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APL Eagle: How long have you been in your position? Ms. Yan: Not very long, only about 11 months. I was appointed to be the resident representative of Port of Seattle Beijing Office in February, 1997. APL Eagle: What’s your background — how did you get this great job? Ms. Yan: I worked for China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) — not the warehouse store, but the shipping line — for two and half years. COSCO is one of the big customers of the Port with container ship service between China and Seattle. The purpose of the Port Beijing Office is to help make business run more smoothly between Port customers like APL, COSCO, and Sea-Land who have offices in China. So, I was chosen to be the on-loan representative for the Port of Seattle because of my business experience with shipping and my degree in Diplomacy and English. APL Eagle: Why do you think trade is so important to your community and to the international community? Ms. Yan: In China, we seldom use the expression 'community'. But trade is important to our region and to our country. Twenty years ago, China was still a 'closed' country to the international community. At that time, there was little international trade activity. Now, China is more open to international trade and international commerce is developing at an incredible rate. In fact, the whole world is astonished by that the Chinese economy is increasing every year by 10%. Foreigners are always amazed to see the difference when they return to China after a few months of being away. So, as you can see, trade is now very important to us. APL Eagle: What exactly is your role in this process of international trade? Ms. Yan: Following all of the big cargo ships across the ocean, due to the enormous amount of cargo that is transported between the U.S. and China is a big part of my job. As the representative of Port of Seattle in Beijing, I also make sure that the Port provides good service to the shipping companies so that trade between the two countries runs smoothly and efficiently. Also, if there are any trade delegations from the Washington State visiting China, I do my best to help them promote Washington State in China and make them feel welcome during their visit to Beijing. APL Eagle: What are your goals in this position/plans for 1998? Ms. Yan: In addition to promoting marine trade between the Port and shipping companies, I have an additional challenge for 1998. Two months ago the aviation division at the Port decided to seek new business in China. So now I am working with Sea-Tac airport to help them achieve their goals. APL Eagle: So with all that you do, what do you see as your biggest successes to date? I think it has been a success for me to enter into the aviation field which is very new to me. It is difficult to promote new business opportunities in a completely new market... as you know, the marine business has been my main focus and the world of aviation is relatively new to me. I needed to build contacts and relationships with people in the aviation industry. Recently, I have successfully arranged 10 high level executive meetings with the Chinese airports and I am hoping that these meetings will lead to new business for Sea-Tac Airport. APL Eagle: So what does a typical day look like? I get to the office at 8:30 am. The first thing I do is to check whether there are any fax or phone or email messages from the Port. Once I have handled these messages, I deal with letters, newspapers and trade information that comes to me from the Port. I read these materials carefully because they contain information about what is going on in the world of international trade that can be very useful to companies doing business internationally. I make sure that shipping company executives get copies of the information so that they are prepared to make smart decisions about their business interests. This is all about good customer service. I spend a lot of time with my customers and I work hard to help them as much as possible. If there are no delegations in town or other evening responsibilities, I go home around 5:00 pm. APL Eagle: What do you like most/least about your job? Ms. Yan: The thing I like most about my job is that I have the opportunity to meet many different people and introduce them to the Port of Seattle. I like to handle a wide variety of issues because I am the only Port representative in Beijing and I like working on my own and solving problems. Sometimes I feel lonely or wish I had colleagues to work with but usually I love the fact that I am independent and work on my own. APL Eagle: Do you have any advice for kids K-12? Learn as much as you can about whatever interests you; find out about a lot of different things and take a variety of classes so that you can discover what your interests are. |
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