Come la Cina ha stormed sulla fase del mondo dell'eccedenza di commercio internazionale la decade passata, molto è stato scritto circa le occasioni ed i pericoli di fare il commercio là. Per riuscire, è critico riconoscere e capire le forze di fondo che sono sul lavoro in quella coltura.

Un certo cinese si riferisce come “bambù„; sono molto duri e resilienti - e ci è un mucchio del disordine delle aziende occidentali che si sono arrestate e si bruciate in Cina per dimostrarle. Tuttavia, rimane occasioni immense fare il commercio là mentre osservano in avanti ad un'altra decade di una media di sviluppo annuale di 10% - e l'emersione di un codice categoria centrale che sta circa per trasformarsi in in un mercato grande per i prodotti importati. La chiave è a capisca che cosa guida il loro comportamento e come difendersi dai rischi che lurk fra le occasioni.

Non batti le pratiche cinesi prevalenti di affari - invece, capiscono le forze culturali che influenzano come pensano e si comportano nel commercio.

Esplori 8 “punte di apertura del portello„ a guadagnare una comprensione dei valori che influenzano il loro comportamento di affari:

Portello il # 1 - coltivi i rapporti
Guanxi - o rapporti personali - sia estremamente importante nella coltura cinese. Per ottenere un affare ragionevole, è molto importante stabilire un buon rapporto personale con i principali dall'altro lato. Il migliore il vostro rapporto, la probabilità che migliore avete di negoziazione dell'accordo possibile che avvantaggiate entrambi i partiti.

Portello #2 - Riunisca il consenso
La faccia di Saving è una preoccupazione importante per la gente in molte colture asiatiche e la Cina è differente. They are very afraid of making a mistake, and if not entirely sure they are right, they are extremely reluctant to make a move. This is also reflected in their emphasis on group decision-making – often at the expense of personal initiative. Unless you are dealing with the top decision-maker at a company, expect delays in receiving a definitive answer while group consensus is being built at their end.

Door #3 – Embrace Hard Work Ethics
The Chinese value hard work on its own merit, and disdain those who don’t. "She doesn’t have a good job because she didn’t study in school" was a comment I heard while in Shanghai recently. The stereotype of hardworking Chinese students here in North America stems from this very real value in their culture.

Door #5 – Get It In Writing
Getting every aspect of a business transaction in writing applies in China, no matter how miniscule or obvious it may appear to us. Common knowledge and "goes without saying" does not exist, and if you leave yourself open by missing a detail in a contract, it will commonly be viewed as an opportunity to take advantage of your mistake – and in their mind, that’s your fault, not theirs. Exact specifications should be included not only for the product itself, but also for the manufacturing process, raw materials, packaging, delivery times, and everything else imaginable that could affect the delivery, performance, and payment for the product.

Door #6 – Request Competitor Quotes
Benchmarking is extremely important to ensure that you receive a reasonable price. The first quote you receive for a product may be outrageous, but you can usually find out quickly by also requesting quotes from their competitors. The existence of intense domestic competition in China is one of the reasons they are so competitive in world markets.

Door #7 – Practice Business Savvy
Keep in mind that things are not always as they seem in China. You may be led to believe certain things about a company there, but when you go to check it out for yourself (or get your representative – Chinese speaking, of course – to do it for you) you may find the reality is far different. Here are some suggestions, based on real-life examples. If a company promotes itself to be ISO 9000 registered, be sure to ask for proof – and review the documentation carefully and confirm with the certifying ISO registrar. If a company purports to use a specific high grade of steel in its products, ask for the certificate of authenticity – in one case a metal stamping die was built of some type of steel that could not even be welded when the product needed to be serviced. And photos of factories may appear quite "different" from the real thing when it’s actually visited!

Door #8 – Know How They Negotiate
The Chinese are excellent negotiators. When selling to them, their first answer to your quoted price, no matter what it is, is almost always "no", or "impossible". They know that Westerners often don’t adapt their style to suit Chinese values; don’t take the time to develop relationships (after all, in Western culture, personal relationships are not usually necessary to do business) and are often in a hurry to make a deal and go home. So they wait, watch, and listen – and take advantage of opportunities when they can.

Doors of opportunity in China abound – if you are prepared to knock before entering.