In China, and in many Asian markets, eBay is growing rapidly. As part of its efforts in Asia, eBay strives to retain a healthy relationship with governments there. Tang Lei, Head of Government Relations for China and SEA, spearheads this effort. Check out a typical day for Lei!

Lei hails originally from Chinese e-commerce company EachNet, which was acquired by eBay in 2004. According to him, relationships between businesses and the Chinese government are healthier now than they were previously, and business officials can influence public policies. Thus, Lei chooses to do many seminars and office visits involving Chinese government agencies. 

Aside from maintaining Asian government relations, Lei helps business units and executives obtain certifications and government benefits. He also assists with business unit expansion through seller acquisition and training programs. 

The eBay team checked in with him for a snapshot of one of his typical days at work in Shanghai.

9 a.m.

Arrive at the office, starting my day with some good tea and industry news/policy monitoring. I try to squeeze out one hour every day for these updates, which is the only way to maintain awareness, and prevent potential risks to the company.  

10 a.m.

E-mail time…countless messages. I have to spare some concentrated time, at least twice a day, to review and respond to these. 

11 a.m.

Weekly APGC con-call. It\'s good to be constantly reminded of what the boss wants and what other APAC Government Relations peers have been through over the week. 

Noon

Sometimes we have takeout for lunch, to save some time for indoor fun. 

1 p.m. 

Back to work again. There are several government-funded projects that we are involved with. To obtain timely feedback on these, I need to call government officials and ask questions.  

2 p.m.

I spend a lot of time traveling in China and Asian countries. When I am in the Shanghai office, I try to make time to train my team members to have greater political vision. 

3 p.m.

Our group holds a sports meeting, which gets very competitive.  

4 p.m.

To support our business unit\'s fast expansion, we put a lot of energy into organizing/assisting seller acquisition. Now, it\'s time for calls related to these efforts.   

5 p.m.

Quick meeting with Greater China CFO Leigh, exchanging views on the China entities combination project. 

5:30 p.m.

Now, I work in more concentrated e-mail time, plus “tutoring time." This involves giving guidance on improving presentations and reports for my team members. 

7:00 p.m.

Wrap up! I start missing the office the moment I step out. See you tomorrow.

Tang Lei, Head of Government Relations for China and SEA leads a meeting

Ting Lei and the team take a quick break to work on their golf game!