Taal & Antoinette Martin in front of their restaurant in China called Mexican Kitchen
By Steven Barboza
Within approximately a decade, China has accelerated its urban infrastructure development by creating futuristic skyscrapers and sleek, high-speed trains, resulting in the belief by many that the country has surpassed the United States in economic dominance. In fact, nearly half of Americans (47 percent) think China is the world’s leading economic power, according to a Pew survey.
It’s no surprise then that African Americans have begun to head East in search of entrepreneurial and employment opportunities. After all, the unemployment rate for blacks in the U.S. is 15.8 percent, nearly twice the rate of whites at 8.6 percent. China may have billions of people, but its unemployment rate is only 4 percent, and the demands of modernization can equate to employment if you’ve got the talent needed and the courage to make the move.
“In 2005, [my husband and I] had an opportunity to come to China via a family friend who lived here for many years, and [our friend] asked if we’d like to open a new restaurant,” said Antoinette Martin, a former food writer and New York City restaurant manager. “I thought it would be a great opportunity.”
Martin is among a growing number of African Americans seeking a new beginning in the bustling cities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen, where American brands such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks and KFC are popular and many Chinese want to practice their English on newcomers.
Martin and her husband, Taal, a former wine merchant from New York’s Upper West Side, arrived in Beijing five years ago this month. Today, they are partners in a well-known restaurant chain featuring Western cuisine. Their company, Global Cuisine Beijing, owns and operates three popular restaurants: the American Cafe, the Mexican Kitchen and Little Italy.
The restaurants, frequented by both Chinese and foreign diners, are relatively unique, even in one of the world’s largest cities. The American Cafe is located in the heart of Beijing, an area known as Central Business District. The other two are in a leafy suburb called Shunyi. Together, the restaurants serve nearly 300 dinners at a time and have gotten good reviews.
The Martins also run a catering business. Clients include the American embassy and multinational companies. “We love what we’re doing,” said Antoinette. “We have full control over the product we’re selling and our ideas are totally coming from us. We have a great team of people working for us, and we have a really nice lifestyle.”
The Chinese economy is rapidly developing in urban cities. It has grown seven times as fast as the U.S. economy over the past decade (316 percent vs. 43 percent). Still, businesses face roadblocks, and for foreigners, they can prove especially daunting.
“China has its own way of doing things,” said Antoinette. “You have to try to work within the system. There’s always a new law for something, and you have to adjust.” It can be difficult for foreigners to obtain business licenses in China, which is why the Martins formed a partnership with a Chinese local.
There have been other adjustments the Martins had to make in order to adapt to Chinese culture, such as deal with a high employee-turnover rate during the Chinese New Year and getting around the language barrier.
“We speak enough Mandarin to get around,” said Antoinette. “But if we have to do negotiations, I need a translator. And I wouldn’t go to the doctor or do anything on a higher level without an interpreter. I’m fine with the back-and-forth translation. That’s part of what we signed up for. If I can’t find someone to translate, then we’re in trouble,” she said.
Tony Perkins, a broadcast journalist from Indiana, is another member of Beijing’s black community. A radio and TV reporter since 1980, Perkins landed a teaching job at Indiana University, then in 2007, he learned about an opportunity in China. Today, he is a sports broadcaster for China Central Television (CCTV), China’s international network. His half-hour show, “Sports Scene,” airs twice daily in English in 57 countries and is carried in the U.S. on DirecTV and the Dish Network.
“For the most part, our audience is English-speaking people anywhere in the world, whether they’re business people in hotel rooms or somebody who is living and teaching in a foreign country and misses home, ” said Perkins.
Perkins’ show is like ESPN, Chinese-style. “We do scores and highlights of events of international interest,” he said. “We have everything that you would find on a typical American sports channel [including] feature stories on Chinese athletes.”
Perkins documents his experiences on his . According to Perkins, in China, African Americans are regarded as foreigners and are confused with Africans. “Most Chinese have never seen a black foreigner,” he said. “They’ll just stare at you.”
Like other Americans, Perkins has difficulty with Mandarin, but added that many multinational companies “take great steps with translators and do a great job streamlining things for foreigners who don’t speak the language. That makes things so much easier for their meetings and the business that they conduct,” he said.
Perkins advises anyone traveling to China to take along business cards (also called “name cards” in China) printed in both Mandarin (or Cantonese) and English. He also recommends that business people learn about the Chinese concept of guanxi (pronounced gwan-chi). “Once you have a trusting relationship with a Chinese business person, it’s said that that person has an obligation to help you, to avoid losing face, or self-respect,” he said. “But then, on the other hand, it’s your obligation to do him a favor as well. You’re doing favors for each other. This is something that’s deeply ingrained in the culture.”
In addition, business people should expect to be asked questions that wouldn’t ordinarily be asked in the West. “The people you are working with in China may ask how old you are and how much you earn,” explained Perkins. “These things are [considered] rude in the Western world, but in China, this is a matter of regular conversation. If you don’t want to answer, you smile and ignore the question, and most Chinese people will understand,” he said.
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