In meeting with clients recently, it came home to me the importance of consistency and friendship in dealing with potential business contacts in China. The value of education and offering help while you are endeavouring to get a deal going can’t be underestimated but it needs to be delivered in the right spirit, all the more so in times of economic uncertainty.
We are surrounded by doom and gloom at the moment and in our economic update inside, I’m afraid we couldn’t totally avoid it either, but if you wanted to be engaged with any country economically in the current climate, you’d want it to be China, wouldn’t you, and it is vital to stay engaged.
From 30% of the World’s GDP...
In the late 18th century, the biggest delegation from Britain ever to travel to China was led by Lord Macartney. With two ships full of wonderful merchandise and advanced technology, the British felt sure they would take China by storm and open it up fully to trade. They suffered a huge rebuff from China (which then had over one-third of the world’s GDP and was at its peak) saying why would they need any "strange jewels and precious objects" - after all China was the best and did not want western systems and values imposed on it. Both turned out to be wrong!
To 1%...
China’s Qianlong Emperor famously said to the English that they could not possibly play a role at his court because "their language will be unintelligible". There was a clash of ideals and perceptions and even etiquette (Lord Macartney refusing to kowtow to the Emperor) and a lot of poor interpreting which made things worse.
The English didn’t understand China’s position and the importance of paying tribute and showing respect. China failed to realise fast approaching global challenges and that it was falling behind in science, technology and military force and how it might learn from Britain. In fact it marked the beginning of the decline for China, starting with the soon to come Opium Wars. Over 150 years later and with a GDP of 1% of the world’s, China opened up its doors to try and regain its former glory ^.
...To ?% - How to Share in the Opportunity
All of us need to learn how to engage with China and not miss out on opportunities. To China, relationships, respect and reciprocity are important. Fleeting one-off visits, which can be seen as exploitative, or a know-it-all approach are not going to cut it - reminders of past embarrassments - whether what you have is good or not won’t work. Instead of showing up how China got it wrong and must have your whiz-bang solution, be a bit humble, admit you’ve made mistakes too, but you’ve learnt through hard work and developed your methodology or offering that worked for you and you’d like to show them how they could benefit too.
China craves education and support, but is always mindful of its past; criticism and bringing up negatives doesn’t work; ignoring the importance of relationships can be perilous, and even though English is no longer "unintelligible" - you need to make your proposition easy to understand and polite. That means good Chinese Language, engaging your own interpreter and producing high quality written information, well translated, detailing all the 'whys' and ‘wherefores’ and, importantly, benefits to them.
If you can provide in a friendly and genuine way, advice, technology, methods and goods and services to help China and its people, you are on the path to success. In times of economic challenges it becomes all the more important not to pack up your China ventures, but to be consistent and to show genuine concern and sincerity. Keep in touch with your contacts and when things improve, you’ll be at the top of mind.
* The two characters on their own mean ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity’ –
together = crisis.
^ As of October 2008, China’s share of world GDP is 6% (out of interest the USA’s share is 22%).
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