Chinese Managers: The Way of Doing Business

Doing business with China purports some communication limits and the special way of negotiation between managers, between foreign and Chinese managers correspondingly. Unfortunately, usually foreign managers can not catch this special way and face with misunderstandings, and dispute situations occur.

The problem is how to find the correct way out of this endless circle and how to avoid misunderstandings.

Chinese are very self-confident, they are confident in their business, in their country. They make a decision and try to achieve the aim at whatever cost. Many activities of Chinese managers will be a secret for all foreign managers and will set wondering.

The situation on the West is a little bit different. Taking into consideration that western companies have come into the Chinese market since the open door policy so business relations between Chinese and western managers have been developing for already more than 30 years. Noteworthy, Western managers (American and European) clearly understand that business with Chinese partners and business in China claims special method and nobody dictates their own terms and conditions. However, western managers still continue make silly mistakes.

Why does it happen? Of course, history plays a great role. A lot of Chinese emigrants have established a way of doing business between China and the USA as flexible and more effective. But that is just a point, managers must understand the fact that China and business with China purports the unique and totally different attitude toward the Chinese mentality. But notwithstanding that now everybody knows about this specific way of doing business, newcomers do not take into consideration this experience of the previous managers and continue make mistakes.

Dispute situations and silly mistakes occur over and over again. It will be possible to avoid such mistakes and situations if managers begin to apply their knowledge of understanding that China claims its own totally different attitude toward the way of doing business in China and with Chinese managers.

China needs to be learnt, to perceive particularity, particularity of everything:

• culture;
• mentality;
• business etiquette;
• investments.

Doing business with Chinese managers is like to grow up a baby, where the baby is your mutual business project. Only after the understanding of this simple rule it will become possible to step forward.