The Chinese Way of Doing Business

Book excerpt: The key to your success in business in China is developing your ability to gain the trust of your Chinese business partners. This book is a practical guide that will show you how to do that. Business in China is very relationship based and takes longer than the largely transaction based way of doing business in the west. This book was written to help you to increase your understanding of Chinese culture and teach you the etiquette to achieve business success in a hierarchical society like China. It’s essential that you understand how Chinese business culture revolves around the concepts of “face” and “guanxi (relationship)” and learn to follow proper etiquette, which is based on these concepts. This book will teach you how to do this. The book also gives you practical advice on how to successfully hold business meetings, and negotiate, with the Chinese, and on the importance of using intermediaries and how to choose one. You’ll also learn tips on how to socialize with Chinese, which is critical to gaining their trust and achieving your objectives in business. This book was written with those doing business in China front of mind, but it is also very useful for those who want to learn more about Chinese culture for other purposes. Whether you’re traveling to China for vacation or holiday, going to school in China, or maybe just want to learn more about your Chinese coworkers or neighbors, this book can give you insight into how Chinese people may be thinking and their way of doing things.