Durch Peter Bennett

Ein Kollege erklärte mir, daß einmal eine gute Anzeige des ökonomischen Vertrauens die Zahl Aufbaukränen auf dem Skyline war. Wenn er korrekt ist, fühlt Beijing über seine Aussichten gut, sehr gut tatsächlich.

Entsprechend den Abbildungen, die vor kurzem durch die verbundene Presse veröffentlicht wurden, wuchs Wirtschaft Chinas an einem mit Blasen bedecken9.4 Prozent in dem ersten Dreivierteln von 2005 allein. Dennoch deckte eine pan-europäische Geschäft Abstimmung durch Paketunternehmen UPS auf, daß fast ein Third (31 Prozent) der BRITISCHEN führender Vertreter der Wirtschaftn nicht Asien betrachten, ein wichtiger Handeln oder Produktionsmarkt zu sein.

Die Schlagzeilen zu ignorieren, die das `Wecken des Drachen' voraussagen würde kommerzieller Selbstmord sein: die Weltwirtschaft macht eine Revolution, während ein China-führendes Asien zu seiner historischen Rolle in der Mitte von Angelegenheiten zurückgeht, entsprechend die Financial Times' Martin Wolf durch.
Wenige von uns empfangen email auf Chinesen, aber mich Säge eine letztes Jahr, das in übersetzte: „Ich möchte Million aufwenden zerstoße mit Ihrer Firma“. Eine gute Entschuldigung, dachte ich, um Januar in Beijing aufzuwenden sprechend mit Geschäft Repräsentativorganisationen und wachsenden Firmen, die mit dem Westen handeln möchten. Es gab Sachen, die ich jetzt kenne, dem ich nicht wußte, als ich meine Fläche von London zu Beijing verschalte, um meinen chinesischen Kontakt zu treffen, dem jeder, der Geschäft in China tun möchte, bewußt sein sollte von. Lassen Sie mich erklären.

Es gab keine Anlegeplätze, die auf dem Nachtzug von Beijing für Xian (berühmt für seine terracotta Armee aber schnell, andere Industrien entwickelnd) vorhanden sind, aber wir fanden uns bald, unten zu vereinbaren, um zu schlafen, während eine plötzlich vorhanden kam. A few days later we dined in a restaurant which was so busy that there was a queue for tables but strangely we had been directed past the queue into a private dining room.

Not long after my arrival in Beijing I’d mentioned a long standing back injury was troubling me after my flight. The next day I was ushered past the waiting patients to be x-rayed immediately by one of the City’s leading orthopedic surgeons. No money changed hands. The currency exchanged was based upon Guanxi (Pronounced “GWAN-shee”) which literally means “relationships”. In practice, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”. The exchange of favors.

My host, a local businessman whose family has lived in the same area of Beijing for centuries, runs several successful restaurants. He has Guanxi in abundance and I have lost count of the number of times his standing has made things happen which would have been impossible without his network. If you trade with China, or would like to trade with China, underestimate Guanxi at your peril.

It works at all levels from social engagements through business and into officialdom. Western corporations often place great emphasis on efficiency and financial performance as a guide to whether or not to trade with other entities. In China, a much higher importance is put on personal relationships. You do not need to be big and powerful to forge successful business relationships with Chinese executives but you do need establish the personal contacts first.

My advice is not to rely on formal written communications but wherever possible to talk to prospective contacts on the phone (using an interpreter if required) and, if at all possible, arrange to meet in person as soon as you think you have a mutual interest in trading. Return flights from London to Beijing are around 400 UK and once there, accommodation is cheap.

Time spent getting to know your potential partners will pay dividends down the line. Unless your hosts speak English well, consider hiring a face-to-face interpreter to avoid confusion and help initial meetings run smoothly. Their local knowledge of the City will also be invaluable as Beijing is huge.

My time in China was extremely productive. London Translations Limited, has announced an agreement with Beijing Sagive Translations Company Limited, one of the most respected and experienced translation firms in China. This will provide a crucial language ‘bridge’ to enable trade between our two countries. Crucially they will provide an English to Chinese service and we will translate Chinese into English.

Incidentally, I never found out how exactly we managed to get seats on a fully booked train but my host did mention that the wife of a comedian whose show was being played on TV in our carriage works at the train company and the comedian himself regularly eats in his restaurants!

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Peter Bennett is founder and CEO of London translations Limited, one of London’s fastest growing business translation and interpreting agencies.

Download his free report, Translation without tears, from:
www.london-translations.co.uk