杂志汇中国与非洲

PHOTO:ISTOCK China has launched a nationwide business startup and innovation initiative with policies designed to benefit all entrepreneurs. In his Report on the Work of the Government delivered to the First Session of the 13th National People’s Congress on March 5, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang noted that in the global race of scientific and technological innovation in the past five years, China has made a shift in many areas from following the pack to keeping pace with and even now leading the pack.

China’s supportive startup policies have seen many university students to start businesses immediately after graduation. According to the 2017 Report on the Employment of University Graduates released by MyCOS, a firm specializing in higher education management data analytics in China, about 3 percent of graduates chose to start their own businesses within half a year after their graduation in 2016. But opinion is divided on whether this is indeed the best time to set up shop.

People like Michael Minhong Yu, Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who is also Chairman of New Oriental Education and Technology Group, believes that university graduates should first work as employees to gain experience before they can run their own companies. Yu observed that less than 5 percent of the university graduates who start businesses within half a year after their graduation achieve success. The other school of thought, however, say that as China’s business environment has become more preferential to entrepreneurs, and the time to startup is definitely after graduation.

During the process of running businesses, these young people can gain useful experience, even when their companies fail. Such experience is more valuable than gaining money in their future development.

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Lin Jianhua President of Peking University

It is true that only a few graduates can be successful when they start businesses. But “being successful” does not only mean earning money. During the process of running businesses, these young people can gain useful experience, even when their companies fail. Such experience is more valuable than gaining money in their future development. It cannot be learned in classroom. I call it business-startup education, which should be a part of our tertiary edu-cation. Encouraging university graduates to start businesses immediately after graduation means encouraging them to develop their entrepreneurship, which includes fostering their abilities to be innovative, solve difficulties and directly face uncertainties.

Wang Xiaochuan CEO of Sougou Inc.

I encourage university graduates to start their businesses immediately after graduation as they are enthusiastic, energetic and dare to try new ideas. All these are very important in running a business. University graduates should diversify their choices of employment, and starting up businesses should be one of the choices. The precondition is that they are fully aware of the risks. Most students have business-startup courses in universities, which can help them find the right project based on their interests. Even if they fail in the short term, they can achieve success in the long term if they have no fear of failure and make constant breakthroughs.

Zeng Guanghao Head of Business Startup and Incubation Base for University Students of Huiyang

We should not only encourage university students to start businesses immediately after graduation, but also guide them to go to rural areas. This is in line with China’s rural revitalization strategy. There are abundant resources in rural areas that can help graduates develop their businesses. In return, when more university graduates, who are tech savvy, go to set up businesses in rural areas, they will drive the economic development of these areas. To realize the goal of rural revitalization, we should change the trend that educated young people from rural areas to work in big cities.

I hope the government at various levels could introduce more incentive policies to encourage university graduates to develop in rural areas so as to help both university graduates and the rural areas.

Everybody who starts a business faces the possibilities of failure. If they fail, it will put them in a very difficult position.

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Hu Yunwang Founder of IC Café

It’s not easy to run a business. You need product innovation, team management and market exploration skills. I don’t think graduates have these capabilities. Students have a lot of academic knowledge, but they do not have enough opportunities to gain practical experience of management. At the same time, they do not have sufficient social experience or social resources. It is difficult for them to gather the necessary talents to build up their work teams. Thus, it is not a good option for students to start businesses immediately after graduation. They should first work as employees, improve their career capacity, and learn the basic corporate operation and management skills.

Chen Maohui CEO of M-Teeth

I don’t think it is a good idea for students to found companies immediately after they graduate from universities. After all, they lack experience and, more importantly, funds. Some people borrow money from banks, which would put them under heavy pressure. Everybody who starts a business faces the possibilities of failure. If they fail, it will put them in a very difficult position. Some people even use their parents’ money for such venture, which I am strongly against. That means they also put their parents at risk. Students are enthusiastic, which is a positive attribute; but if they are too enthusiastic about something, they may become irrational. Many people only see some successful cases of university graduates starting businesses. What they don’t know is, behind the publicized success stories, there are many failed cases. University graduates should rationally analyze their capacity and conditions, especially financial conditions.

Zhou Hongyi Chairman of Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.

It is very easy to register a company in China. But I think it is a great challenge for young people, especially new graduates, to turn their idea into products. China has numerous companies in all sectors, and it is very difficult for a new company to get a share from the market. According to my experience, to be successful in starting businesses, people should think differently. But without long-time working experience in the market, they do not know how to think differently.

I suggest students become employees after graduation. Even if they work in a very small company, and the company goes bankrupt, they can still learn something from it. At least, they know what makes a company fail. This is good for their future development.