The recent series of high-profile labor events has thrown a spotlight on the protection of workers’ rights in China.

Several foreign multinationals, including FoxConn, McDonald’s and Yum! Brands Inc - which owns the KFC brand, had been investigated for providing poor working conditions, underpaying their part-time workers and engaging in other unfair labor practices.

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Lovy and I were high-school sweethearts and were married for forty-three years before her untimely death. She had worked and put me through university and contributed mightily to the financial stores of our maturing family. This adventure allowed her the opportunity to retire from being a certified dental assistant and enjoy a totally new life, and China, which she did.

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Yesterday Greg Bissky posted a new video on YouTube.

According to Greg, Westerners must learn that there is more than one “right” way to communicate. The Western rule is, “get straight to the point,” but Chinese use a different rule, “build the relationship first.”

Watch “Western and Chinese business-More Than 1 Way to Communicate” or post a comment >>

Sourcing to China can be cost effective, but if something goes wrong, it could have a dramatic effect on your bottom line — and negatively impact customer opinion of your business. Can we trust domestic producers and distributors to control quality with fervor equal to their pursuit of low wages? Cheap labor is the easy part; the quality thing is a much tougher nut to crack.

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In the Western world, having the right relationships or connections, while very important, is usually not a sufficient (nor in many cases a necessary) condition to get business done. You’d need to have sound business fundamentals first. In China, for a long time having Guanxi this “ultra-relationship” or “super-connection“ ALONE could already ensure a “done-deal”, regardless of the fundamentals…

Read the rest of “”Guanxi” Demystified: How it differs from our usual “Connections”?” or post a comment >>