Zhang Xin Quotes

Quotes about:

• No economy, no company, in fact no individual can develop its full potential today without embracing two fundamental trends - globalization and digitalization. They will dominate for quite some time to come.

  Zhang Xin

  Two, Full Potential, Fundamentals

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  11 Copy quote

• Isolation means a lack of growth. I grew up in China at a time when the country was completely isolated. That era is over.

  Zhang Xin

  Country, Mean, Growth

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  10 Copy quote

• Many Chinese entrepreneurs are now donating for education; others support foundations in health care and research. None of us wants to be the richest guy in the cemetery.

  Zhang Xin

  Support, Entrepreneur, Guy

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  11 Copy quote

• Growth will be slower, no one denies that. But the question is: Where are the chances and opportunities now? I see some positive and some negative trends.

  Zhang Xin

  Opportunity, Growth, Negative

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  12 Copy quote

• I have a profound dislike for showing off one's material wealth. This is insensitive and it is not what human hearts are made for. But what I like about China and sometimes miss in Europe is the entrepreneurial spirit of our young people, their ambition and dynamism.

  Zhang Xin

  Ambition, Heart, Europe

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  9 Copy quote

• But the higher our standard of living, the higher our levels of education, the further people will look around. And we can see which level of openness other societies enjoy. We are no different - we too want more freedom. The question is: How much freedom will be allowed?

  Zhang Xin

  People, Different, Looks

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  10 Copy quote

• When we started out, we didn't really think that the era of great opportunity would end one day. We were much too busy developing our companies. But in today's China you can build a city, even a mega-city like Beijing or Shanghai, within 10 or 15 years. And then you are done. So in real estate development, the Gründerzeit is over. But that is not the case in other sectors.

  Zhang Xin

  Real, Opportunity, Thinking

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  8 Copy quote

• It is worthwhile to engage in something that is close to one's heart. I had a scholarship. So if I donate money to give brilliant Chinese students an opportunity to study abroad, then this embodies everything I believe in: education, globalization, social mobility. I am an example of social mobility.

  Zhang Xin

  Believe, Heart, Opportunity

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  7 Copy quote

• Chinese no longer crave so much for food and accommodation, but they do crave democracy. I stand by that. I don't know which model China will follow.

  Zhang Xin

  Chinese, Democracy, China

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  7 Copy quote

• We are not very good at this. Our success rests on our international experience and on our ability to read the market. And I contest the notion that you can only succeed in China when you are well-connected. Neither my husband nor I are "princelings" - children of influential people, that is. And yet China has enabled us to succeed.

  Zhang Xin

  Children, Husband, People

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  7 Copy quote

• When we started out, we were among the first. Beijing had no and Shanghai had very few large buildings. At that time, it was all about building, building, building - and then selling, selling, selling. We were working like a manufacturer. Soon, however, we realized that land was running out in Beijing and Shanghai. So we started keeping our buildings, and managing and renting them out. We became landowners. That was the second act.

  Zhang Xin

  Running, Land, Firsts

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  7 Copy quote

• Investors don't like uncertainty. The market is telling us that they need certainty, they need to see where the economy is heading. If the government is committed to continue the Open Door policy, they will need to come up with concrete policies and execution steps to increase confidence.

  Zhang Xin

  Government, Doors, Needs

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  9 Copy quote

• Country [China] needs to continue opening up and keep connecting. It needs to realize that the world has become one. The old concept of isolation, the idea that you can solve your problems on your own does not work anymore - neither in cultural, economic, nor political terms.

  Zhang Xin

  Country, Ideas, Opening Up

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  4 Copy quote

• The question is not about whether it will work or not. It's how quickly we can pull it off. Structural change will happen. When economies grow, there comes a time when you cannot rely on investment alone. We had that. The return on investment is becoming less and less. So we have to change. The old model doesn't work anymore. It's a question of speed.

  Zhang Xin

  Return, Becoming, Speed

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  5 Copy quote

• I am a runner. Last October, there was a marathon here in Beijing. I didn't participate this time, but friends told me that the run wasn't prepared too well. The organizers had only arranged about three hours' worth of food and water supplies. Most people don't finish within three hours, however. Too bad for them - or so it seemed. In fact, however, even those finishing last were perfectly taken care of, particularly during the fourth and fifth hour when demand is highest.

  Zhang Xin

  Running, Taken, Water

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  9 Copy quote

• I used to ask myself why American universities are financed through endowments. Now I know: During the early days of America, the state was poor and when citizens wanted to set something up, they needed to collect money themselves. Historically, this was different in Europe. There used to be a strong state, a monarch or a king. He provided money.

  Zhang Xin

  Strong, Kings, Europe

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  7 Copy quote

• I'm afraid what we are building today will not have the same impact and sustainability of the architecture of a 100, 500 or 1,000 years ago. The buildings of those days were miracles. We don't perform such miracles today. So we should be a little more modest. For my part, I'll be glad to show one of my buildings one day to my grandchildren and say: I'm proud of that.

  Zhang Xin

  Grandchildren, Impact, Years

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  6 Copy quote

• I think our legal system needs to be developed. Cases of citizens who are detained and then have to wait much too long for a trial - that is scary, for everyone. When someone commits a crime he needs to be charged quickly. Why does this take so long in many cases? I don't know. Is it because our legal system is still rudimentary? China has promised to modernize its legal system. This has high priority.

  Zhang Xin

  Thinking, Long, Priorities

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  4 Copy quote

• China has consistently surprised us. When I returned from the United States many years ago, it was unimaginable that we would end up where we are now. What China has achieved defies all logic. I credit this to the hard work and enterprising spirit of the Chinese people.

  Zhang Xin

  Hard Work, Years, People

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  4 Copy quote

• Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that he will donate $45 billion of his wealth to philanthropy. Two years ago, my husband and I decided to endow $100 million to set up the SOHO China Scholars. This program will give financial aid to Chinese students so they can attend the best universities in the world.

  Zhang Xin

  Husband, Years, Zuckerberg

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  4 Copy quote

• We have become so quick and effective in building things today. It would be easy to build another Pyramid of Giza or another Great Wall. But these buildings haven't withstood the test of time because of their building quality. They stand tall because they have a symbolic value, they represent a culture.

  Zhang Xin

  Wall, Pyramids, Quality

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  5 Copy quote

• I firmly believe that digitalization has only just begun in China. In addition to the taxi, transport, shopping and hotel businesses, many other industries will follow: education, health care, administration, even the legal branch - everything, really. There is still a lot of opportunity in China for the inventive and ambitious ones.

  Zhang Xin

  Believe, Opportunity, Shopping

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  8 Copy quote

• But it is a worry that there have been so many delays in the reform of China's state-owned enterprises. We all know that private companies are run more efficiently than state ones. These reforms are very much anticipated for the potential dynamism they could create.

  Zhang Xin

  Running, Worry, Reform

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  4 Copy quote

• China reformed its state sector before, in the late 1990s. Tens of millions were laid off at the time. That was scary and we had warnings of social unrest. But it did not happen. Instead, there was a restructuring in our economic system. I am not sure if China will follow a Western playbook in this respect.

  Zhang Xin

  Social Unrest, Scary, Warning

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  4 Copy quote

• Many years ago, we were only able to build boxes. Today, architects from all over the world are working with us - Zaha Hadid from London, Gerkan, Marg and Partner from Hamburg, Kengo Kuma from Japan. We brought design and digitalization from abroad to China.

  Zhang Xin

  Japan, Years, Design

  Source: www.spiegel.de

  4 Copy quote

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