Por Peter Bennett

Un colega una vez me dijo que un buen indicador de la confianza económica fuera el número de las grúas de la construcción en el horizonte. Si él está correcto, Beijing se está sintiendo bien sobre sus perspectivas, muy buenas de hecho.

Según las figuras publicadas recientemente por la prensa asociada, la economía de China creció en 9.4 por ciento que ampollaba en el primer tres cuartos de 2005 solos. Con todo una encuesta pan-europea del negocio por la UPS de la firma del paquete reveló que casi un tercero (31 por ciento) de los líderes de negocio BRITÁNICOS no considera Asia ser un mercado importante el negociar o de la producción.

No hacer caso de los títulos que predicen despertar del `del dragón' sería suicidio comercial: la economía mundial está experimentando una revolución como una Asia China-conducida vuelve a su papel histórico en el centro de asuntos, según el lobo de The Financial Times' Martin.
Pocos de nosotros reciben email en chino, pero me la sierra una el año pasado a la cual tradujo: “Quisiera pasar millón de libras con su compañía”. Una buena excusa, pensé, para pasar enero en Beijing hablando con las organizaciones representativas del negocio y las compañías cada vez mayor que desean negociar con el oeste. Había cosas que ahora sé que no sabía cuándo subí a mi plano de Londres a Beijing para resolver mi contacto chino de el cual cada uno que desea hacer negocio en China debe estar enterado. Déjeme explicar.

No había literas disponibles en el tren de noche de Beijing para Xian (famoso para su ejército del terracotta sino rápido desarrollando otras industrias) pero pronto nos encontramos el colocar abajo para dormir mientras que vino una repentinamente disponible. 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!

Article Source: www.articlebazaar.net

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