Newsletter Week 34 2007 |
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Dear Reader, This week’s edition covers: the success story of Quodo; the research Stephanie Lie did on guanxi in business; China’s aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business according to the Doing Business project; 8 "Door Opening" tips to gaining an understanding of the values that influence Chinese business behavior; and in what ways you can tarnish your company’s image in China, if you do not listen to Jocelyn Eikenburg’s advice. We hope you enjoy reading this edition. All of us at China Success Stories Feature article Molding your business for China  For many, China appears to be enormously far away. With a totally different culture and many practical problems and unknown, sometimes impossible, regulations. Not for Marco de Bruin though. Long before any other molding producer even considered it, his company was using the opportunities China is offering. Today, while the competition is experiencing a difficult time, Quodo Mould Systems is trying to control its remarkable growth. The company first set foot in China in 2002. “Enthusiastic by what we saw, we immediately ordered the first moulds. That turned out not to be so simple. To have an assignment executed correctly, it is essential to communicate extensively. Not by means of a laptop, conveniently operated from another country, but directly on the work-floor.” Read the rest or post a comment >> China Expert Guest Blog Ease of doing Business in China  Every year the Doing Business project compares the ease of doing business worldwide based on several criteria. More than 5,000 local experts – business consultants, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and leading academics around the world, join in and provide methodological support and review. The data, methodology, and the names of contributors are publicly available online at doingbusiness.org.Curious how China measures up globally? Here’s a snapshot of China’s aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business and on each of the ten topics that comprise the overall ranking. Read the rest or post a comment >> Advertisement The source for thousands of verified Suppliers from China: Global Sources
China Expert Guest Blog Opportunity Knocks in China  As China has stormed onto the world stage of international trade over the past decade, much has been written about the opportunities and perils of doing business there. To be successful, it is critical to recognize and understand the underlying forces that are at work in that culture.Some Chinese refer to themselves as "bamboo"; they are very tough and resilient – and there is a litter pile of Western companies that have crashed and burned in China to prove it. However, there remain immense opportunities to do business there as... Read the rest or post a comment >> Facts & Figures Shipping Cargo You never know when these statistics might prove to be of value to you. So without further ado, here's our weekly top 10. Top 10 most busy ports
* Twenty-foot Equivalent Units China Expert Guest Blog Five ways to tarnish your company’s image in China  1. Open a store at the Great Wall.We could learn a lot from Starbucks on this front. Their store in the Forbidden City has generated enough negative PR to warrant high-level government discussions on closing it for good. Why? Because the move was perceived as an imperialistic invasion into one of China’s most sacred and beloved cultural icons. With China’s recent history of foreign marauders coming in and setting up shop there — without the blessing of average Chinese — the reaction is not surprising. So if a Chinese official gives you the green light to open up at the Great Wall — or any other iconic cultural location in China — think twice. 2. Fudge your Chinese translations. Read the rest or post a comment >> China Expert Guest Blog Scientific study on Guanxi in Business  To guanxi or not to guanxi, what actually ís the question? Stephanie Lie asked a dozen of questions to dozens of recipients a few months ago, in order to find the right definition, meaning and application of guanxi in Chinese business life. The questionnaire covered several topics, ranging from ‘explain in your own words what guanxi means to you or what your interpretation of guanxi is’, to ‘how many clients does your business attract via gaunxi?’ The results of Stephanie’s guanxi research are in and we would like to share them with you. When asked for the definition, 60,5% interpret and define guanxi as a network, 23,2% as having meaningful relationships or connections. The remaining 16,3% varied in their personal definition of guanxi, of which some examples are Read the rest or post a comment >> Comments Lou P in reply to: Five Unpleasant Truths of Doing Business in China I set up contract manufacturing arrangements for seven years and agree with almost everything you wrote. My Chinese partners understood... Entrepreneur in reply to: Finding Manufacturers in China: Building a Network the Wrong Way Your story is just too true … so many people throw out all business sense when they get to China. They think that everything will just fall into place when... Entrepreneur in reply to: Chinese Brand Name philosophy Oracle’s “Jia Gu Wen” is also cool as it refers to the turtle shells which were used thousands of years ago by Chinese fortune tellers. But my favourite has to be that of... |
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