Strengths of East, West complement each other

In recent days, I have had three interesting encounters in European restaurants.

The first one occurred in a chic bar near the central station in Brussels late one afternoon. My car was parked nearby, and I wanted to change a 10 euro note for coins to put into the parking meter. The waiter refused my request, though I asked him several times.

I bought a bottle of water, hoping he would return with enough coins for me to buy two hours of parking time so I could finish my interview.

To my surprise, the waiter gave me seven euros back, including a five euro note. I was furious but pretended to keep calm. Spotting enough coins in a wallet hanging on his apron, I again asked him to change a note into coins. He gave me the cold shoulder, saying the bank was nearby. I left, angrily.

The second encounter took place recently in a scenic area of Germany. Finding ourselves exhausted around 3 pm one Sunday afternoon, we entered a restaurant, where we found the staff busy with accounting work.

After realizing we wanted to have something to eat, they pointed to the door, saying that food service was over at 2:30 pm. We replied that we would not order food, but would like a drink. They shook their heads, murmuring, "No, no, no." We stepped out, shocked, asking ourselves, why didn't they want to earn any money?

The third incident happened last month near London Bridge. My London colleagues and I had arranged a work lunch in a Japanese restaurant. We arrived 10 minutes earlier than the scheduled opening time, on a wet, rainy day. Inside, it was clear that waiters were quietly waiting for diners.

Because it was raining, we knocked on the door and asked them to allow us to come in. Once again, the waiters pointed at the schedule on the door. We had to wait until the place opened at 12.

I began my posting just two months before the previous Asia-Europe leaders' gathering was held in Brussels in October 2010, and I have had many moments of culture shock over the past two years.

In Chinese culture, it is normal to change money in shops and restaurants without necessarily having to go to the bank. It is also easy to order water and drinks, if the restaurant is still open and staff members are there after the service hour.

During interviews, many Europeans (not politicians) often say "I am not in a position to teach the Chinese" when they tell me their culture shock stories from China. Nor am I in a position to teach European waiters and waitresses how to behave, though I was indeed furious in that Brussels restaurant.

However, my cultural encounters reminded me to give a message to European and Asian leaders, who are meeting in Laos.

In some way, the passive responses I met have resulted from "too much" protection for labor in Europe, where staff members are paid by fixed wages or hourly payment. The system lacks flexibility and incentives to encourage people to work longer hours or find ways to attract potential customers.

At the same time, Europe is still struggling with its debt crisis, and the unemployment rate has been rising. Under the welfare system, some jobless people do not feel eager to find jobs. In return, these rigid labor markets have partly contributed to economic stagnation in Europe.

However, in most Asian countries (excluding the Asian tigers), labor protection and the welfare system are still in a fledging state. In practice, many companies (and restaurants) are prone to extend work hours and design incentives to help the owners earn more money. And in most cases, salaries and wages are still low.

So my message is that Europeans and Asians can converge at their gathering. In this case, Asians, including in China, can learn more from Europe's social welfare system, and Europeans, faced with an aging society, should learn from Asia to improve the flexibility of their labor market.

fujing@chinadaily.com.cn