Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Chinese Business Culture Facts And Practices

By Kevin Schmidt


Whether attending a local meeting or one in another country, there are often behaviors which are appropriate and those which are not. When doing business with China, it is important to know Chinese Business Culture Facts. For, while some behaviors are commonplace, there are others which are quite different. Whatever the case, it is important to remain calm and maintain composure. While, showing a faint smile and using kind words is often the expected greeting.

Whether passing out documentation or presenting a slide show, it is extremely important that the individuals involved in presenting the information be prepared. When preparing documents and slides, it is important only use black and white ink. For, colors hold a number of different meanings when it comes to Chinese culture.

Making small talk at the beginning of a meeting is often seen as a friendly gesture. In some cases, this time might also be used to network or plan for future meetings. Whatever the case, it is important to keep the conversation simple and avoid political discussions in which there could be mass differences of opinion.

While working with China, delays are common and need be expected. For, most often when working against deadlines, the country will request an extension. For, the Chinese feel in doing so the country gains an advantage and has some control over the process.

In China, people enter a room in hierarchical order, whether a family or President, CEOs and others of a business. As such, it is often recommended that visiting parties do so as well. For, it can often help presenters know which individuals to target with regards to the importance of varying pieces of information.

While there are business meetings year round, the most favorable time for these events is between April and June and September and October. For, these are the least busiest times of year for the Chinese. As such, it is often best to schedule meetings during this time of year. In China, operating hours are from 8 in the morning to 5 in the evening on weekdays, often with a two hour break from noon to 2 in the afternoon. At which time everything shuts down from telephones to elevators.

Handshakes are an acceptable form of greeting. While this is the case, there are some people whom dislike this type of contact. As such, it is always appropriate to allow the Chinese to make the first gesture when it comes to handshakes or contact of any manner.

Most often, business personnel prefer to be referred to properly with title of position and last name. For example, Chairman, President and other titles followed by the last name of the individual. While this is the case, it is never appropriate to use the term comrade is it identifies oneself as being pro-communist.

While it can often be a friendly gesture to speak a few words of Chinese, be sure the meaning is correct. If not, the wrong interpretation could cause a business meeting to end before it begins. At the very least, it could place all attendees in a very uncomfortable situation.




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1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing your insights about Chinese business culture, we've recently compiled a guide for Chinese business culture especially the dos and don'ts. Hope to hear from you about your opinions!

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