G.E. rides the same path to health, success
Its China chief gives his views on the US giant's directions and its joint ventures in health care, aviation and energy with the Chinese partners
To understand China and how his company might do more business there, Mark Hutchinson got on his bike.
Yet, soon after the now 52-year-old executive moved to the mainland in early 2011 as the chief executive for China of General Electric (GE), he realised he would be deprived of the hobby - at least temporarily- by the country's poor air quality.
That got him thinking about how GE could tap into China's efforts to develop clean coal technologies. In the past two years, US-based GE has secured partnerships with what it describes as national champions, or major state-owned juggernauts.
In May, it joined hands with Shenhua Group, the country's biggest coal producer, to develop clean coal technologies, through a 50-50 venture.
Around the same time, GE also bought a 15 per cent stake in XD Electric and formed a venture with the Chinese maker of power transmission equipment to upgrade the mainland's electrical infrastructure.
In the middle of this year, GE also established two innovation centres in Chengdu and Xian, both major cities in western China, to strengthen its research in fast-growing sectors such as energy, aviation and health care.