China business advice from Hun Sen

The China Project illustration by Derek Zheng

Chinese leader Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 made his first public appearance in eight days on February 5, welcoming Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Beijing. 

“Learn from Cambodia’s PM 洪森” (Hóng Sēn, Hun Sen) is the well-argued advice of an anonymous Twitter user, @itrulyknowchina, who has made credible claims to being a state media insider. Their key points, summarized:

• “It’s not expensive, nor risky: Donate a reasonably large amount of face masks and/or other useful medical equipment to Chinese government, publish a letter confessing your appreciation of Beijing’s efforts to combat coronavirus and confidence in them, and a brief trip to Beijing.”
• “Elon Musk should do this. Heads of VISA, MasterCard, Wall Street banks, European financial institutions, start-ups which want to crack Chinese market,” and anyone else trying to get closer to Chinese leadership for business reasons.
• Beijing is reasonably safe, even during an epidemic, especially if you’re a super-wealthy businessperson — your personal risk of getting sick is miniscule compared with the business opportunity.