Struggling in China still? Crack your Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

We have heard, yet again, many stories lately about exodus of foreign companies or frustrated expats relocating away from the country.

Over 30 years after China opened its door to the world, the market remains to many a land of unknowns and contradictions.

Unlike in the 1980s when foreign investment was once considered all-welcomed with preferential policies, many are feeling perplexed and intimidated today by the market with increasing “Chinese characteristics.”

Truly there’s no magic or wizardry to solve any China puzzle, or simply to understand it. But we, all "muggles" to the political and policy environment of the country, got to master the art of locating your Platform Nine and Three Quarters before navigating in the landscape.

Why Platform 9-3/4?

Because things here are simply not happening as you thought they ought to be.

Recently a photo went viral among expats living in China. It shows a TV screen displaying flight information in a Chinese airport that says a flight to a Southern China city was “delayed due to some reasons.”

Ridiculous and hilarious as it may seem, some joked that this has been the best and most friendly airline notice ever seen. And, in a lot of sense, it was true.

The Platform Nine and Three Quarters here, is about seeing things from the right angle. What the sign did tell you is somewhere between a frustrating “I don’t know why” (something you tend to hear millions of times everywhere) and something that could be regulatory sensitive.

Think back to your business operation or daily routines, the “some reasons” as such exist almost everywhere.

Platform 9-3/4: Why now?

Many thought they know China well, or even know more and better than some locals do.

Time and again I heard comments from overseas clients saying “do not tell me things that I already know” about China’s policy and regulatory risks, such as the fragile Japanese-Chinese relations could hurt Japanese companies when it comes to major anniversaries between the two countries. However few may have been able to predict what’s happening to a “friendly” nation South Korea right now.

South Korea's retail giant Lotte became the latest victim of tension between China and South Korea after Lotte agreed to provide land for a US missile defense system THAAD. Lotte said several of its retail stores in China were closed after inspections by authorities and then put under suspension citing a “breach of fire regulations.” And Lotte’s troubles expanded to South Korea last week as China’s tourism ministry instructed tour operators in Beijing to stop selling trips to South Korea from March 15.

Lotte expressed "deep concerns over a series of actions in China" and protested against “discriminating action” by China towards South Korean companies, saying they would “act accordingly to international law against any actions that violate policies of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). "

But WTO? Perhaps the bigger question for now at the national level is if your country is part of the “One Belt, One Road” – forgetting about the deployment of THAAD.

The Platform Nine and Three Quarters here, is about understanding the business risks beyond the obvious – it is not about “if not A then B.”

So, Platform 9-3/4, where is it?

In China every March people are used to the routines of the so-called “Two sessions” when the whole capital city is mobilized in different roles for the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, to convene.

Year after year, as it happens in early March, the Chinese Premier stands in front of near 3,000 deputies to read out his 20,000-word Work Report for them to study and review, and to “pass” with the effect of law. It is normally the busiest time of the year when company executives to follow closely on the Premier’s speech, like a “State of the Union,” and other movement during the two-week event, and try to spot key signals for policy development in the following months or year by reading into and even between the lines.

It is a useful thing to do. But it could have been done, and done well by a similar reading three or four months ago.

Back in December, The Central Economic Work Conference, an annual gathering during which ruling Chinese Communist Party’s top leaders reviewed the past year's economic performance and mapped out plans for the next, was held to set the priorities of the following year, including the key economic indicators such as the GDP. Last year's meeting was particularly important as 2017 will be the year for the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress, when a new central committee will be elected.

In this case, the Platform Nine and Three Quarters is about to catch the train to Hogwarts at the right time and the right place.

To conclude, but not end, as “Muggles” in the political and policy arena of the country, we have no magic wands or Professor Dumbledore to help solve all sorts of puzzles in life as well as in business. But we’d almost always have to find the Platform Nine and Three

Quarters if we do want to see, understand, and approach things around here.