Ideas about "16 tips for doing business in China"

I am a Chinese guy and read Mr.Manoj Shivnani's 16 tips for doing business in China this afternoon. I find that it is a good and applied article for China business starters. However, I still want to suppliment some my ideas in it.

Normal font words are in 16 tips for doing business in China written by Manoj Shivnani . Italic font words are mine.

The three main challenges for doing business in China:

1. Language. In mainland China, the business language is English. However, the Chinese business people you will meet have learned the language from textbooks. That means they will be very good at writing and reading but their listening comprehension may lag behind. (Yes. Lots of Chinese good at reading cause of the teaching in China. Mostly, writing&listening are worse than reading and most Chinese spoken English is even worse than listening.) For this reason, you will need to avoid using complicated words or phrases. Speak simple English and you will avoid many problems and misunderstandings. (Yes. Maybe you could see that from my article. :) )
   
   
2. Short-term business mentality. Chinese business people often have a very short-term mentality about business relationships. (I am not agree to this. Some Chinese businessmen just do one case for one customer, it is true, especial cheap items suppliers. But most people around me want to build a long-term relationships with their customers. ) For instance, they don't see business relationships as long term. You can assure them that you are looking for a long-term business relationship, and they may say they agree, but it's obvious they believe that the customer will sooner or later go to someone else. (To tell the truth, many chinese believe that. They won't say it but believe it.) Similarly, they are likely to believe that if you don’t buy or invest with them, somebody else will. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. I suggest that if you do find a long-term mentality supplier or partner, you stick with them. (You really should take a long time to find a good supplier in China if you need a long-term relationship.) This will save you a lot of time, effort and money.
   
   
3. The meaning of quality. You'll find that "quality" is the most used word in Chinese business (apart from “yes," "no" and "sorry"). Because everything is said to be of such high quality in China, you'll soon realize the word itself has lost its meaning. As Timothy Ferris says in his book The 4-Hour Work Week, the more you use a word, the more it loses its meaning. What you need to know is that in China "quality" often means that something looks like it is high quality — not that it works as well, or wears as well, as an actual high-quality item. Because the business and industrial emphasis in modern China has been on making copies of existing products (rather than inventing or creating products from the ground up), their criteria for judging product quality is different.
   (There are really different standard for different Chinese, in different place of China. Many Chinese say "Our products have good qualities". That just means "Our products are not worse than others". Sometimes even means "Our products are not worse than others in this area". I am working in a fashion accessoires export company in Shanghai and could provide some infomation about this. The best quality suppliers in the Yangtze Delta are most located in Zhejiang. You could consider Jiangsu suppliers if you want cheaper products. But you need to prepare to meet any situation, not only qualities. You should go to Yiwu if you don't care the qualities, just prices :) Prices of stuffs in Yiwu are the lowest in China. And there are many kinds of products you have ever seen before.)
   

Here are 16 suggestions I believe will help you do business in this challenging environment:

1. Be prepared to change course from time to time.
   
   
2. Be prepared to face some of the hardest and longest negotiations you’ve ever seen.
   (Yes. In Shanghai and Zhejiang, you will get a hard starting but easy finishing. In Jiangsu, normally, you will get a opposite one.)
   
3. Be prepared to always have an ace up your sleeve.
   
   
4. Be prepared to have patience, a lot of patience (even more than with your spouse!).
   
   
5. Be prepared to tell some white lies.
   
   
6. Be prepared to make friends.
   
   
7. Be prepared to give respect and receive respect.
   
   
8. Be prepared to be skeptical about much of what people tell you.
   
   
9. Be prepared to not judge people; keep an open mind.
   
   
10. Be prepared to acknowledge that in most cases people regard you as a short-term customer.
    
    
11. Be prepared to accept that in most cases people won't recognize the value of a lifetime customer. They haven't had that experience.
    (Yes. Lots of Chinese haven't recognized the important of time although they always say that they know it.)
    
12. Be prepared to accept people as they are.
    
    
13. Be prepared to have a "Plan B" in case all else fails.
    (You need a PlanB but normally it will not be used if you have patience enough.)
    
14. Be prepared to accept that there will always be someone who buys more cheaply than you.
    
    
15. Be prepared to accept that there will always be someone who buys more expensively than you.
    
    
16. Finally, be prepared to know that China is unique.

Thank you for Mr.Manoj Shivnani and his article. Hope what I write are helpful for you.