Public Affairs

Overview

A new Five-Year Plan and a new leadership under President Xi Jiping point towards a new China. Economic stability remains at the forefront of government policies yet the leadership must also address social and environmental issues under the scrutiny of an increasingly vocal Chinese public.

A deep understanding of the government’s needs, priorities, and initiatives is imperative to a successful public affairs program. MSLGROUP has some of the best minds and talents conducting policy, regulatory, and industry analysis. Our teams provide clients with the stakeholder maps and inventories of government entities and influencers that affect their business.

We develop short and long-term strategies and provide ongoing strategic and tactical counsel. Our consultants guide clients through the government decision-making process, and facilitate communications – at individual and institutional levels – to creative effective dialogue that ensures a favorable outcome.

Our approach

Public Affairs is the art of diplomacy: building of long-term relationships with audiences that influence an organisation's conditions. Public opinion creation influences the general circumstances surrounding a company and can be seen as diplomacy. Lobbying, by comparison, introduces an issue into the political process and strives to change it, spurring the actual battle of ideas.

Today, more and more political decisions are impacting every organization's business environment, while public opinion has become increasingly difficult to predict. Public Affairs has therefore become a relevant component of a company's core needs.

To achieve its business objectives, a company must interpret the political environment, understand political processes, build relationships with political decision-makers and convey messages to politicians. Public Affairs is thus a key element of an organisation's communicative structure. Our strategic advice always focuses on our clients' business objectives.

Companies in politically or regulatory controlled industries are impacted by on-going political processes or regulatory systems. While it is impossible to influence all of these factors, risks and opportunities must be analysed. Public Affairs generates awareness of political situations and processes. Public Affairs generates hard data for prioritising issues, identifying public opinion efforts, conveying information to political decision-makers and weighing the probability of influencing political decisions.

Regulatory and political decision-making has become more complicated and abstruse. Decisions that used to be made on the local or national level must now be integrated on a broader stage. Having political relationships in one's own city and country is no longer enough - a strategy for understanding and influencing events is also essential. As the decision chain grows and as cause-and-effect becomes more complex, all parts of the decision chain must be mastered.

Modern Public Affairs employs a global perspective. Today's problems give rise to international discussions - on topics such as climate change and ways to keep financial markets in check. These issues are equally impacting policy decisions in all world capitals, including Washington D.C., Beijing, New Delhi, and many more.