As multinational corporations compete for a share of China's burgeoning economy, they face various human resource issues, including how to recruit, develop and retain local staff.

China is suffering from a 'demographic black hole'

"When a company hires a new president, China and its bigger rival launches a US lawsuit citing 'predatory hiring,' then you know that China is hot," says Mike Goldstone, founder and managing partner of Goldstone & Co., a Hong Kong-based firm specialising in executive search, board advisory, and human resource advisory.

In sharing his perceptions with Expatica, Goldstone points to what may be lesser known facts: Lee is not even a Mainland Chinese (he is Taiwanese), he is US-educated, and he has spent most of his career in the United States.

According to Goldstone, who has 12 years' experience hiring heads of China for Western multinationals, Lee’s background illustrates that the profile of a high-level executive, even one in demand, isn't necessarily obvious.

The competition for Lee also raises the question: Why is hiring senior executives in China so difficult?

Skills gap

With a population of 1.3 billion, it seems China would have an abundance of in-country talent. But Goldstone indicates this isn't the case.

"China suffers from a 'demographic Black Hole'," he tells Expatica. "Because of the closure of the Chinese universities during the Cultural Revolution, China did not produce any academically trained graduates between 1982 and 1996, and then only in small numbers for several years.

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