Negotiating and Dealing with Chinese Business Partners

guideline| 31 October 2013

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Foreign investors or exporters enter into various business relations with Chinese partners. This interaction often includes both negotiation on business conditions and a non-business part to strengthen the relationship. However, despite initiating the search for suitable partners with the best intentions and being armed with a list of etiquette how-tos, foreign business people often still find it difficult to forge long-term relationships necessary for successful business. In fact, some are concerned that mistakes in handling business negotiations and dealings in China could result in competitive disadvantages or loss of opportunities. Therefore, how to negotiate and deal with Chinese partners is a constant challenge.

To alleviate this situation, this report provides practical guidelines on how to handle some of the most common business situations between Chinese and foreign parties by describing:

  • common challenges faced by European SMEs in China and key stakeholders they will be dealing with
  • why cultural differences are important
  • essentials of Chinese culture
  • how to build and maintain relationships (guanxi) and manage face (mianzi)
  • how to negotiate with your Chinese partners and manage conflicts
  • how to deal with the regulatory and legal challenges in China
  • best practices and other practicalities.

Sign up and benefit from our entire range of free services

If you sign up today you’ll be able to

  • Access to tailored advice through our Ask-the-Expert tool
  • A library of over 200 publications
  • Practical business tools
  • A network of trade promotion and business support partners
  • A comprehensive database of service providers with contact information