Tai Chi Communication

Doing business is all about communicating. And China happens to play by its own rules in this. An authority on this subject is Marc van der Chijs. In 1999 he moved to China for Daimler Chrysler and now, eight years later, he owns two successful internet companies and is managing partner of China Bay. The secret to his success? Building relations: “Don’t send your sales manager to China with the mission to ‘come back next week with a contract’. For sure he will be back with a contract, but one which won’t be of much use.”

“One of the main reasons foreign companies find it difficult to establish themselves here, is the fact that they want a quick fix to everything. They think in terms of contracts: deals have to be finalised, as quickly as possible. The rest will follow, or so they think. But in China it does not work like that.”

Guanxi (http://www.chinasuccessstories.com/2007/08/22/scientific-study-on-guanxi-in-business/)

“Chinese businessmen think long term. Only when you have established a personal relationship can you start to negotiate contracts. And this process can take months, but when executed successfully, the business relationship will be made to last. Even if your offer appears to be more expensive than your competitor on a subsequent offer, they will remain loyal. Here lies a fundamental difference with Europe for example, where the shareholder is often the most important party.”

Tact

When trying to establish a relationship, there are a number of things to take into consideration, according to Van der Chijs. “In dialogue with the Chinese, one must endeavour to be much less direct than in a business meeting with an American. An example? I never criticise my Chinese personnel (http://www.chinasuccessstories.com/2007/08/27/common-staffing-mistakes-in-china/) in the presence of others. If there is an issue I wish to discuss, I invite them to my office. Only in privacy I explain my concerns. Never tick anybody off on the shop floor in front of their colleagues. That way you will lose him or her as an employee. You have to be much more subtle than we would normally be."



Yes

Van der Chijs has more useful advice. “In business meetings it is better to ask open questions only. Never ask closed questions, as you will not understand from the reply if they really understood the question, as the answer will inevitably be ‘yes’. With a Western business partner the situation is different, you ask directly if something is or isn’t feasible and you will get a clear yes or no answer.”

Online communication

Do similar things apply to communication on the internet? Are social networks like Friendster, MySpace and LinkedIn for example, just as popular in China as they are in Europe and the USA? “There are many such websites, of which Tencent QQ (better known as QQ) is most popular. This is a large messenger service which also offers a social network. The market share of QQ in Asia is enormous, with more than 160 million subscribers in China alone. However, the Chinese appear to use this network mainly in leisure time. They are not so popular in business. The reason: mainly much younger people use the internet for amusement like online games, chat and watching videos. Even though the older (35+) group tend to use messengers increasingly. On a daily basis I have 10 to 12 msn conversations with business relations. The e-mail phenomenon appears to be on the retreat in China."



Spending time

Even if you follow all the tips and advice, Van der Chijs would be the first to agree that it certainly is no gravy train trying to set up a company in this ‘up and coming world super power’. "You have to be prepared to work hard, invest eighty hours a week, like your Chinese counterparts do. And above all, invest in building long term relationships. Stay positive. Recognise communicating with the Chinese as a non-aggressive contact sport, in which maintaining a natural equilibrium is just as important as it is in the movement art of Tai Chi; then - eventually - you will see your messenger service flashing red!”

http://www.chinasuccessstories.com/