Seeing China for what it really is...
Mostly everyone you come across in China will tell you stories of how important both face and relationships are… As it says in the headline to this post, overestimate it at your own peril. I will have to deal with one at a time as they are not really connected, but “the giving of face” is also important when building relationships, so they kind of overlap too…
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...
Last week I was forwarded an article (sales pitch actually) from a Singaporean consulting firm in Shanghai that makes a living providing “advise” to unsuspecting foreigners in China… The company shall remain anonymous, as I do not want to be sued for telling it as it is, but these guys are so full of it that it is hard to hold back.
They started by comparing “the cultivation of traditional guanxi” with pure corruption, and then went on to talk about how this is changing…
Seeing China for what it really is...
Firstly, it is not unique to China… Everyone does the same thing all over the world, but there it is called it lobbying, doing business with an old classmate, serving on boards of friends’ companies… It is all the same thing… A network established for the enrichment of the network and its members, but in China it sometimes presents itself in a more ugly way and to the detriment of gullible foreigners.
If someone tells you they have great guanxi and can help you make your business deal I have only one advice:
Seeing China for what it really is...
There is a myth being propagated that face is a big thing in business in China (actually all over East Asia), but it comes in many shapes and forms and is definitely not as “Neanderthalistic” as one would have you believe.
Admittedly there are regional differences, and most definitely differences between tier 1 cities and some village in a mountain valley, but it can always be summed up quite easily…