Heywood-Bo Link Shows Middleman Role in Driving China Deals

For consultant Manuel Vermeer, cementing a business deal in China may depend on meeting some personal requests -- like helping secure a spot at a school abroad or an internship for a client’s son.

Vermeer, who runs Dr. Vermeer-Consult in Gaiberg, Germany, and has worked in China for more than 25 years, does some of the same sort of mediation that was performed by Neil Heywood, the British businessman whose alleged murder sparked a political crisis in the country. Heywood worked with clients including Aston Martin and got to know former Chongqing Communist Party chief Bo Xilai, reportedly doing favors such as getting his son into the elite British boarding school Harrow.