Country Profile of CHINA in English

8/20/2019 Country Profile of CHINA in English

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Info4Migrants

CHINACountry prole

Project number: UK/13/LLP-LdV/TOI-615



9,596,961 km2

1,357,380,000 blnPOPULATION

GDP per capita

CURRENCY

$6,959

Languages STANDARD CHINESE,

and other languages spoken by

56 recognized ethnic groups

Yuan (CNY)

2 Country prole CHINALearnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com



COUNTRY BACKGROUND

Capital: Beijing. Besides Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong,

there around 20 mega cies of modern infrastructures, a vari-ety of entertainment, and populaon over 5 million.

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarcc in

north

Ethnic Make-up: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi,

Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other na-

onalies 8.1%

Religions: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Chrisan

3%-4%

Government: Communist state

Language: Chinese is spoken by 92% of China’s populaon.

There are at least seven major families of the Chinese lan-

guage, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang,

and Min

Time zones: Despite its size, all of China is in one me zone

Natonal Flag

Natonal emblem

China

Beijing

MONGOLIA

RUSSIA

K A Z A K H S T A

N

INDIA

BURMA



CHINA FACTS

The country and the capitalThe modern word “China” most likely derives from the

name of the Qin (pronounced “chin”) dynasty. First

Emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 B.C.) of the Qin dynas-

ty rst unied China in 221 B.C., beginning an Imperial

period which would last unl A.D. 1912. The name of

China’s capital has changed over the centuries. At one

me or another it has been known as Yanjing, Dadu, andBeiping. Peking or “Beijing” means “Northern Capital.”

Beijing is the ocially sanconed pinyin spelling based

on the Mandarin dialect. Beijing is the second largest

city aer Shanghai.

Collecvism vs. Individualism

In general, the Chinese are a collecve society with a needfor group aliaon, whether to their family, school, work

group, or country. In order to maintain a sense of harmony,

they will act with decorum at all mes and will not do any-

thing to cause someone else public embarrassment. They

are willing to subjugate their own feelings for the good of

the group.

Non-Verbal Communicaon

Chinese non-verbal communicaon speaks volumes.

Since the Chinese strive for harmony and are group de-

pendent, they rely on facial expression, tone of voice and

posture to tell them what someone feels. Frowning while

someone is speaking is interpreted as a sign of disagreement.

Therefore, most Chinese maintain an impassive expression

when speaking. It is considered disrespecul to stare into an-

other person’s eyes. In crowded situaons, the Chinese avoideye contact to give themselves privacy.




CHINA FACTS

Chinese charactersThere are 40,000 plus characters in the Chinese lan-

guage. An educated adult will only get to learn 5,000 of

them. You need to know 900–2,000 Chinese characters

to be able to read a Chinese newspaper.

Internet restriconsAt present, many Web sites, such as Google and Facebook

are blocked by what is called the Great Firewall of China.

Other sites that cannot be accessed in China are Youtube,

Picasa, Twier, Wordpress, Dropbox and many others.

LanguageChinese is not a single language but many languages and di-

alects, some completely unintelligible to one another. There

are 56 ethnic groups in China who speak a total of around

290 languages. Mandarin Chinese is the country standard,

spoken by about 850-900 million people. This is followed byWu at about 90 million and Cantonese at about 80 million.




CHINA FACTS

SilkThe Chinese have made silk since at least 3,000 B.C. TheRomans knew China as “Serica,” which means “Land of

Silk.” The Chinese ercely guarded the secrets of silk

making, and anyone caught smuggling silkworm eggs or

cocoons outside of China was put to death.

According to a Chinese legend, silk was discovered in

3000 B.C. by Lady Xi Ling Sui, wife of the Emperor Huang

Di. When a silk worm cocoon accidentally dropped into

her hot tea, ne threads from the cocoon unravelled in

the hot water and silk was born.

Chinese New YearThe most important holiday in China is the Chinese New

Year or Lunar New Year. Chinese tradionally believe that

every person turns one year older on the New Year and,

thus, that day is considered to be everyone’s birthday.

Red is considered a lucky colour in China, and New Year’s

banners, clothing, and lucky money envelopes are red.

Ancient invenonsThe ancient Chinese invented many things we sll use

today. Their invenons include the wheel, paper, silk,matches, gunpowder, porcelain, china, reworks, medi-

cines, kites, tea, the umbrella, jump ropes, ink, the cross-

bow, and ice cream amongst others.




1 January: New Year’s Day

The beginning of a new year

based on the Gregorian cal-

endar.

Starts on 21 January - 20

February: Spring Fesval

The fesval falls on the rst

day of the rst lunar month

(always somewhere between

January 21 – February 20),

and ends with Lantern Fes-

val which is on the 15th day.

This holiday, widely known

as Chinese New Year in the

West, is the most important

tradional fesval in Chi-

na. Firework shows, dragon

dancing and lion dancing are

the most common Chinese

New Year acvies. Chinese

New Year is a me for fami-

lies to be together.

April 4 or 5:

Qingming FesvalAlso called Tomb Sweep-

ing Day or Pure Brightness.

Tomb Sweeping Day is a me

for various acvies, and the

more popular ones are tomb

sweeping, spring oungs,

and kite ying.

1 May: May Day

China’s celebraon of Inter-

naonal Labor Day.

5th day of the 5th month

of Chinese lunar calendar:

Dragon Boat Fesval

A tradional Chinese fesval

with acvies such as drag-

on boat racing and eang

zongzi (scky rice wrapped

in leaves).

Moveable date in Autumn:

Mid-Autumn Fesval

Mid-Autumn Fesval is

held on the 15th day of the

eighth month of the Chinese

calendar, which is in Septem-

ber or early October in the

Gregorian calendar. A day forChinese family reunions and

a harvest fesval in China.

October 1: Naonal Day

The celebraon of the

founding of the People’s Re-

public of China. The Naonal

Day is celebrated throughout

mainland China, Hong Kong,

and Macau with a variety of

government-organized fes-

vies, including reworks

and concerts.

The Chinese New Year and

Naonal Day holidays are

three days long. The week-

long holidays on May Day

and Naonal Day began in

2000, as a measure to in-

crease and encourage holi-

day spending. The resulng

seven-day holidays are

called “Golden Weeks” and

have become peak seasons

for travel and tourism. In

2008, the Labor Day holiday

was shortened to one day,

and instead three tradion-al Chinese holidays were

added.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS



CHINA FACTS

…China is oen considered the longest

connuous civilizaon, with some histo-

rians marking 6000 B.C. as the dawn of

Chinese civilizaon. It also has the world’s

longest connuously used wrien lan-

guage.

…China is the fourth largest country in

the world (aer Russia, Canada, and theU.S.). It has an area of 3,719,275 square

miles (slightly smaller than the U.S.) and

its borders with other countries total more

than 117,445 miles. Approximately 5,000

islands lie o the Chinese coast.

…China’s naonal ag was adopted in Sep-

tember 1949 and rst own in Tiananmen

Square (the world’s largest public gather-ing place) on October 1, 1949, the day the

People’s Republic of China was formed.

The red in the ag symbolizes revoluon.

The large star symbolizes communism and

the lile stars represent the Chinese peo-

ple.

…One in every ve people in the world is

Chinese. China’s populaon is esmatedto reach a whopping 1,338,612,968 by July

2009. China’s populaon is four mes that

of the United States.

…The early Chinese emperors kept giant

pandas to ward o evil spirits and natural

disasters. China owns all the pandas and

any panda outside of China is on lease.

…The Chinese were using the decimal

system as early as the fourteenth century

B.C., nearly 2,300 years before the rst

known use of the system in European

mathemacs. The Chinese were also the

rst to use a place for zero. Chinese math-

emacs evolved independently of Greek

mathemacs and is consequently of great

interest to historians of mathemacs.

…In 1974, a group of farmers digging fora well in the Shaanxi province uncovered

some bits of very old poery. They discov-

ered the tomb of Qin (259-210 B.C.), the

rst emperor who united China. The tomb

contained thousands of amazing life-sized

soldiers, horses, and chariots.

…The bicycle was introduced into China

around 1891 by two American travellersnamed Allen and Sachtleben. The bicy-

cle is now the primary transportaon for

millions of Chinese. The last Qing emperor

(Puyi) rode a bicycle around the Forbidden

City in Beijing. China is currently the lead-

ing bicycle manufacturer.

…The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

were the most expensive games in histo-

ry. While the 2004 Athens Games were

esmated to cost around $15 billion, the

Beijing Games were esmated to cost a

whopping $40 billion.

… The number of birth defects in China

connues to rise. Environmentalist and

ocials blame China’s severe polluon

…White, rather than black, is the Chinese

colour for mourning and funerals.



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• China’s economy grew 7 mes as fast as America’s over the past decade(316% growth vs. 43%)

• China’s GDP per capita is the 91st-lowest in the world, below Bosnia & Herzegovina

• 85% of arcial Christmas trees are made in China, so are 80 percent of toys

• China has more pigs than the next 43 pork-producing countries combined

• Chinese consume 50,000 cigarees every second

• America’s fastest high speed train goes less than half as fast as the new train be-tween Shanghai and Beijing (240 km/h vs 485 km/h)

• China’s enormous Gobi Desert is the size of Peru and expanding 1,400 square milesper year due to water source depleon, over-foresng, and over-grazing

• China has 64 million vacant homes, including enre cies that are empty

• The world’s biggest mall is in China, but it has been 99% empty since 2005

• Nearly 10,000 Chinese cizens each year are sucked into unsanconed ‘black jails’

• By 2030, China will have more new city-dwellers than the enre U.S. populaon.

• China executes three mes as many people as the rest of the world combined, withat least 1,718 execuons in 2008

• When you buy Chinese stocks, you are nancing the Chinese government, as 8 ofShanghai’s top 10 stocks are government owned

• China uses 45 billion chopscks per year

• 200 million people in China live on less than $1 a day

• China is not free from Europe’s medieval plague yet

•China’s Grand Canal is the world’s oldest and longest canal at 1,114 miles (1,795 km)long with 24 locks and around 60 bridges.

AMAZING STATISTICS




IMPORTANT TIPS

No

Chinese nd “no” dicult to say. They maysay “maybe” or “we’ll see” in order to save

face. Forcing the Chinese to say “no” will

quickly end a relaonship.

The name of the countryAlways refer to China as “China” or “Peo-

ple’s Republic of China,” never as “Red

China,” “Communist China” or “Mainland

China.” Always refer to Taiwan as “Taiwan”

or “Province of Taiwan,” never “China,”

“Republic of China” (the name adapted

by the Naonalist forces aer they ed to

Taiwan) or “Free China”. Do not in any way

suggest that Taiwan is not part of China.

Older peopleShow respect for older people. Oer a seat

or right of way through the door to a col-

league or older person as a polite gesture.

Personal quesonsDo not be insulted if the Chinese ask per-

sonal quesons, such as “How much mon-

ey do you make?”, “How many children

do you have?” or “Are you married?” Just

change the subject if you do not want toanswer.

Especially for WomenChina is a dicult place for anyone to con-

duct business. A woman may gain accep-

tance, but it will take me and will not be

easy.

China is a male-dominated society. How-

ever, there are many women in business in

China and some occupy high-ranking posi-

ons and important managerial jobs. Oneof the principles of the Chinese communist

system is to work toward sexual equality.

Chinese people are delighted if you make any aempt to speak Manda-

rin, even if it’s only a couple of words. The best way to introduce your-

self is with a warm, broad smile. Even when you might be upset or frus-

trated, smile. It works.



IMPORTANT TIPS

Negoang teams may have female mem-bers. Women may be used to decline un-

popular proposals. Businesswomen aend

business dinners, but rarely bring their

spouses.

Chinese women rare-

ly smoke or drink. However, it is acceptable

for Western women to do so moderately.

SilenceSilence is used eecvely. Not talking while

others do signies politeness.

Silence in meengs and during discussionsgives one the opportunity to carefully con-

sider what is being said and formulate an

appropriate response. Resist the urge to llthe silence and connue talking.

The Chinese concept of privacy diers

signicantly from that in the West, where

people are used to having their own space,

oce, room.

The Chinese are not accustomed to this

luxury. Privacy to them relates to their own

thoughts and emoons that they proudly

keep to themselves.

Social DistanceEvery culture denes proper distance.

Westerners, parcularly Americans, nd

that the Chinese comfort zone regarding

distance is a bit too close for their comfort.

Westerners may insncvely back up when

others invade their space. Do not be sur-

prised to nd that the Chinese will simply

step closer.

TouchingThe Chinese do not like to be touched, par-

cularly by strangers. Do not hug, back slapor put an arm around someone’s shoulder.

Do not be oended if you are pushed and

shoved in a line. In some circumstances, the

Chinese do not pracce the art of lining up,

and courtesy to strangers in public places is

not required.

People of the same sex may walk hand-in-hand as a gesture of friendship in China.



IMPORTANT TIPS

Gestures & Customs• Do not point with your index nger, use an

open hand instead

• Do not use your index nger to call some-

one, use the hand with ngers mooning

downward as in waving.

• Do not snap ngers

• Do not put feet on a desk or coee table. It

is rude to show the soles of the shoes

• Do not whistle

• Use both hands when handing someone

an object, such as a teacup, a gi, or a busi-

ness card

Chinese customs that are confusing to

Westerners:

• Waving the hand in front of the face toindicate “no”

• Poinng to the nose to indicate “oneself,”

rather than to the chest

• Girls covering one’s face and giggling to

show embarrassment

• Chinese customs that are annoying to

Westerners:

• Belching or sping on the street

• Lack of consideraon when smoking andfailure to ask permission to smoke

• Staring at foreigners, parcularly in remote

areas

• Slurping food or making noises while eat-

ing

• Talking while eang

• Eang in public places that are not desig-

nated for food

• Pushing in crowded areas such as railwaystaons or bus stop

LaughterAlthough laughter is the response to some-

thing humorous, it can also mean someone

feels uncomfortable, or in a situaon where

they do not know how to respond. Consider

the situaon.



Deeply rooted in Chinese society is the need to belong and conform to a unit, whether

the family, a polical party or an organizaon. The family is the focus of life for most

Chinese. Age and rank are highly respected. However, to the dismay of older people, to-

day’s young people are rapidly modernizing, wearing blue jeans and sunglasses, drink-

ing Coke and driving motorbikes.

Body LanguageThe Chinese dislike being touched by strang-

ers. Do not touch, hug, lock arms, back slap

or make any body contact.

Clicking ngers or whistling is considered

very rude.

Never gesture or pass an object with your

feet.

Blowing one’s nose in a handkerchief and

returning it to one’s pocket is considered

vulgar by the Chinese.

To beckon a Chinese person, face the palm

of your hand downward and move your n-

gers in a scratching moon. Never use your

index nger to beckon anyone.

Sucking air in quickly and loudly through lips

and teeth expresses distress or surprise at a

proposed request. Aempt to change your

request, allowing the Chinese to save face.

Chinese point with an open hand. Never

point with your index nger.

Meeng and GreengShake hands upon meeng. Chinese may

nod or bow instead of shaking hands, al-

though shaking hands has become increas-

ingly common.

When introduced to a Chinese group, they

may greet you with applause. Applaud

back.

Senior persons begin greengs. Greet the

oldest, most senior person before others.

During group introducons, line up accord-

ing to seniority with the senior person at

the head of the line.

PEOPLE IN CHINA



CHINESE ETIQUETTE

Meeng Equee

Greengs are formal and the oldest person is always greeted rst.

Handshakes are the most common form of greeng with foreigners.

Many Chinese will look towards the ground when greeng someone.

Address the person by an honoric tle and their surname. If they want to move to a

rst-name basis, they will advise you which name to use.

The Chinese have a terric sense of humour. They can laugh at themselves most readily

if they have a comfortable relaonship with the other person. Be ready to laugh at your-self given the proper circumstances.

Gi Giving Equee

Four is an unlucky number so do not give four of anything. Eight is

the luckiest number, so giving eight of something brings luck to

the recipient.

Gis are not opened when received. Do not give scissors,

knives or other cung utensils, as they indicate the sev-ering of the relaonship.

Do not give clocks, handkerchiefs or straw sandals, as

they are associated with funerals and death.

Do not give owers, as many Chinese associate these

with funerals.

Do not wrap gis in white, blue or black paper.

Dining Equee

The Chinese prefer to entertain in public places rather

than in their homes, especially when entertaining for-

eigners.

If you are invited to their house, consider it a great honour.

If you must turn down such an honour, it is considered polite

to explain the conict in your schedule so that your acons are

not taken as a slight.

Arrive on me.

Remove your shoes before entering the house.

Bring a small gi to the hostess.

Eat well to demonstrate that you are enjoying the food!



Tipping Equee

Tipping is becoming more commonplace, es-

pecially with younger workers, although older

workers sll consider it an insult. Leaving a few

coins is usually sucient.

Table manners

Learn to use chopscks.

Wait to be told where to sit. The guest of hon-

our will be given a seat facing the door. The host

begins eang rst.

You should try everything that is oered to you.

Never eat the last piece from the serving tray.

Be observant to other peoples’ needs.

Chopscks should be returned to the chopsck

rest aer every few bites and when you drink or

stop to speak.

The host oers the rst toast.

Do not put bones in your bowl. Place them on

the table or in a special bowl for that purpose.

Hold the rice bowl close to your mouth while

eang.

Do not be oended if a Chinese person makesslurping or belching sounds; it merely indicates

that they are enjoying their food.

CHINESE ETIQUETTE

In most tradional Chinese

dining, dishes are communal.

Although both square and

rectangular tables are used for

small groups of people, round

tables are preferred for large

groups, parcularly in restau-

rants, in order to permit easy

sharing.



DOS AND DON’TS

Nǐ chē le ma?

Ask locals if they have already eaten their

meal when greeng them. Chinese oen

use a very common phrase “Nǐ chē le ma?”

which literally means “Have you already

eaten?” You might nd this roune odd,

but food plays a great role in the life of

Chinese people, and asking if they are not

hungry is a sign of kindness and concern.

Don’t be surprised to see, and feel pushing

and shoving everywhere

The Chinese have lile knowledge of queu-

ing and personal space. If you leave a gap

in a queue because of your personal space,

someone will ll it.

Don’t expose your body

When in China, you should not wear very

short shorts when going to school or enter-

ing a temple. Showing your legs or neckline

can shock many locals, especially the old

ones, so always make sure you look neat

and modest.

Don’t be oended by the Chinese

Locals will oen say “you are fat,” “you

should wear more clothes, it ’s geng cold”

and also ask how much you earn and how

old your girlfriend or boyfriend is. They are

only interested in showing that they care

about you and are not trying to oend you.

Don’t draw aenon to yourself in

a negave way

As a foreigner, you will grab everyone’s

aenon, but things like behaving abusively

will get you noced far more and for the

wrong reasons.

Be punctual

Chinese can’t stand unpunctual people. If

you make an appointment with someone,

make sure you show up on me. Other-

wise, it might be perceived as something

extremely disrespecul.

Don’t leave your chopscks upright in your

bowl or tap your bowl with them

This is the way a bowl of rice is oered to

the spirit of a dead person, at their death-

bed or in front of their photograph on the

household Buddhist altar. Moreover, It’s

also not considered to be very good form to

cross the working ends of your chopsckswhile eang, so you should pay aenon to

how you use them when eang.

Greet older people rst

When you greet someone

much older than you in China,

you should lower your head

in order to show respect and

recognion. When you meet

someone your age, you should

rst wave, then smile and

say “Ni hao!” which means

“Hello!” Unlike some Western

countries, Chinese do not ac-

cept hugs or kisses as a form of

greeng.




DON’TS

Never accept a compliment graciously

You may nd yourself at a loss for words

when you compliment a Chinese host on a

wonderful meal, and you get a response,

“No, no, the food was really horrible.” A lit-

tle less boasng and fewer self-congratula-

tory remarks go a long way towards scoring

cultural sensivity points with the Chinese.

Never get angry in public

Public displays of anger are frowned upon

by the Chinese and are most uncomfort-

able for them to deal with — especially if

the people geng angry are foreign tour-

ists, for example. This goes right along with

making someone (usually the Chinese host)

lose face, which you should avoid at all

costs.

Never address people by their rst names

rst

Chinese people have rst and last names

like everyone else. However, in China, the

last name always comes rst. The family

(and the collecve in general) always takes

precedence over the individual. Joe Smithin Minnesota is known as Smith Joe (or the

equivalent) in Shanghai. If a man is intro-

duced to you as Lî Míng, you can safely

refer to him as Mr. Lî (not Mr. Míng).

Unlike people in the West, the Chinese

don’t feel very comfortable calling each

other by their rst names. Only family

members and a few close friends ever referto the man above, for example, as simply

“Míng.”

Never take food with the wrong end of

your chopscks

The next me you gather around a dinnertable with a Chinese host, you may discover

that serving spoons for the many commu-

nal dishes are non-existent. This is because

everyone serves themselves (or others) by

turning their chopscks upside down to

take food from the main dishes before put-

ng the food on the individual plates.

Never drink alcohol without rst oering atoast

Chinese banquets include eight to ten

Never make someone lose face

The worst thing you can possi-

bly do to Chinese acquaintances

is publicly humiliate or other-

wise embarrass them. Doing

so makes them lose face. Don’t

point out a mistake in front ofothers or yell at someone.

The good news is that you can

actually help someone gain face

by complimenng them and

giving credit where credit is due.

Do this whenever the opportu-

nity arises. Your graciousness is

much appreciated.




DON’TS

courses of food and plenty of alcohol. One way to slow down the drinking is to observe

Chinese equee by always oering a toast to the host or someone else at the table be-

fore taking a sip yourself. This not only prevents you from drinking too much too quickly,

but also shows your gratude toward the host and your regard for the other guests.

Never let someone else pay the bill without ghng for it

Most Westerners are stunned the rst me they witness the many fairly chaoc, noisy

scenes at the end of a Chinese restaurant meal. The me to pay the bill has come and

everyone is simply doing what they’re expected to do — ght to be the one to pay it. The

Chinese consider it good manners to vociferously and strenuously aempt to wrest the

bill out of the very hands of whoever happens to have it. This may go on, back and forth,

for a good few minutes, unl someone “wins” and pays the bill. The gesture of being ea-

ger and willing to pay is always appreciated.

Never accept food, drinks, or gis without rst refusing a few mes

No self-respecng guests immediately accept whatever may be oered to them in some-

one’s home. No maer how eager they may be to accept the food, drink, or gi, proper

Chinese equee prevents them from doing anything that makes them appear greedy or

eager to receive it, so be sure to politely refuse a couple of mes.

Never show up empty handed

Gis are exchanged frequently between the

Chinese, and not just on special occasions. If

you have dinner in someone’s house to meet a

prospecve business partner or for any other

pre-arranged meeng, both pares commonlyexchange gis as small tokens of friendship and

good will. Westerners are oen surprised at the

number of gis the Chinese hosts give. The gen-

eral rule of thumb is to bring many lile (gender

non-specic) gis when you travel to China. You

never know when you’ll meet someone who

wants to present you with a special memento, so

you should arrive with your own as well.

Never take the rst

“No, thank you” literally

Chinese people automacally

refuse food or drinks several

mes — even if they really feelhungry or thirsty. Never take

the rst “No, thank you” liter-

ally. Even if they say it once or

twice, oer it again. A good

guest is supposed to refuse at

least once, but a good host is

also supposed to make the of- fer at least twice.

Country prole CHINALearnmera Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com



CORPORATE CULTURE

It is very dicult to break through the “them

vs. us” philosophy (foreign partner vs. Chi-

nese). In personal relaonships, the Chinese

will oer friendship and warm hospitality

without conict, but in business they are

astute negoators.

DressConservave, simple, unpretenous, modest

clothing should be worn – nothing ashy or

overly fashionable.

Women should avoid bare backs, shorts,

low-cut tops and excessive jewellery.

For business, men should wear sport coats

and es. Slacks and open-necked shirts are

generally suitable in the summer for busi-

ness meengs; jackets and es are not nec-

essary.

Women should wear dresses or pantsuits for

business and should avoid heavy make-up

and dangling, gaudy jewelry.

Good to know

Punctuality is important for foreign business

people. Being late is rude. Meengs always

begin on me.

English is not spoken in business meengs,

although some Chinese may understand En-

glish without making it known. Hire an inter-

preter or ask for one to be provided.

Be prepared for long meengs and lengthy

negoaons (oen ten days straight) with

many delays.

The Chinese will enter a meeng with the

highest-ranking person entering rst. Theywill assume the rst member of your group

to enter the room is the leader of your

The Chinese are praccal

in business and realize they

need Western investment,

but dislike dependency on

foreigners. They are suspi-

cious and fearful of being

cheated or pushed aroundby foreigners, who are per-

ceived as culturally and eco-

nomically corrupt.



CORPORATE CULTURE

delegaon. The senior Chinese person

welcomes everyone. The foreign leaderintroduces his/her team, and each member

distributes his/her card. The leader invites

the Chinese to do the same.

Seang is very important at a meeng. The

host sits to the le of the most important

guest.

There may be periods of silence at a busi-ness meeng; do not interrupt these.

A contract is considered a dra subject to

change. Chinese may agree on a deal and

then change their minds. A signed contract

is not binding and does not mean negoa-

ons will end.

Observing seniority and rank is extremelyimportant in business.

The status of the people who make the

inial contact with the Chinese is very im-portant. Don’t insult the Chinese by sending

someone with a low rank.

Chinese negoators may try to make foreign

negoators feel guilty about setbacks; they

may then manipulate this sense of guilt to

achieve certain concessions.

Two Chinese negoang tricks designed tomake you agree to concessions are staged

temper tantrums and a feigned sense of

urgency.

If the Chinese side no longer wishes to pur-

sue the deal, they may not tell you. To save

their own face, they may become increas-

ingly inexible and hard-nosed, forcing you

to break o negoaons. In this way, theymay avoid blame for the failure.



Relaonships & Communicaon

The Chinese don’t like doing business with

companies they don’t know, so working

through an intermediary is crucial. This

could be an individual or an organizaon

who can make a formal introducon and

vouch for the reliability of your company.

Before arriving in China, send materials (inChinese) that describe your company, its

history, and literature about your products

and services. The Chinese oen use inter-

mediaries to ask quesons that they would

prefer not to make directly.

Be very paent. It takes a considerable

amount of me and is bound up with enor-

mous bureaucracy.

The Chinese see foreigners as represen-

taves of their company rather than as

individuals.

Rank is extremely important in business re-

laonships and you must keep rank dier-

ences in mind when communicang.

Gender bias is non-existent in business.

Never lose sight of the fact that communi-

caon is ocial, especially in dealing with

someone of higher rank. Treang them

too informally, especially in front of their

peers, may well ruin a potenal deal.

The Chinese prefer face-to-face meengs

rather than wrien or telephone commu-

nicaon.

Meals and social events are not the place

for business discussions. There is a demar-

caon between business and socializing in

China, so try to be careful not to intertwine

the two.

Business Meeng Equee

Appointments are necessary and, if possi-

ble, should be made between one-to-two

months in advance, preferably in wring.

If you do not have a contact within the

company, use an intermediary to arrange

a formal introducon. Once the introduc-

on has been made, you should providethe company with informaon about your

company and what you want to accom-

plish at the meeng.

You should arrive at meengs on me or

slightly early. The Chinese view punctuali-

ty as a virtue. Arriving late is an insult and

could aect your relaonship negavely.

Pay great aenon to the agenda as eachChinese parcipant has his or her own

agenda that they will aempt to introduce.

Send an agenda before the meeng so

your Chinese colleagues have the chance

to meet with any technical experts prior to

the meeng. Discuss the agenda with your

translator/intermediary prior to submis-

sion.

Each parcipant will take an opportunity

to dominate the oor for lengthy periods

without appearing to say very much of

anything that actually contributes to the

meeng. Be paent and listen. There could

be subtle messages being transmied that

would assist you in allaying fears of on-go-

ing associaon.

BUSINESS ETIQUETTE



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