Just like in other countries, being dependent on one relation is also not advisable in China. Whether it concerns a client or supplier, a distorted relationship will often cause pressure. This will result in a weak negotiation position which, in some situations, will cost you dearly.

Satisfaction with the current situation should not be an excuse to ignore other purchasing channels.

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On a miserable drizzly Friday afternoon, a minibus from the Chongqing city government turned up at the university gate, blaring Michael Jackson’s Thriller over the sound system. An import/export company had arranged the bus to drive us to their offices for a price discussion. Jackson and, surprisingly enough, several familiar and unknown faces greeted me from inside the bus. There were ten of us, including the driver. ‘Come on, we’ve decided to bring you to the…

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We’re getting a little more visibility into the nature of this crisis, and the good news is that we are starting to understand the bad news. China isn’t going to be a safe haven – though it may not be battered as badly as the US and Europe.

But just because China will be less damaged, it doesn’t mean that all you have to do is wait for things to become ‘normal’ again after Chinese New Year. Your…

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As the Sichuan dishes entered in a well-orchestrated ballet of flavours, the waitresses started to take away the little cups and replace them with bigger glasses that could handle a more manly volume of rice wine. The drinking now took off in earnest, every toast demanding another, more bottles opened and circulated around the table. As the empty bottles started to clutter the little trolley, the heads of some at the table transformed into a wide spectrum of…

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In the meantime the College of Architecture, which sits a ten-minute walk from Chongqing University, had somehow heard of the barbarian with slides of Western-style buildings. Over the course of three weeks I ended up giving four lectures, in front of an audience of specialists, about a subject I had only begun to grasp. In China, faith is definitely put through unexpected twists and turns. It so happened that among the audience were a couple of employees…

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