Seeking Moral Leadership in China

Chinese professionals are seeking moral grounding, and finding it in traditional values

By Nandani Lynton and Henri-Claude de Bettignies

Chinese professionals in Shanghai and Beijing are concerned about the financial disaster that has spread from New York and London throughout the world. They read the Western press that blames both individual executive greed and false belief in the inherent self-control of the capitalist market system; they worry about their own real estate values dropping; they question Adam Smith's notion of the invisible hand of the market as Western governments nationalize private banks. And they shake their heads. The West has lost any moral high ground it has had, and some now are wondering whether China can save the world from collapse.

Although China cannot save the world economy, it may help reduce the extent of damage caused by the financial crisis. And China is certainly in a position to claim a larger voice in world organizations, seen for example in Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank's governor, calling for a new world reserve currency. Respected professionals are using the crisis to demand new models of moral leadership.

Moral leadership from China? A place where foreign businesses complain of nontransparent systems, payment demands, nepotism, and other questionable practices? Where the government itself struggles in fighting corruption? Where only 40% of business schools offer courses on business ethics to MBA students—and many students dismiss such lessons, saying if they don't play the game they can't be in business?

The Return of Confucius

Yes, moral leadership from China. Some steps in this direction are familiar. In 2006 the Chinese government supported the largest world conference on Buddhism ever held, the World Buddhist Forum in Hangzhou. The conference concluded with the Putuoshan Declaration stating, "Everyone is responsible for world harmony, which begins in the mind." Confucius has been reinstated, as exemplified by the establishment of a global platform for disseminating Chinese language and culture named Confucius Institutes. Started in Korea in 2004, this network now includes 256 Confucius Institutes and 58 Confucius Classrooms in 81 countries worldwide.

Note that these are not called Mao Zedong Institutes, or Deng Xiaoping Institutes. The wide popularity of Confucian thought is exemplified by the proliferation of radio and television shows by academics and businessmen reinterpreting Confucian philosophy for modern life. A book on this subject, Sentiments on the Analects of Confucius by Yu Dan, led China's nonfiction best-seller list for months in 2008, and television costume dramas illustrating moral leadership along Confucian lines draw high viewer loyalty.

Deeper conversation with Chinese entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and academics indicate that the search for a Chinese moral compass is real and comes from the populace, not just from above. Interviews and surveys with young Chinese business people show the same. They seek meaning and guidance in a society that has been cut off from its traditional roots for a century, culminating of course in the Cultural Revolution. Many are reaching back to Buddhism and Confucius as well as writings of the Taoists and the legalists for orientation and a basis for developing integrity.

A Step Toward Real Global Standards

Here are some snapshots of what we see these days. A 45-year-old Shanghai MBA from a top-ranked Western business school, with experience working with successful entrepreneurs and who is the founder of his own investment firm, has over the last three years become so deeply Buddhist that he rises to meditate at 5 a.m. daily, eats little, works hard but gives away much of his income. "What do I actually need?" he asks. "Very little for myself." An older executive running a midsized company opens a business presentation with a slide on Taoism and states that China seems to have a religion of money but in fact must learn to rely on the Doctrine of the Mean or the balance exemplified by the symbol of the Yin and Yang.

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