Un tour simple de taxi de Changhaï à Suzhou m'a mis infiniment à l'esprit des contrats se développants avec le Chinois - même le plus simple des contrats. Très rarement dans les affaires faites le chinois adhèrent à la lettre de la loi, alors qu'ils exorcizent son esprit à leur convenance plus tôt. Et si l'accord est verbal, puis montre dehors !

L'affaire était ceci : pour 300RMB - comprenant des péages - le conducteur de Changhaï me porterait à Suzhou…

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Par Jocelyn Eikenburg

« J'ai loué un étudiant d'une université locale pour faire ma traduction… et elle a fini vers le haut de blesser ma réputation. »

C'était l'histoire que j'ai entendue d'un contact d'affaires j'ai rencontré il y a deux semaines. Il travaille pour un grand fabricant chimique avec une présence en Chine, et ils ont eu besoin de leur site Web traduit en Chinois. Son choix était de louer un étudiant local de Chine pour le travail. Once he presented the translation to his Chinese business partners, they weren’t impressed — the errors actually made him and his company look less professional in their eyes. Read the rest of “What does your Chinese translation say about your company? You may be surprised…” or post a comment

Imagine doing jail time — or worse — just because you were related to the offending party.

If you want to understand just how far collectivism goes in China, look no further than lianzuo — or collective responsibility. Throughout China’s 2,000-year feudal history — from at least 7th-century BC all the way to the turn of the 20th century — people were guilty by association. That is, if you were …

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Huge, mythical beasts with piercing eyes and gigantic, roaring mouths stand guard at many of China’s most important buildings and ancient structures. The name of these imposing creatures is “Fu Dogs” or Rui Shi (”auspicious dog” in Mandarin), also known as Imperial Guardian Lions.

Started during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.), the tradition of placing two large statues of male and female lions near the entrance of an establishment was intended to …

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Tomorrow is the start of the Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival. This festival starts on the first day of the first lunar month (on the Chinese calendar) and it ends on the fifteenth day of this month. This period is traditionally full of celebrations, family visits, special foods and fireworks. It’s one of the more important Chinese festivals and everybody will take the time to celebrate, especially during the first three days of the festival.

This time is obviously not the best for arranging meetings and trying to make business deals. Also travelling within China is not recommended since many Chinese will go back to their hometown and every form of public transportation will be overloaded with families and bags full of presents and food. The best option is probably to stay where you are and try to see some of the local festivities such as fireworks and dragon dances. Read the rest of “Happy Chinese New Year” or post a comment