China Expert

By Vincent Cheung

To open restaurants in Shanghai, you’ve got two options:

1. Establish a wholly foreign owned catering management company.
2. Simply open a restaurant

If you want to franchise in Shanghai or intend to sell your restaurants in the future, option 1 would be fit for you, or you can simply open a restaurant. You don’t have to rent a room in an office block to have the catering management company established. For setting up a catering management company, a suitable place for opening a restaurant is sufficient. As soon as it’s established, you can start to open restaurants, bars or coffee houses as its branch companies. Since the catering management company, which is licensed to engage in investment consultancy, business consultancy, corporate management consultancy, catering (food, dessert, beverage, alcohol) already has most of the required licenses and permits for engaging in catering business, you don’t need to apply for them when you are opening branch companies. Read the rest of “About Opening a Foreign-invested Restaurant in Shanghai” or post a comment

An open, flexible mind and a serious commitment.

By Ernie Tadla

First: an open and flexible mind. May I introduce my two lady friends?

Some people look at this picture and see a crone. Some people see a young woman. Some people can see both, but not at the
same time. They choose the one they will see.

If you are able to see both, you switch from old lady to young lady by changing your perception, your paradigm. Nothing changes on the outside, only on the inside. You can see and understand both sides. Read the rest of “China Lesson Eight: The two things it takes to do successful business in China” or post a comment

The Three Golden Rules for Winning in Any Negotiation

By Osama El-Kadi

Throughout my 30 years in the negotiation game and while playing at all levels, I realised that these three golden rules are really what matter for achieving great results in the game.

These rules apply to any type of negotiation game, whether it is multimillion pound deal, buying a car or a house — The same rules apply.

The wonderful thing about these golden rules is that even an unskilled negotiators can, not only be a players over night but also win big time using these three golden rules; They are the ABC of the negotiation game. Read the rest of “The ABC of the Negotiation Game” or post a comment

By Greg Bissky

Confucius is still alive in Chinese Asia (as well as in Japan, Korea and Vietnam). Proving far stronger than the (European) ideas of Marx or Lenin, his moral and societal philosophy easily overcame the concerted efforts of the Chinese Communist Party in China to “rid the nation of [his] feudal teachings.” From Shanghai to Taipei to Hong Kong to Singapore, his influence can be seen in all aspects of Chinese society, especially Chinese business communication.

Chinese reports are often filled with polite but meaningless words; business letters and faxes take one, and often two or three, paragraphs to get to the point. Chinese meetings are characterized by general and/or superficial discussion: ensuring that no one loses face is more important than clearly examining the entire range of opinions. What’s missing from Chinese communication are well-reasoned arguments, strong conclusions, clear recommendations, tough questions, candid opinions and frank disagreements. All require a person to be definite, to clearly say This is what I think, and thus all risk hurting a relationship with those who disagree (especially in hierarchical relationships). Read the rest of “Effects on Business Communication” or post a comment