By Jack LeBlanc

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 from the Chongqing Design and Architecture Research Institute, who seemed to have been inspired by what they saw.

In a planned economy those institutes can be likened to the R&D department of a company, except these guys worked on behalf of all the state-owned enterprises involved in the construction industry. Read the rest of “The great glass curtain walls of China. Part 3″ or post a comment

By Ron Cune 

When talking about meetings in the Netherlands people tend to think about a continuous flow of opinions and the exchange of thoughts about specific subjects. People have meetings to ventilate their own viewpoint, to inform one another about processes or to endorse each other with comments and suggestions.

The Chinese meeting culture operates somewhat differently. A meeting is often a one-sided flow of information, a top-down briefing from the management and an instruction for the work floor. The lively interaction and brainstorming sessions will occur sporadically in Chinese organizations. Read the rest of “Divided Unity” or post a comment

By Drew Ross 

One of the greatest frustrations for many foreigners when they begin working in China is the inability for many people to say one simple word: no. Saying the ‘n’ word sounds easy, but it is actually, for the vast majority of us, incredibly difficult. Whether one does not have the ability to do something or does not have the time, learning how to politely refuse a task is an essential tool that can both improve productivity and maximise time.

Teaching your staff and the people around you to say ‘no’ can be hard - especially when we are, after all, in China and saying ‘no’ can sometimes be regarded as impolite in Chinese culture. Read the rest of “The ‘N’ Word” or post a comment

By Jack LeBlanc

My resourceful friend Smile had already put me in contact with Jackson Long, a trader in building material and, according to local rumour, a person very well connected to the inside gangways of the Chongqing political elite. Long had named himself after the ‘most famous’ of American singers, according to Long: ‘The illustrious megastar, Michael Jackson.’

Our first contact was in the city centre, where he ran his building- materials empire. Most building contractors worth the name had to visit his offices to buy anything from bricks to bathroom appliances. Sitting on the sixth floor of a white-tiled office building garnished with blue windows, Long’s headquarters were something of a turn-off. Read the rest of “The great glass curtain walls of China. Part 2″ or post a comment

By Leon Yu 

Many articles here are talking about how to find good suppliers, but ARE YOU A GOOD BUYER?

China is a big country, but in business it is a small world, worldwide. If you cooperate with multiple suppliers, don’t forget that Mr. A might know Mr. B also. If Mr. A thinks you are bad business, he might tell Mr. B., spelling damage for your operation. Looking to avoid such a situation? Here are a few tips on how to be a good buyer.

1. Communicate with the supplier by email, fax, telephone, IM: nowadays people tend to use email for most business communications, but let your supplier hear your voice and see your handwriting, it will make them feel more confident. Read the rest of “Are you a good buyer?” or post a comment