Seeing China for what it really is...
Most consultants and advisers you come across when you dabble in doing business in China will tell you to forget everything you know and not expect that China will be anything like doing business back home. Now there is a half truth that needs some explanation before one can say that this is a correct statement…
Seeing China for what it really is...
Since the earliest days of China’s “open door” policy, savvy (and not so savvy) business people have been writing books about China, how to do business here but perhaps more importantly, how not to do business in China… Most of these books are however valueless, as many are either just copies of other peoples work or more often outdated by the time they hit the shelf because of the fast pace the society in general is evolving in the major Chinese cities.
Seeing China for what it really is...
For the past 6 months China has gone through what can only be described as a major dusting off of their regulatory system in terms of online activities within China. The laws and regulations have been around for a while, but as all things in China there seem to be a substantial time delay between when a law comes into effect and when the regulators actually start acting on it.
Seeing China for what it really is...
The other day I had a discussion with someone (the person shall remain nameless) about their trademarking strategy in China. This person came to me a while back (after reading my blog) and asked specifically if I could recommend someone to help them with trademark filing in China. I did… I even got a “non-raping” quote from one of the top law firms in Beijing for them.
Seeing China for what it really is...
It’s been a while since I wrote on my blog, so I thought I would start off with something easy: People being fooled into thinking that a signed agreement means that everything is ready to make some money in China.
A while back there was an article in The Sidney Morning Herald that caught the attention of a colleague and he promptly forwarded it to me…
Seeing China for what it really is...
I am sure you have been told many times that the Chinese will do whatever it takes to avoid confrontation in business negotiations, is incapable of saying no and will run circles around the simplest of question marks that could easily have been settled quickly with a simple NO.
Well, in my experience, the Chinese are more than capable at saying no, and the further north you find yourself in China the easier it gets…
Seeing China for what it really is...
Thinking of establishing a Foreign Invested Enterprise (FIE) in China? Well, take a step back and think again… First you should answer this question: “What is your exit strategy?”
Simply put, as part of your establishment process, you should also identify the possible exit scenarios/strategies and write them into the business plan that accompanies the business license application.