Before doing business China,you should know something about China's long history.There is no one model for doing business China.For anyone doing business in China,Here are two pillars recommended.
The first and most important pillars to doing business China:Guanxi
Guanxi is the single most important concept when dealing with China and the Chinese in any social context,not just in business.The Chinese measure their own social position in part by the extent of their guanxiwang,or network of contacts.They use these contacts,sometimes almost exclusively,to do business.Westerners often do business with people they do not know.In order to do business with a Chinese,you must first get to know him or her.You should ideally have been recommended to him or her by a reliable third party.
The second pillar to doing business China:continuity W.F.Jenner has written that China is influenced by two things:the 'history of tyranny' and the the 'tyranny of history'.Taoist and Confucian influences are still prominent.Any reasonably well-educated Chinese knows his or her own country's history well.In China itself,you will find many different points of view,but whatever their viewpoints,they are still looking over their shoulders at the past;loving it or hating it,but still with one eye on it.
Business and managers going into China need to know something about China's ancient and recent past.They need to know what is driving their Chinese partners and competitors.No other people on earth are as strongly influenced by their past as the Chinese.The visiting businessperson should not flaunt any historical expertise.It would seem odd;all we propose is awareness and sensitivity.Many things in China change rather slowly:indentity,culture,etiquette and business practices all reflect the lessons of history.If you find yourself in business with someone who does not have those roots,beware.Continuity may slow things down,it may be frustrating,but it also gives confidence in a relationship that the past is a reliable guide to the future.
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