Strengthening International Relations | Dr. Mei Gechlik

Dr. Mei and her team began their China journey when Dr. Mei founded the groundbreaking China Guiding Cases Project of Stanford Law School in 2011. During the following decade, Dr. Mei and her team brought the project’s analyses to nearly 250,000 readers from over 100 countries. The analyses included those contributed by judges and lawyers from the United States, China, and a few other countries. Dr. Mei and her team promoted understanding and development of Guiding Cases, China’s de facto binding precedents, when these cases were basically unknown outside China (and probably inside China). They felt proud that they could help increase judicial transparency and certainty in China. “Our important work was presented at various forums, including the World Bank, U.S.−China Legal Exchange Conferences, and the Supreme People’s Court of China,” says Dr. Mei. “My team and I have hit many milestones despite various challenges. This has reinforced my belief in heart-based leadership. With all of my initiatives, I lead with my heart, am open about my own strengths and weaknesses (so the team is inspired to stretch themselves and expand their skills) and empower individual team members so they take ownership and, thereby, have as much pride in the initiatives as I do. This ensures everyone is motivated and shares the joy brought by our joint success.”

Inspiring & Mentoring

Sinotalks primarily produces high-quality, bilingual (i.e., English and Chinese) publications related to Chinese law and policy. At every stage of the production process (e.g., research, writing, editing, translation, etc.), Dr. Mei provides detailed guidance to team members. For those team members who have acquired enough skills, Dr. Mei offers them leadership roles so they can feel accomplished by helping supervise less experienced members. She also invites more experienced members to co-author or author pieces in the hope of letting them share their own insights with Sinotalks’s global audience.

In addition, once Dr. Mei understands her team members’ talents, she starts to think about how they can leverage their unique skills to lead initiatives that suit them. For example, a few members have voices that lend themselves well to audio recordings. Sinotalks, therefore, launched their English and Chinese podcasts, LawLink, to let these members utilize their personal talents.

Another example is the development of Sinotalks’s online presence. Their websites are speedy, globally accessible, and full of user-friendly features. These features are the results of the company’s website developer’s amazing knowledge and tireless efforts. “To let his excellent work be recognized, we are participating in a website contest. If we win, it will help our website developer to become seen as a leader in website development!” adds Dr. Mei

Navigating the Landscape

Promoting understanding while bringing about positive changes in China has been Dr. Mei’s goals since she was young. She even mentioned such aspirations in her applications to Stanford Law School’s doctoral program and Wharton’s MBA program. “I can’t fully explain why I am so committed to these goals. Perhaps, the kindness people in both the East and West have shown me over the past decades has prompted me to do something to narrow the gap between them,” explains Dr. Mei. “Given the current tension between China and the rest of the world, I believe that working hard to achieve these goals is more important than ever.”

According to Dr. Mei, having a dynamic online presence is a huge trend in the consulting/training/education industry, especially for global businesses. Accompanying this trend is a challenge: how can trust be built, given the pervasiveness of misinformation and disinformation on the Internet? “Following this trend, I rolled out my biweekly LinkedIn newsletter, SINOTALKS.COM In Brief, to discuss timely topics that help demystify Chinese law and policy. My goal is to help readers craft evidence-based strategies for their China-related issues,” says Dr. Mei. “Fortunately, I can draw on what I have done in my extensive career to quickly build trust. This may be why the newsletter has, since its launch in early December 2021, gained more than 4,300 subscribers, many of whom are leaders in their own industries.”

Sinotalks, despite the growing tension in the world, can still win support from people with diverse backgrounds, attracting them to the company’s online platform where these people feel safe to share evidenced-based thoughts calmly. This is a big achievement in the current environment for both the company and Dr. Mei. “We plan to grow the company’s influence incrementally by offering online and in-person events and by soliciting from professionals around the world comments on draft Chinese legal rules so that these comments can help shape the development of Chinese law and policy.”