Two weeks until I arrive in Beijing. At this point I have 10 confirmed meetings, almost all through my own networking. All of that has been very smooth, except for the confusion regarding two different Zhang Tao’s – one at Baidu and the other at Dianping.com. There are 10 more of those meeting in process, and the Eisenhower network is just starting to kick in. I’ve gotten a lot of messages back from people that a month is way too long ahead in China.

I’ve also had conversations with more people here who have worked in China, including Bill Doran from Morgan Lewis and Ron Drozd from the World Trade Center of Philadelphia, and venture capitalist David Williams. I and have continued to hear a consistent refrain: there’s tons of opportunity in China – for the Chinese. The challenges around intellectual property are well-known. I have been surprised to hear, though, things like how difficult it is to collect payment and how transient relationships with U.S. partners can be. I’ve had warnings to, in effect, keep my hand on my wallet. Chinese will all be happy to meet with me, I am told, with a single goal: to learn everything they can about how we do things. I’ll be very interested to see for myself.

My visa for China has come through, but not yet for Tibet. And I’m starting to think through all the specifics – what to pack, what kind of suitcase I should take, etc…