Sino-Success: Timely Tips. We hope these educational points serve as a healthy reminder for those who travel to China regularly as well as provide sound guidance for those who may be new to doing business in China.
Timely Tip: Show respect to age and seniority if you wish to appear honorable in China
Over two thousand years old, Confucianism is one of the most influential schools of thought in Chinese society. One of the most obvious areas in which Confucianism effects modern life is "filial piety." Filial piety is showing respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. Showing disrespect toward elders is considered deeply dishonorable so understanding how Chinese people show respect can help you look like a well-socialized individual, trustworthy and worthy of doing business with.
Here are some tips on how to appropriately treat an elder in China:
1: Seating
At meals, senior people are seated first. Instead of grabbing a seat, wait for your host to show you where to sit. Even if your hosts eventually make you sit down first, if there are people older than you present, offer the privilege of sitting first to those older than you.
2: Eating
Wait for elders and seniors in rank to eat before eating yourself. If you dig right in before an elder or senior in rank (including the host), people may whisper that you must not have eaten in 100 years for you to have ignored this piece of etiquette.
3: Table manners
Never stick your chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice or other food. This looks exactly like the bowl with sticks of incense sticking up that is placed in front of photos of dead relatives; it is not appreciated when this scene is created in front of a living person.
4: Introduction to others
Among the rules of etiquette pertaining to meeting someone for the first time is that hosts and guests/visitors are introduced to each other in order of social/organizational rank. If you don't know who is the highest-ranking person in a group that you are meeting, ask someone on your team whose hand you should shake first instead of starting on one end and working your way across.
Over two thousand years old, Confucianism is one of the most influential schools of thought in Chinese society. One of the most obvious areas in which Confucianism effects modern life is "filial piety." Filial piety is showing respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. Showing disrespect toward elders is considered deeply dishonorable so understanding how Chinese people show respect can help you look like a well-socialized individual, trustworthy and worthy of doing business with.
Here are some tips on how to appropriately treat an elder in China:
1: Seating
At meals, senior people are seated first. Instead of grabbing a seat, wait for your host to show you where to sit. Even if your hosts eventually make you sit down first, if there are people older than you present, offer the privilege of sitting first to those older than you.
2: Eating
Wait for elders and seniors in rank to eat before eating yourself. If you dig right in before an elder or senior in rank (including the host), people may whisper that you must not have eaten in 100 years for you to have ignored this piece of etiquette.
3: Table manners
Never stick your chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice or other food. This looks exactly like the bowl with sticks of incense sticking up that is placed in front of photos of dead relatives; it is not appreciated when this scene is created in front of a living person.
4: Introduction to others
Among the rules of etiquette pertaining to meeting someone for the first time is that hosts and guests/visitors are introduced to each other in order of social/organizational rank. If you don't know who is the highest-ranking person in a group that you are meeting, ask someone on your team whose hand you should shake first instead of starting on one end and working your way across.
Timely Tip: Prepare for less business transparency
In the U.S., access to information is abundant and easy. In China, that is not the case. Not only do most of us operate with a language deficiency but in China there are not as many resources available to verify what we are told.
The PRC central government as well as several large companies have made a considerable effort to improve transparency, it remains inconsistent in the country as a whole.
So- be prepared that business interactions may be less transparent. This can come in different forms, from intentionally misleading information, to the more common case of using exaggeration as a rhetorical device.
Chinese company reps may say "my company sells all the widgets in Shanghai." An American listener may think the speaker is either the richest person in Shanghai or full of baloney. A Chinese listener, on the other hand, hears "I am proud to say that my company sells a lot of widgets in Shanghai." So how does everyone find out how many of Shanghai's widgets come from this source making the speaker lose mianzi (face)?
Chinese businesspeople - and you - can get that information from other resources and even from the same person, when they're not in the spotlight. This is why it's key to develop guanxi (trusting relationships), during meals, while visiting tourist sites with Chinese people, and in the process of doing favors for one another.
In the U.S., access to information is abundant and easy. In China, that is not the case. Not only do most of us operate with a language deficiency but in China there are not as many resources available to verify what we are told.
The PRC central government as well as several large companies have made a considerable effort to improve transparency, it remains inconsistent in the country as a whole.
So- be prepared that business interactions may be less transparent. This can come in different forms, from intentionally misleading information, to the more common case of using exaggeration as a rhetorical device.
Chinese company reps may say "my company sells all the widgets in Shanghai." An American listener may think the speaker is either the richest person in Shanghai or full of baloney. A Chinese listener, on the other hand, hears "I am proud to say that my company sells a lot of widgets in Shanghai." So how does everyone find out how many of Shanghai's widgets come from this source making the speaker lose mianzi (face)?
Chinese businesspeople - and you - can get that information from other resources and even from the same person, when they're not in the spotlight. This is why it's key to develop guanxi (trusting relationships), during meals, while visiting tourist sites with Chinese people, and in the process of doing favors for one another.
Timely Tip: You should date our sister....city
Sister Cities are a form of legal or social agreement between towns, cities, counties, and/or provinces in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties. If a business is considering entering or expanding in the Chinese market, utilizing the sister city or our sister-state relationship could be a great strategy.
Hefei, China, has been the sister city of Columbus, Ohio since 1988. Hefei lies about 285 miles west of Shanghai and has strong machinery, electronics, chemistry, steel, and textile industries, among others. Other U.S.-China sister cities here in Ohio are Cincinnati with Liuzhou and Toledo with Qinhuangdao.
In 1979, then Governor Jim Rhodes made Ohio’s inaugural visit to Hubei Province, China and signed into agreement the sister-state relationship. That visit sparked the beginning of many collaborations between Central Ohio’s businesses and Hubei Province and has helped increase Ohio’s exports to China. Diamond Power International, Inc, a Lancaster based supplier of boiler cleaning equipment and ash handling systems, established their footprint in Hubei back in 1987. Anheuser – Busch, our hometown brewery on the north side of town, opened its first brewery in Wuhan City, capital of Hubei, in 1995, through a joint venture with a local brewery and has produced billions of tons of Budweiser in China ever since.
Hubei Province is the 9th largest province in China with a population of 61 million people and a GDP of $456 billion. Like Ohio, Hubei is an important industrial hub, and it has a comprehensive system of industry in which auto, steel, petrochemical, machine, electric engineering, cotton, and food production are the major parts.
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Timely Tip: Exclusive on Exports
Exports continue to play an essential role in the U.S. economy. Understanding these export trends will assist business and policy leaders as they make informed decisions about trade, particularly with China.
While global trade is slowing, exports of U.S. goods and services to China continue to outpace exports to other major markets. On average, U.S. goods exports to China grew by 8% annually over the past 10 years. Interestingly to note, U.S. services exports to China grew more rapidly than all other major trading partners, averaging nearly 19% annually over the last decade.
Attached is an exporting report, published by the US-China Business Council, in which exporting data and analysis are included by state and Congressional Districts.
Click here for the Full Report.
Click here for the Ohio Report (https://www.uschina.org/reports/us-exports/ohio)
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Timely Tip: Lunar Calendar
When doing business with Chinese people, whether in Ohio or in Asia, it is helpful to know about the Chinese lunar calendar. Although the Gregorian or Western calendar is commonly used in China, specific dates on the lunar calendar still have historical and cultural importance.
Many Chinese companies (in or out of the U.S) take time off around those festivals and you could experience delays in communication and production. At the same time, retail companies can take advantage of Chinese holidays to achieve higher sales.
Six lunar calendar Chinese festivals to remember:
Timely Tip: Red hat, blue hat, green hat... NO!
Colors can have very specific meanings for Chinese people; RED, for instance, is associated with good fortune. However, tradition holds that writing someone’s name in red means they are going to – or you want them to – die soon.
While white symbolizes purity, it is also the color most associated with death. If a family member passes away, his/her close relatives will wear white clothes to mourn. Black, like here, generally symbolizes evil and bad luck.
These facts can be crucial for branding in China. During the Chinese New Year festival, package products in red and give red-themed gifts to business partners. Going to a Chinese business associate’s home, bring a colorful bouquet; if you bring a bunch of white lilies, you might as well have written their name in red!
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Timely Tip: Wrap it up
Gift giving is an important part of Chinese business culture, as the exchange is a physical indication of the relationship that exists - or is desired - between organizations.
Gifts are given when meeting someone for the first time and when seeing someone again after an extended or distant absence. Good organization-to-organization gifts reflect the relationship and can be displayed at the recipient's office. Examples include merchandise with your organization's logo on it, or a framed photo of a previous meeting. Organization-to-organization gifts are commonly opened at the time of exchange (photo opportunity!), while personal gifts are usually left unopened, as "it is the thought that counts." Gifts to avoid giving are candles, clocks, umbrellas, watches or sharp objects.
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Timely Tip: WeChat We do
With around 1 billion monthly active users, it is safe to bet that your Chinese partners regularly use the free social networking app WeChat, known in Chinese as wēixìn. WeChat users constantly take advantage of the app’s myriad functions to stay in touch with individuals and groups, hold conference calls, share photos, and even pay for goods and services using WeChat Pay (like Apple Pay).
For the American looking to develop closer relationships with Chinese partners, WeChat offers a great, relatively informal avenue through which to stay in more immediate contact and to demonstrate knowledge of current trends in Chinese society. WeChat is available as a free download on iOS and Android devices.
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Timely Tip: Gift giving
Chinese culture places emphasis on gift giving and important meetings can be made auspicious by the exchange of gifts. When giving a gift to a Chinese person or organization, avoid giving a green hat - the phrase "wearing a green hat" refers to a man who is unaware that his spouse is cheating on him. If for example you are from John Deere or Ohio University, consider giving something else with your brand on it.
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Timely Tip: Trust Walk
Mutual trust must be personal and will always take time to build
Here in Ohio and really most parts of the US, it is not uncommon to meet a potential business partner for the first time and immediately start talking business. Maybe by the second meeting you are talking prices and by the third meeting negotiating contracts. Friendship will come after the business relationship was successful.
In China, however, for any business relationship to be successful, it starts with creating trust and friendship. And trust and friendship take time to build. Very often that means building the relationship over drinks and long dinners, where often business may never be discussed. For the business to succeed long term, this trust and friendship must constantly be nurtured and attended to.
Sister Cities are a form of legal or social agreement between towns, cities, counties, and/or provinces in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties. If a business is considering entering or expanding in the Chinese market, utilizing the sister city or our sister-state relationship could be a great strategy.
Hefei, China, has been the sister city of Columbus, Ohio since 1988. Hefei lies about 285 miles west of Shanghai and has strong machinery, electronics, chemistry, steel, and textile industries, among others. Other U.S.-China sister cities here in Ohio are Cincinnati with Liuzhou and Toledo with Qinhuangdao.
In 1979, then Governor Jim Rhodes made Ohio’s inaugural visit to Hubei Province, China and signed into agreement the sister-state relationship. That visit sparked the beginning of many collaborations between Central Ohio’s businesses and Hubei Province and has helped increase Ohio’s exports to China. Diamond Power International, Inc, a Lancaster based supplier of boiler cleaning equipment and ash handling systems, established their footprint in Hubei back in 1987. Anheuser – Busch, our hometown brewery on the north side of town, opened its first brewery in Wuhan City, capital of Hubei, in 1995, through a joint venture with a local brewery and has produced billions of tons of Budweiser in China ever since.
Hubei Province is the 9th largest province in China with a population of 61 million people and a GDP of $456 billion. Like Ohio, Hubei is an important industrial hub, and it has a comprehensive system of industry in which auto, steel, petrochemical, machine, electric engineering, cotton, and food production are the major parts.
****************
Timely Tip: Exclusive on Exports
Exports continue to play an essential role in the U.S. economy. Understanding these export trends will assist business and policy leaders as they make informed decisions about trade, particularly with China.
While global trade is slowing, exports of U.S. goods and services to China continue to outpace exports to other major markets. On average, U.S. goods exports to China grew by 8% annually over the past 10 years. Interestingly to note, U.S. services exports to China grew more rapidly than all other major trading partners, averaging nearly 19% annually over the last decade.
Attached is an exporting report, published by the US-China Business Council, in which exporting data and analysis are included by state and Congressional Districts.
Click here for the Full Report.
Click here for the Ohio Report (https://www.uschina.org/reports/us-exports/ohio)
****************
Timely Tip: Lunar Calendar
When doing business with Chinese people, whether in Ohio or in Asia, it is helpful to know about the Chinese lunar calendar. Although the Gregorian or Western calendar is commonly used in China, specific dates on the lunar calendar still have historical and cultural importance.
Many Chinese companies (in or out of the U.S) take time off around those festivals and you could experience delays in communication and production. At the same time, retail companies can take advantage of Chinese holidays to achieve higher sales.
Six lunar calendar Chinese festivals to remember:
- Spring Festival, aka Chinese New Year; 1st day of 1st lunar month; January/ February; Biggest celebration of the year, like Christmas and Thanksgiving added together and two weeks long. Traditionally spent with family.
- Lantern Festival; 15th day of 1st lunar month; traditional end of Chinese New Year season, time to go back to work
- Qingming Festival; 15 days from Spring Equinox; April; sometimes called Chinese Memorial Day, Grave Sweeping Day, or Ancestors' Day; time to visit and tidy family graves
- Dragon-Boat Festival; 5th day of 5th lunar month; May/June; celebration of an ancient Chinese scholar-official’s loyalty; time to eat rice steamed in bamboo leaves
- Qixi Festival; 7th day of 7th lunar month; August; sometimes called Chinese Valentine's Day; thanks to commercialization, has become much more popular in China recently
- Mid-autumn Festival; 15th day of 8th lunar month; September/October; fall harvest festival like Thanksgiving; celebrated with gatherings of family/friends, eating “moon cakes” (the 15th day of each lunar month is a full moon)
Timely Tip: Red hat, blue hat, green hat... NO!
Colors can have very specific meanings for Chinese people; RED, for instance, is associated with good fortune. However, tradition holds that writing someone’s name in red means they are going to – or you want them to – die soon.
While white symbolizes purity, it is also the color most associated with death. If a family member passes away, his/her close relatives will wear white clothes to mourn. Black, like here, generally symbolizes evil and bad luck.
These facts can be crucial for branding in China. During the Chinese New Year festival, package products in red and give red-themed gifts to business partners. Going to a Chinese business associate’s home, bring a colorful bouquet; if you bring a bunch of white lilies, you might as well have written their name in red!
****************
Timely Tip: Wrap it up
Gift giving is an important part of Chinese business culture, as the exchange is a physical indication of the relationship that exists - or is desired - between organizations.
Gifts are given when meeting someone for the first time and when seeing someone again after an extended or distant absence. Good organization-to-organization gifts reflect the relationship and can be displayed at the recipient's office. Examples include merchandise with your organization's logo on it, or a framed photo of a previous meeting. Organization-to-organization gifts are commonly opened at the time of exchange (photo opportunity!), while personal gifts are usually left unopened, as "it is the thought that counts." Gifts to avoid giving are candles, clocks, umbrellas, watches or sharp objects.
****************
Timely Tip: WeChat We do
With around 1 billion monthly active users, it is safe to bet that your Chinese partners regularly use the free social networking app WeChat, known in Chinese as wēixìn. WeChat users constantly take advantage of the app’s myriad functions to stay in touch with individuals and groups, hold conference calls, share photos, and even pay for goods and services using WeChat Pay (like Apple Pay).
For the American looking to develop closer relationships with Chinese partners, WeChat offers a great, relatively informal avenue through which to stay in more immediate contact and to demonstrate knowledge of current trends in Chinese society. WeChat is available as a free download on iOS and Android devices.
****************
Timely Tip: Gift giving
Chinese culture places emphasis on gift giving and important meetings can be made auspicious by the exchange of gifts. When giving a gift to a Chinese person or organization, avoid giving a green hat - the phrase "wearing a green hat" refers to a man who is unaware that his spouse is cheating on him. If for example you are from John Deere or Ohio University, consider giving something else with your brand on it.
****************
Timely Tip: Trust Walk
Mutual trust must be personal and will always take time to build
Here in Ohio and really most parts of the US, it is not uncommon to meet a potential business partner for the first time and immediately start talking business. Maybe by the second meeting you are talking prices and by the third meeting negotiating contracts. Friendship will come after the business relationship was successful.
In China, however, for any business relationship to be successful, it starts with creating trust and friendship. And trust and friendship take time to build. Very often that means building the relationship over drinks and long dinners, where often business may never be discussed. For the business to succeed long term, this trust and friendship must constantly be nurtured and attended to.