Name: Phillip Dobbs
From: London
Living in: Beijing

“I hesitate to go on about China 25 years ago - there are plenty who experienced those interesting times more acutely than I and it was perhaps not as romantic as it might seem in the re-telling. Suffice to say that China never ceases to amaze and fortunately usually on the upside. Optimism and good humour seem to be the norm and one can only respect the national ability to survive and prosper, even in the current difficult times.”

Having succumbed to the ‘China bug’ during his first visit in 1984 Phillip Dobbs has spent the majority of his working life in China.  Since that time, Phillip has worked in Shandong and Liaoning provinces before a seven-year spell in Hong Kong in the 1990s.  In 2002 he returned to Mainland China and has been the Chief Representative for Anglo American since, living in Beijing.

Phillip began his time in China working for De Beers - part of the Anglo Group - running diamond exploration projects and then marketing diamonds.  As his career developed he worked his way to the top of Anglo’s growing business in China.

Like almost anyone who comes to China he has his own unique experiences. Most memorable were the early days in the 1980s when China remained a far more closed society than it has now become.  Along with just two De Beers colleagues, Phillip lived in a small town in Shandong that was largely closed to foreigners This brought massive personal and professional challenges and vast changes to his lifestyle, but he found it an extremely rewarding experience that he believes would not be possible today.  Looking back, witnessing China go through over 20 years of development has been a real privilege.