The other day my Chinese boss literally got upset seeing the staffs strewn around in the lab. He literally cleaned it for me and asked me to keep it as if it's my home!!! Then I need my wife to take care of my lab...

 

[war&peace]

I don't agree with the notion of Pakistani's being hardworkers. They are "survivalists". That is they will kill themselves to make enough to survive, then save some and then relax. They won't spend any money other than what is absolutely neccessary to survive. No holidays. No trinkets. No fancy clothes etc.

This is where I will disagree with you since I am against generalising a few particular instances over the entire nations....Chinese may be a homogeneous nation but Pakistanis are not and different people have different mentality...I remember that during my student life, I got a scholarship and the rest was paid by my father but I used to do some TA-ship, personal tutoring, some online teaching and I travelled to everywhere from Yellow Stone National Park to Macchu Picchu and Amazonas, hiked in Andes, flew to Europe and spent time skiing in Ore, Sweden...I did not save anything but I enjoyed my life to fullest within the limitations of my culture and religion. And I have quite a few Pakistani friends who are leading similar lifestyles, some even cross the limits but they are my friends nonetheless.

 

[The Sandman]

One thing I have to admit I found very annoying about one particular Chinese. when he ate food he sort of snorted it up and made very loud annoying sounds. All in all very undignified.

I don't agree with the notion of Pakistani's being hardworkers. They are "survivalists". That is they will kill themselves to make enough to survive, then save some and then relax. They won't spend any money other than what is absolutely neccessary to survive. No holidays. No trinkets. No fancy clothes etc.

That is why if you go to Pakistan see you see all they guy's hanging around or slouching about, busy but busy in doing nothing. It's not that there is no work to be done. The entire country needs rebuilding. I always wonder why can't villages get together and use all that young under employed youth to dig up the streets and lay underground sanitation pipes and then surface the street. Then plant some trees along the street and that village would look and feel like quaint village. Instead all the young are going around holding guns, using all that energy to cause mischief, while the elders on the way back from the mosque are busy talling about about some other villager.

Meantime the drainage is wide open, stinks like hell and these guy's are lecturing about halal and haram while inhaling stink. When work is done it is minimalist and everything is done to cheat. corners are cut. The clever is the one who can get through the day with minimal done. This reflects in everything. Shoddy workmanship. We are not talking about building stealth fighters or rocket technology. The shoddy work shows in small things. The cleaner does not clean properly. The bank clerk does not service his customer properly. The police officer does not put real effort in his work. The builders do not build properly. The final product shows to the human eye.

Look below. This is the ATC building being built at the new Islamabad Airport. It looks shoddy even before it is completed?

Look at the kerbs on the edge of the road. Terrible quality. In UK kerbs that are 40 years old look in better condition. Same below. You can see each kerb piece. They should all lock into each other seamlessly. This shows first that the kerb is poor quality that it does not fit into each piece properly and the workman don't bother aligning them exactly. This shows to the human eye in the incorrections. If you look at the road in the foreground next to the worker you can see the stupid kinks in the line. Why not a gentle curve? Why is straight, bend, straight, bend? Why not smooth gradual curve? You might think I am being over picky but quality resides in the fine details. A BMW and Suzuki are cars but it is the attention to detail that the human eye is attracted to in the former. In other words quality shows to the eye. This all exposes the shoddy mentality behind the builders.

Another thing I never understood is why Pakistani builders are incapable of building sloping roofs. You might wonder what is the big deal? Well there is. Sloping roofs allow rain run off with appropriate piping to the ground. Flat roofs cause rain to trick along the walls. This not only leads to ugly discolouration but cracks. That is why Pakistan urban areas present a ugly, worn out look. The only thing I can asume is Pakistan society never goes for the proper way of doing things. I do know when the English were in what is Pakistan almost every building had a sloping roof. Below Karachi 1900.

Karachi 1900

Therefore we can only hope that Chinese interaction causes a slow but sustained change in society where they pay more attention onthe tangible and less on dogma and religion. A few hundred British changed the shape and scape of Pakistan in less than 97 years. With China being neighbour however a lager more sustained change may come about. CPEC is a corridor down which many things will flow down from China. Most precious will be the mindset of the Chinese.

Excellent post.
I always think about these things you mentioned (and i always thought is it just me who thinks too much about these small things) i mean the house roof's kerbs etc and i always wondered why we Pakistani's never talk about these things why we never even think about these things it is so true that our urban areas looks ugly this is Lahore and this looks really ugly.

and than you look at European cities looks so organized and beautiful not only our Gov but our people should think about these things don't know why even after living under the British rule we never learned a single good thing from them