Park Strategies’ Senior Vice President discusses the differences between Asian markets, the importance of local partners and the influence of U.S.–China relations on business decisions.
Sean King’s professional relationship with Asia began with a trade mission to Taiwan in 1997. Since then, he has worked in Singapore and Taipei, served as Senior Advisor for Asia at the U.S. Department of Commerce and advised clients through Park Strategies. In this interview with The Global Founder, he draws on that experience to discuss how government policy, regional politics and local relationships affect international companies operating in Asia, and what founders should consider before entering a market.
Finding the right local partner can make or break a company’s prospects in any market, be it in Asia or elsewhere.
Sean, could you tell us about your work at Park Strategies and your focus on Asia?
I help generate and service clients with a focus on Asia. But I’m always ready to pitch in wherever needed at home or abroad. Most often, our work involves helping clients navigate government.
Your professional relationship with Asia began nearly three decades ago. What first drew you to the region, and how did those early experiences shape the direction of your career?
It was purely accidental. I’d in fact come of age mostly interested in Europe. I was a 1986-87 high school exchange student in Sweden and later did undergraduate semesters abroad in Brussels and Berlin. But when first working for then-U.S. Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato (who went on to found Park Strategies in 1999), I spent a lot of time in and around Asian-American Republican party politics. And when I went to work at the New York State Department of Economic Development, I was therefore sent on a 1997 trade mission to Taiwan. When I finally landed in Taipei, on a warm February morning after having been awake for over 40 hours, I knew Asia was now the place for me. I’d found my calling as it were and haven’t looked back since.
You have worked in Singapore and Taipei, served as Senior Advisor for Asia at the US Department of Commerce, and advised businesses through Park Strategies. How has working across both the public and private sectors influenced the way you assess international business opportunities?
There are many great business ideas out there and my time in, and exposure to, government always gets me thinking about how we can help clients avoid regulatory obstacles and make the most of public sector opportunities.
You helped manage Park Strategies’ Taipei office between 2010 and 2016. What did living and working in Taiwan teach you that you could not have learned from advising Asian clients from the United States?
Onlookers tend to view everything about Taiwan through the lens of its security situation vis-à-vis mainland China. Cross-strait relations are obviously important but working there showed me that most people on Taiwan just want to go about their lives, enjoy themselves and do good business. But of course, without sacrificing who they are.
Asia is often discussed as a single economic region, despite the considerable differences between its markets. Which distinctions between Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China and other Asian economies are especially important for international companies to understand?
The PRC is politically illiberal where the communist party has final say over many things, including business. Data there is not secure and government surveillance is pervasive. It’s also a U.S. geopolitical rival that enables Russia’s war machine in Ukraine and backstops despotic North Korea.
South Korea and Taiwan meanwhile are free, U.S.-friendly markets. I find Taiwan generally more entrepreneurial, however, while South Korea’s greatly dominated by major conglomerates. South Korea’s consumer market is also twice that of Taiwan’s, although Taiwan’s really having a moment when it comes to semiconductors.
Perhaps, most notably, giant South Korean chaebols like Samsung and LG are great at developing and branding their own products while the most well-known Taiwan company [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC)] instead assembles chips for others.
But this isn’t surprising when you consider Taiwan’s unique status which is why it can’t always be sure what to even call itself (depending on the context and situation). Is it Taiwan, the Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, or some combination thereof? Koreans meanwhile have a very defined sense of self and nation – with largely established borders over a thousand years – which makes North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s early 2024 reunification denunciation all the more difficult (but vitally important) to interpret.
We’ve not done much business in Japan, although we’ve helped Japanese entities in the United States. Japan is America’s premier Asian ally. Tokyo is Washington’s “anchor” in the region. Japan would also be crucial to any defense of Taiwan and I’m happy to see Seoul and Tokyo getting along better in recent years.
What role do local partners, institutional relationships and professional networks play in establishing a business presence in Asia? What should a company examine before selecting a local partner?
Finding the right local partner can make or break a company’s prospects in any market, be it in Asia or elsewhere. Market entrants should look for a partner who’s experienced, trusted and who will tell you things straight. And in our line of work, a partner’s relationships with local government and other companies are perhaps most crucial of all.
Your work brings together business strategy, government affairs and international relations. How directly do geopolitical developments now influence the decisions companies make about Asia?
Geopolitics affects Asia business decisions all the time (sometimes too much). It’s understandable that companies reposition themselves according to various opportunities (e.g., free trade agreements) or to new obstacles (e.g., tariffs). But they nonetheless sometimes overreact (based on the latest hysterical media headline), assuming, for example, that war’s always about to break out on the Korean Peninsula or across the Taiwan Strait. Companies need to take longer historical views of things which many thankfully do (which is why they’re still there and successful).
How has strategic competition between the United States and China affected business decisions concerning investment, supply chains and regional expansion?
It’s in fact helped a lot, as there’s growing discontent the world over with Beijing’s repressive, mercantilist ways. This shift has greatly benefited neighboring markets such as South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and India. And the effects are not limited to traditional business lines but have also spilled over into media, tourism, academia and popular culture. For example, many journalists have left mainland China for Taiwan while more than a few newsrooms and staff have relocated from Hong Kong (after implementation of its National Security Law) to Singapore and Seoul. My sense is a lot of money’s also left Hong Kong for Singapore.
But the United States missed an opportunity to make the most of this trend away from the PRC when we sadly chose to leave the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017, a trade pact of likeminded nations that does not include mainland China. Japan’s since assumed de facto leadership of the grouping while the United Kingdom was smart enough to join the since-renamed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2024. And our (U.S.) now-seemingly endless trade squabbles and tariff wars with friends and allies underscore the missed opportunity.
South Korea maintains significant economic relationships with both the United States and China. How do you see its position developing, and what could this mean for international companies working with Korea?
South Korean businesses and customers have actually been turning away from the PRC ever since the 2016 THAAD debacle (when Seoul agreed to host a U.S. anti-missile system whose radar could extend into northeastern mainland China). We (U.S.) should make the most of the moment instead of alienating South Koreans by scaling back joint military exercises and complaining that Seoul’s not helping us on Iran when we didn’t even consult them before launching said war. Coercing South Korean companies to invest in the United States (through the threat of tariffs) and unfairly harassing Seoul over U.S.-listed company Coupang’s fortunes (in South Korea) will not help matters.
Taiwan is frequently discussed internationally in relation to semiconductors and cross-strait tensions. Which other aspects of its economy and business environment deserve greater attention?
Taiwan has a great entrepreneurial spirit and was a bastion of traditional Chinese culture after the communists took over the mainland. From Barbie to bicycles, the island’s made just about everything. And its technological prowess is not just about semiconductors but also motherboards and all other aspects of computer hardware. As for Taiwan’s food and beverage sector, I’m especially partial to its award-winning Kavalan whiskey.
Americans and Europeans should be humble and willing to learn while Asian founders must assume Americans don’t know as much about their home countries as they do about the United States.
Large corporations can draw on government affairs teams, specialist advisers and extensive market intelligence. How can founders and smaller companies evaluate opportunities in Asia with more limited resources?
Go to lots of university, think tank and business events like those held at The Korea Society in New York. Read and watch as much as you can (for example, CNA and Nikkei Asia) and talk to businesspeople who have been in the region or are from there. There’s no shortage of information available about business in and with Asia these days. Just be sure to get many different viewpoints.
What questions should a founder be able to answer before committing significant time and capital to an Asian market?
Why Asia and why the specific market(s) that you’ve identified? Have you been there? What are your public and private relationships in the market and how will you grow them? Are you in it for the long haul? How will the rest of your business be affected if your Asian venture doesn’t work out?
From your experience, which qualities distinguish international business leaders who establish lasting operations in Asia from those who struggle?
Foresight and stick-to-itiveness but also sometimes just luck, as they had the right product or the right service at the right time. But as in sports, you can also make your own luck with hard work.
What advice would you give to an American or European founder entering Asia for the first time? Conversely, what should an Asian founder understand before entering the United States?
Americans and Europeans should be humble and willing to learn while Asian founders must assume Americans don’t know as much about their home countries as they do about the United States.
Looking ahead, which economic, political or technological developments do you expect to have the greatest influence on business between the United States and Asia over the next five years?
The next U.S. presidential election, Beijing’s increasingly sharp elbows and – for better or for worse – the continued growth and importance (real or perceived) of artificial intelligence.
Connect with Sean King
To learn more about Sean King’s work in government affairs, international business and U.S.–Asia
relations, visit Park Strategies or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Interview by Vasiliki Panayi, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of The Global Founder.
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