Uno dei la più notevoli ed immediatamente caratteristiche riconoscibili dei viaggiatori cinesi in Europa è il loro fondness del loro proprio Zhongcan, alimento cinese. Nella maggior parte dei casi essendo costringendo a soddisfare il loro primo appetito del giorno in un hotel che pranza la stanza con pane, cereali e tali a loro è una delle esasperazioni di viaggiare nell'ovest.

Tutto questo è dimenticato prontamente quando l'ora di pranzo e più tardi dinnertime porta l'occasione mettere le bacchette a buon uso e scavare dentro per una buona festività orientale esperta. Non nel genere di ristoranti non-descript la maggior parte dei Dutchmen chiamano “de Chinees„ dove la cottura indonesiana e del sud di Cinese-stile è mescolareata sconosciuto, no, abbiamo fortunatamente nostra parte equa dei eateries cinesi autentici dove molti piatti dalla sede posteriore sono preparati abilmente e gli ospiti dai posti far-flung quali Sichuan o Heilongjiang sono abbastanza felici livellano per trovare il cuisine di Guangdong.

Tutti i lettori coinvolgere in questo mezzo certamente riferiranno all'alimento chiave di posizione con tutti i relativi giochi di connotazioni nella coltura cinese. Di conseguenza nel fare commercio con i soci cinesi importanza del ruolo di consumo e di bere può appena essere sopravvalutato insieme. When wielding their chopsticks and drinking their green tea or something stronger later on in the day the guests seem to find themselves at ease among elements of an alien culture surrounding them, while at the same time the engrained hierarchic patterns and internal group structure remain intact, and clearly distinguishable. Eating and drinking and then maybe some singing together (or even a bit of naughty entertainment) form an indispensable prelude to successfully building a close relationship, and as such an integral part of the trust and mutual confidence necessary for extending this into actually doing business.

We at Jingli Helan organize the leisure program for Chinese business delegations in the Netherlands from all walks of life in the Sino-Dutch business spectrum. Apart from arranging Mandarin-speaking tour guides for tailored tours we make it our business to make sure providing authentic food is well taken care of. The operative word here is guanxi: many of you will be familiar with this concept meaning something like personal relationship. Guanxi is what gets people a job, a home, adequate medical treatment, a chance in a trial and many more things.

It is certainly also the one thing that gets successful business done. It is built up by exchanging favors and gifts and needs to be maintained. For Dutch companies receiving business delegations what better way to return the favor of a cordial welcome in China then offering hospitality through the dinner table? We may never stop wondering how such a basic human need such as food fulfills a crucial role in the modern commercial world. Yet there may be lessons to be learnt from Orientals sitting at the dinner table together and taking the time to get to know each other before embarking on a business adventure together. Isn’t this building of mutual trust as a basis for commercial ties preferable to our Western fixation on contracts as an expression of distrust for business partners old as well as new?

The quintessential act of establishing, and reinforcing guanxi through an ancient ritual of nourishing the body and mind together may well be recognized as a cherished and beneficial influence from the East on the West in the near future.

Written by: Marc Combe
http://www.jinglihelan.nl/