Between the corporate head office and the Chinese subsidiary, sometimes things don’t happen the way that one has imagined. Recently, an European executive told me a bitter experience … They sent a draft project to their Chinese team, hoping to get some opinions on the feasibility of the project in China. No news from China …
Many expatriates to China are selected by their professional expertise (IQ). Few considerations are given regarding the person’s emotional adaptability to China’s particular business culture (EQ). I still remember vividly the first meeting between a freshly arrived expatriate and his Chinese partners. The expatriate took the occasion as an opportunity to assume his power and …
I get constantly questioned by Europeans why Chinese people give themselves Western names: “Xuefei, my Chinese colleague asks us to call him ‘Beyond’. Another day, I met a young man called Shrek …” “To facilitate communication with foreigners. It’s also a fashion: international, trendy and fun.” I replied. “But Xuefei, why don’t you have a …
WHY DO CHINESE PEOPLE GIVE THEMSELVES WESTERN NAMES ? Read More »
“We agree in principle”. That’s the sentence often used by their Chinese shareholders and which really perplexed one of my European clients. “Do they agree or not, Xuefei ?” A. What the Chinese say B. What the Chinese mean C. What others understand Language doesn’t have a fixed point, it changes, it’s culturally coded. https://www.linkedin.com/in/luxuefei/detail/recent-activity/ …
“Let’s do some brainstorming.” Whenever I hear this in China, I’m a little skeptical. I still remember vividly the last “brainstorming” proposed by my French client to his Chinese counterparts. It finished as a “monologue” where the French talked and debated among themselves. The Chinese just listened, saying “yes” occasionally. When the French finally realized …
Meeting-minutes is a common practice by European companies. It normally includes every tiny detail, esp. who says what during the meeting. Recently, a Swiss client complains to me about their Chinese shareholder, who refuses to include the details and accepts only to put the general points in the meeting-minutes. “What shall we do, Xuefei? Already …
In a situation of disagreement, instead of staying blocked, we can ask for a break and go for a drink. Through informal discussions, we can try to identify their needs without their expressing them. By “reciprocity”, they will then try to guess ours. It will then be possible to resume negotiations under better conditions. Last …
Westerners are often confronted with the very-last-minute decisions by their Chinese counterparts. Once, until I put the CEO of my European client on the plane, I still did not know whether he would get received by the mayor of the Chinese city (of our joint venture). The best response I got from the mayor’s team, …
CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT, and it happens overnight. Besides, the Chinese usually keep the “bad news” at the end. Foreign negotiators sometimes feel profoundly frustrated, after months of talk, when their Chinese counterpart announces “a small detail” which risks changing the entire course of negotiation … This Chinese behavior is more “cultural” than “tactical”. …
Are you on the same wavelength as your Chinese counterpart? I have been participating in many cross-border negotiations. Very often, the two sides are completely disconnected from each other. Europeans usually invest a lot of time & emotion on the storytelling of their company and brand, to finally realize that their Chinese counterparts are only …
