CATHERINE Houghton lived in Beijing for three years during the mid-1980s and 13 years later she returned to "a very different China."

　　The Principal Commercial Officer of the Commercial Service in the US Consulate General in Shanghai had several earlier careers - the first was in the academic community where she worked at Stanford University teaching theoretical linguistics. She moved on to positions in the DuPont Company and the Bank of America. The US Government hired her from the Bank of America to work in the Commercial Service.

　　Problem solver

　　"Our main job is to help US business to sell products and technologies to the Chinese. When we help the Chinese, it's to help them buy," said Houghton, who considers business her professional specialty, but not her hobby. She is crazy about the arts, especially about listening to Western classical music or making music herself.

　　Houghton said the office would listen to the various parties and try to get a sense of what the problem was first, then they would find out who they were talking to already and whether they were still talking to their partners or not.

　　The principal said sometimes they do have some influence.

　　"It's interesting that sometimes just writing a letter to the Vice-Mayor saying, 'Mr. Mayor, you may want to make sure local regulations and laws are enforced...' It's amazing sometimes the problems get fixed like that," she said.

　　Some American companies leave their business sense behind when they first come to China. "They suspend their judgement when they come here, since China is so different. Then they make foolish decisions and get into trouble," she said.

　　When encountering the issue of cultural differences, she thought companies had to respect the importance of relationships - "You have to understand the pace of developing a deal can be slower than it is in our country ... but you should also use the same good judgement here that you would use anywhere."

　　WTO effects

　　With China having been a member of the WTO for three years, Houghton said the biggest changes have been reductions of tariffs and gradual lifting of quotas.

　　"I think the WTO provided an additional sparkle of interest, but the effects of the WTO don't happen all at once," she said, estimating the biggest changes would happen when many companies in the service sector will find a more welcoming environment, and more liberal trading regime than they find now. "There will be the lifting of restrictions on doing business and more variety in the types of companies involved."

　　There will be gradual phases and schedules of opening, fewer restrictions on foreign companies and much tougher competition between Chinese and foreigners.