A land of opportunity, a country of promise, a place where things can happen for the everyman - China, it's the new America. At least according to Eric Oetting, the man behind one of Shanghai's newest watering holes, De Refter, a Belgian beer bar in downtown Shanghai.

An American with German roots, Oetting looks at China and sees one thing - opportunity. A "serial entrepreneur" at the tender age of 30, he already has a number of ventures to his name, from the rather unglamorous towing business, to the kitsch world of miniature golf.

But he hopes his latest project will capture the Chinese market, a market laden with "bags of cash" and the willingness to spend it on new and exciting experiences. Belgian beer, served in an authentic European setting, is just the start.

Sit down with Oetting and you are soon smothered by his enthusiasm, and ambition. Tucking into a bowl of Belgian fries with relish - "the best fries in town, and all down to that second dip" - he reels off details from an already eventful life.

"I went home in 2007, basically liquidated everything, sold off all my businesses," he explains, unfazed by the audacity of it all. "Friends told me, after the Olympics, Beijing is dead, you need to go to Shanghai, that's where everything's happening. And sure enough, the momentum had slowed after the Olympics, so Shanghai was definitely the place to get started."

Get Started in Shanghai

So in 2008 he arrived in Shanghai. The next step was to recruit a Belgian designer to craft the concept of a café-bar, under the title of De Refter, a Flemish word used to describe a canteen where friends and family can eat and drink in a relaxed setting. "Classy yet casual, and kinda romantic," he says. "A place for friends, and dates."

He then sought the expertise of local interior design and architecture firm RED, the people behind a number of Shanghai's top venues, including rival The Boxing Cat Brewery, and everyone's favorite Element Fresh. This project was built by the people of Shanghai, for the people of Shanghai, but "when people walk through our door, I want them to feel like they are stepping out of Shanghai for a moment," he says.

As executive partner, Oetting had a hands on approach. "From the selection of every tile and wall hanging, I've been a part of, working with the contractors, negotiating the materials, literally down to every nail that holds together the handcrafted wood panels and furniture," he reveals. "Everything in here was built by hand, from scratch."

Like a juggler hurling a number of fragile items into the air in quick succession, he is confident, daring, even a little reckless, yet you feel his enterprise will ensure he keeps most, if not all, of the balls up in the air. This project was, and is, a process: it's about engaging with the local community, utilizing its strengths and satisfying its cravings.

Observing and learning from other Shanghai success stories, he respects his competitors. "I look at Paulaner, and they've done a wonderful job connecting to the local market, getting the local consumers to try a product foreign to them," he explains. "I go there, see a table of 10 Chinese people with 75 yuan (US11.86) beers in front of them, pounding them every 20 minutes, well that's pretty impressive. There's a huge opportunity to do that with Belgian beer, and we can offer more options that just black and white."

Not just black and white, and not just pints and pitchers. Oetting will be launching a range of specials; ideas froth like beers from the tap. "We have Meltdown Monday, where you can come down anytime, drop off your business card, and get 'buy 2 get 1 free' all day long," he says. "So if you have a case of the 'Monday's,' having a really bad day and decide to take off at 2pm, come on down."

Then there are the beer cocktails, offering a new twist to an already new drink for many local punters. "A lot of people that aren't beer connoisseurs just assume everything is yellow and plain, like a Budweiser or Tsingdao. But what they don't know is that there are a ton of different kinds of beer out there," he gushes. De Refter alone carries over 60 names.

"Take our Framboise beer, which is a fruit beer, almost like a fruity champagne. Framboise sweetens drinks up; if you don't like the sourness of darker ales you can mix them up, change the taste. We can mix a beer and a soda, or a beer and liqueur, or a beer and a beer, all sorts of combinations …" A rare pause. "We are offering a new dynamic to the beer scene, and appealing to a broader audience."

Beyond the ambition and innovation, Oetting's gift is an unfaltering self-assurance. He has the ideas, the means, but more importantly, he has the faith - faith in the market, faith in people to "try everything once," and faith in his ability to succeed, to live the dream.

"For the bar, I think that this model can be successful all over China. In the aspiring cities, I think we are a shoo-in for the locals to try something new," he reckons. "Because that's what it's all about, getting out and experiencing life a little bit more."

For Oetting, his work is intrinsically tied to his idea of self. He will be complete when he has reached his goals. "I plan to continue the growth of this bar, and ultimately for myself, to become a versatile developer of entertainment in China." One feels he might just become that, and you can be sure he'll never give up on the dream.

Address: 181 Jinxian Rd, near Maoming Rd S.

Executive partner
Age: 30
Nationality: American
Entertainment industry experience: 12 years
China experience: 7 years, on and off
Favorite drink: Chimay rouge draft
Favorite bar: Classy cocktail bars - cigars and rich leather. Other half would be a beer bar, with every kind of beer.

The bar
Age: opened January 2012
Music: Jazz-swing
Target customers: Professionals
Regular events: Daily HH, 5-8:05pm. Meltdown Mondays. Tuesday Pizza and Stella. Wednesday Ladies Night. Thursday Triple Beer and Tapas.