You're reading: A Ukrainian philosopher who runs a business in China

  When he speaks, Serhiy Lesnyak sometimes uses smooth, tai chi-style hand gestures. This peculiar form of body language is probably the only telling sign that the soft-spoken Ukrainian businessman has lived and worked in China for nearly a decade.

But China has been on his radar for many more
years. Born in Ternopil, Lesnyak came to Kyiv in 1993 to study philosophy. He majored
in Eastern philosophy, and even attempted to master Mandarin, without much
success. He went on to work in the non-government sector after graduation.

Then his business career took off quite
unexpectedly in 2003 when his article on Chinese strategies was published in a
Ukrainian magazine. A manager who worked under the young Ukrainian multimillionaire
Kostyantyn Zhevago at the time took notice. He sought a candidate to start a
subsidiary in China, read the article and contacted the author.

 “I had a plan to go there anyway, I [had] set
a date for myself. But it happened so that I published an article on Chinese
stratagems, and [got an offer],” Lesnyak recalls.

 Lesnyak, now 39, moved to China a few months
later, in the spring of 2003. It was in the middle of the SARS epidemic, an
often lethal viral disease that spread across much of Asia that year. “I was
going no matter what, and as soon as possible,” Lesnyak continued.

 The start of his job in the midst of an
epidemic was anomalous. He had to file reports at the hotel with whom he met,
and to have his temperature taken several times a day, among other precautions.
It was like a comical version of Geroge Orwell, he recalled.

In September 2003, the first contracts came
for the Shanghai subsidiary of Ferrexpo, then a private company that he headed.
It is now a Swiss-registered, London-listed producer of iron ore pellets with
assets in Ukraine. Ferrexpo’s before-tax profit was $691 million in 2011, up by
39 percent on the previous year, Reuters reported in March. Much of it is due
to the company’s strong performance in China.

 But Lesnyak joined another company in 2007,
the year Ferrexpo went public.

 Dressed simply and unpretentiously, Lesnyak
looks nothing like a person running a big business. His Ukrainian SIM dwells in
a modest, ancient Nokia phone, and he walks the streets of Kyiv with a backpack
slung over his shoulders.

 “He is very humble,” says Pavlo Sheremeta,
another Ukrainian who spent four years in Asia working in Malasiya. He has
known Lesnyak since 2002 and describes him as “deep and philosophical” and says
these are the qualities people need to succeed in China.

 “He is like a Ukrainian Confucius, with a
personal mission to become a bridge between Ukraine and China,” Sheremeta says.

 Lesnyak says to feel at home in China, a lot
of respect for the nation is needed and a good understanding of the culture. It
helps to know the language, too – a goal that is very hard to achieve.

 “Mandarin is very difficult to learn, you need
to submerge there and dissolve in it,” he says. English is taking over as the
business language in China – the country will have up to 300 million English
speakers soon, predicts Lesnyak.

 He learned Mandarin and even translated into
Ukrainian a book by Sun Tzu, an ancient warrior and author of the famous
aphorism, “A Battle is Won before It Starts.” Lesnyak says the book is a great
illustration of how the Chinese think and act. His translation earned him
respect from Chinese partners and even some businesses, Lesnyak says.

 He finds that cultural ties help much to conduct
business efficiently in the country where everything is planned long-term, but
is implemented very dynamically.

 “In China, everything happens very quickly and
dynamically, the development is fast, and there is a sense that the nation has
a single aim,” Lesnyak says. Kyiv looks slow on its feet in comparison.

 Hard work, endurance and desire to work for
the sake of future generations are the key markers of China, Lesnyak says. “I
agree with the Chinese point of view that we’re but humus for the future generations,”
he laughs.

 Nevertheless, he says it’s easy for Ukrainians
to do business in China – easier than at home. 
Communist China has a good business environment and a business-oriented
government.

 “There are multiple agencies that can help you
register and administer, and basically you don’t deal with government officials
as such – someone else does it for you quickly, efficiently and cheaply,” he
says.

 He says there is a bit of an element of
revenge in the way the country operates. China suffered many wars in the past, much of its territory was annexed at some points in history, and it’s
now proving itself to the world.

 “That’s why they now have the fastest trains,
the tallest buildings and often very effective business,” Lesnyak says.

 Yet he says Ukraine can compete with China.
What Ukrainians need to do is direct their effort to creating industries with
high added-value. This is a process that has started in China, which for
decades has mostly been viewed as the sweatshop of the world. “But we need to
be faster than them,” he concludes.

 Ukraine needs to develop an entrepreneurial
spirit, and stop being afraid of creating new products and going out to the
world to sell them. But Lesnyak so far has no plan to return to Ukraine to help
out – at least not yet.

 “At the moment, I can see my added-value
there, but not here,” he says.

 Kyiv
Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected]