Par Peter Bennett

Un collègue m'a par le passé dit qu'un bon indicateur de confiance économique était le nombre de grues de construction sur l'horizon. S'il est correct, Pékin se sent bon au sujet de ses perspectives, très bonnes en fait.

Selon des figures récemment éditées par Associated Press, l'économie de la Chine s'est développée à des 9.4 pour cent de formation de soufflures dans trois quarts premiers de 2005 seuls. Pourtant un scrutin pan-européen d'affaires par l'UPS de société de colis a indiqué que presque un tiers (31 pour cent) des chefs de file des affaires BRITANNIQUES ne considèrent pas comme étant l'Asie un marché important de commerce ou de production.

Ignorer les titres prévoyant le réveil de `du dragon' serait suicide commercial : l'économie mondiale subit une révolution pendant que l'Asie Chine-menée revient à son rôle historique au centre des affaires, selon loup de le Financial Times le' Martin.
Peu de nous reçoivent les email dans le Chinois, mais moi la scie une l'année dernière en laquelle a traduit : « Je voudrais dépenser million de livres avec votre compagnie ». Une bonne excuse, j'ai pensé, pour passer janvier dans Pékin parlant aux organismes représentatifs d'affaires et aux compagnies grandissantes qui veulent commercer avec l'ouest. Il y avait des choses que je sais maintenant que je n'ai pas su quand j'ai monté à bord de mon avion de Londres à Pékin pour rencontrer mon contact chinois chacun qui souhaite faire des affaires dont en Chine devrait se rendre compte. Laissez-moi expliquer.

Il n'y avait aucune couchette disponible sur le train de nuit de Pékin à Xian (célèbre pour son armée de terracotta mais rapide développant d'autres industries) mais nous nous sommes bientôt trouvés nous fixer pour dormir pendant qu'on venait soudainement 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:
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