So says Ben Leary, the chief executive of executive search firm Column Associates (CA), which is now headquartered in Beijing. “The global downturn has had very little effect on China’s economy, as the Chinese government ploughed money into the economy to keep the manufacturing industry going,” Leary told Recruiter..

“It has continued 11% growth again, with no haemorrhaging of resources and no firms slacking off with their recruiting. The only thing that has slightly changed is that the decision-making [in recruiting] has slowed down.”

However, he cautioned that in executive recruitment terms, “search techniques are still 20 years behind. You have to work with local agencies who advertise the job [in the press] and sift through CVs”, he explained. “There’s no science or methodology. The biggest challenge we have is educating firms in recruitment methods.”

About two and a half years ago, a large multi-national corporate approached CA to find a large number of staff for their business in China. “It was too good an opportunity to miss,” he added.

Seeing the growth that was happening in China, he relocated to Beijing last November with six staff to begin with. CA now employes 12 people, including 10 Chinese nationals who relocated back to China after experience gained in Western companies. CA has a base in the UK in Surrey.

The company focuses on four markets: technology; banking and finance; pharmaceutical/healthcare; and professional services. “We just deal with multi-national corporations not Chinese-based companies,” Leary explained.

And his advice to recruiters planning on opening an office in China? “My mentor once advised me that to get anywhere in China you need to have two things: patience and money. And that advice has been so true.”