Balloons over Beijing

Sheldon my husband and I spent a great deal of time in Hong Kong, meeting with Arthur Kwok the architect, Charles Wrangham the banker, and the Bovis people who were the construction supervisors on the hotel project. It was our responsibility to negotiate with these three entities, and there was a constant, ongoing discussion on a multitude of issues that had to be dealt with.

We would socialize often with our friends Ken and Eugenia Wai. Ken was doing a major part of his business in Southern China, primarily in Guangzhou, where he had family. He had a great deal of knowledge and down-to-earth insight on how to deal with the mainland Chinese, which proved invaluable to us.

He related a story to us of one of his clients, Beatrice Foods, a large conglomerate out of Chicago, Illinois. In 1985, Beatrice negotiated a joint venture with the Guangzhou Ministry of Trade to modify and purchase product required to complete the projects.