西方商学院如何培养中国学生?

One of the clearest messages the global downturn has delivered is that the balance of economic power in the world is shifting. The west can no longer expect to preserve the dominance it has enjoyed for most of the modern era – the rising economic superpowers of the east, and particularly China, are putting paid to that idea in clear terms.

Some of the reasons for this are obvious – a more liberal attitude to business adopted by the Chinese government, the globalisation of key industrial, commercial and financial markets, the failure in leadership at many leading banks and corporations. But I would also argue that the actions, or more precisely, the inaction, of some US and European business schools could also be playing a part in this trend.

In recent years, western business schools have played host to a large number of ambitious young Chinese professionals. And despite the rise of world-class schools in China, the influx shows little sign of abating. But while these students may have initially sought to stay on and build a career in the west, many now return to China as soon as they have graduated to put lessons learnt into practice. After all, why should they remain in the west when one of the world's largest and fastest-developing markets is quite literally on their own doorstep?

As a consequence of this, the west is playing a big part in developing the present and future generations of China's business leaders. But the evidence points to the fact that these are leaders with a strong focus on using their newly learned skills to compete, rather than work, with the west. Without realising it, western schools may be helping to undermine the competitiveness of their host countries.

What can be done to tackle this problem? Refusing to train China's brightest and best, in some crass example of educational protectionism, is of course not an option. Instead, schools in the west should be looking for ways to ensure that all students, whatever their country of origin, are drawn into an open and global mindset, as opposed to a defensive and local one.

China is not just the industrial powerhouse portrayed in the media but also, potentially, an entrepreneurial powerhouse. One only has to look at the imagination and commitment of business people within the Chinese diaspora across the world to realise that the progress that has already been made by indigenous companies in world markets is the beginning of something very big indeed. The challenge is to help the Chinese entrepreneurs who pass through western schools understand that the west need not be an opponent but a rich source of resources, guidance and opportunity.

At EM Lyon, in conjunction with Babson College and Zhejiang University, the global entrepreneurship programme exposes a highly diverse class of students to the varying markets and approaches to business in the US, Europe and China. If we succeed, we will produce entrepreneurs used to operating in international teams who will actively seek international partners and investors.

The benefits of such an approach are clear. According to a survey last year by the World Bank of nearly 4,000 Chinese companies operating in international markets, the involvement of international shareholders was cited as playing a significant part in taking the business from domestic to global within a three-year period.

Drawing out and embracing China in this way could, in some small but significant way, help avoid the looming economic war between China and the west. Of course this cannot be achieved overnight and it would be wrong to over-simplify the problem. China is a highly complex proposition influenced by a dizzying array of cultural, political and historical factors. But a start must be made and, with effort and imagination, I believe the business school community can play a significant role in delivering the solution.

Patrice Houdayer is vice-president of graduate programmes at EM Lyon Business School, France