She is only 22, but her training has prepared her for a big international role, writes Geraldine Abrahams

AT 22, most young Scots are at the threshold of their careers, fresh from university or putting a tentative foot on the ladder's first rung. Not so 22-year-old Sherry Su from Nanhai City in China, who has just become deputy director of the new Jongdeen International Development Office in Glasgow.

Offering a two-way fast-track link between the UK and China, this is the first such ``outreach'' office in Europe - and the second after Hong Kong. Born of a 10-year friendship pact with the former Strathclyde Regional Council, it represents more than 80 firms in and around Nanhai City - where Sherry (Su Wen Juan) worked as a deputy director in the import/export department of the Guangdong Nanfang Metalwork Company.

Now, along with director Benjamin Li (Li Zhi Ming) and fellow deputy director Neil Lee (Li Ren Sheng), Sherry is responsible for developing trade opportunities for Chinese companies, cementing contacts with Scottish firms and establishing import links for sought-after raw materials in China.

Like Sherry Su, director Benjamin Li has come from industry, where he was assistant general manager of Feixing Household Electrical Group. Neil Li, who also acts as an interpreter, has come on board from the Foreign Affairs office of Nanhai City.

Sherry is clearly a high flier, having achieved so much so early, yet her career path does not seem too different from that of many young women here. After English, international, computer and secretarial studies at Anhui teaching college at Wuhu City in Anhui Province, she joined the import/export department at the metalwork factory - which produces non-stick cooking equipment for export to Japan, Australia and the US - in the heart of the Guangdong Province.

Initially, she worked on the factory floor, learning about the products and methods of production, while taking short in-house courses on customer care and communication. She moved on to apply such skills in the customer collection processes, ensuring that buyers were aware of different product specifications when making orders.

Her experience of all these aspects led her to the import side, which featured raw materials like the exterior coating material from Meyer in Japan and the silicone linings on pots. The factory became the first in China to manufacture under licence for Du Pont.

Sherry then learned about quality control, arranging transportation with the shipping companies and checking the quality of goods leaving the factory.

None of those roles is out of the ordinary and many young people working in Scottish factories today might go through the same job-learning processes. What made Sherry's situation different was that she was part of a team which managed to substantially increase orders coming from Australia and Japan.

Making that happen was no small feat, because traditionally Chinese products and service are perceived to be less than first-class.

``We had to make people believe in our quality,'' she explains. ``That was difficult because people tend to think that Chinese products are badly made. So we needed more time to convince them that we were producing a quality product.

``It was important to make them know that. We spoke to them, they tried the products, and then they believed it.''

This new-found confidence in Chinese products was vital to the success of the factory and did not go unnoticed. Nor did the long hours and hard work that Sherry Su put into every working day.

The factory directors introduced her to the directors at the company headquarters, who subsequently recommended her for the deputy director's job at the new Jongteen International Development Office.

Before coming to Glasgow, Sherry took further tuition in speaking and reading in English - so important for her in terms of providing the link between businesses in China and Scotland. Sherry loves being here and finds that the work is similar to what she was doing in China - convincing people that they will benefit from the product she is marketing.

John Downie, former assistant director with Strathclyde Business Development now working as a business consultant, is advising the people of Nanhai on the operation of the new office.

``It can take two or three years for UK companies to establish relationships with companies in China,'' he says, ``but what has been established through this office is a direct conduit.

``Its staff members are responsive to enquiries from companies in Scotland, the wider UK, and Europe. And there's another organisation that matches this at the other end, very willing to pick up all these enquiries and take them direct to the companies. So it is a very quick process. Rather than the usual few years it can take companies to build relationships, there can be a response in weeks.''

If the work here is similar, surprisingly so is the leisure. According to Sherry, if she is not working late at her job in China, she is likely to eat at home with the family or go out with friends - to enjoy karaoke, shopping, a film, or bowling.

So is life in Scotland not so different from that in China? ``The people work hard just as we do in China but they are more relaxed here,'' says Sherry, ``and they are very, very friendly.''

q.Jongteen International Development's product list includes electric fans, cookware, bicycles, furniture, textile products, non-woven products, printed circuit boards, wires, cables, switches, and refrigeration valve fittings. For more details, contact Neil Lee on (0141) 552 7965.