As someone with considerable working experience in China and fluency in mandarin, I can tell you that "good links with industry in China" mean absolutely nothin

As someone with considerable working experience in China and fluency in mandarin, I can tell you that "good links with industry in China" mean absolutely nothing if you have cash. And you don't need a lot of cash. The immediate question is why this guy wants you doing engineering work in the first place? I wouldn't. You can't even communicate with your most important business partners or with the manufacturers. Why not hire some great Chinese engineers for a lower salary and avoid issuing stock anyway? I don't mean this to come across as offensive - I'm sure you're very talented - but it is a very practical problem. Suggests to me that your university is being hooked into a snake oil project to add prestige to the proposal and make it easier to hook Chinese investors. You guys will make your salary and the rest of the cash will be gone in a year. If the market for this product is so enormous and you're capable of doing the engineering work and no-one else is, why not simply make it yourself and outsource production? Offer this guy a percent of profits or ownership stake based on his ability to meet sales milestones.