Give your expatriates the right start in their new workplace with our series of tips from cross-cultural consultants Eleonore Breukel and Victor H. Garza. This month: China.

China is home to some of the world’s most adventurous explorers and travelers, including men like Zhang Qian, who traveled along the Silk Road, and Zheng He, who sailed as far as the east coast of Africa. Perhaps one of the most famous travelers is a monk named Xuan Zang, who accepted the emperor’s mission to seek the Buddhist scriptures in India, bringing home a treasure of wisdom.

Xuan Zang’s adventure has been immortalized in the famous novel Journey to the West, one of the four classical novels in Chinese literature. The novel combines historical and fictitious elements describing the pilgrimage of a Tang Dynasty monk to the Western Paradise to collect the Buddhist scriptures.

Today, China has become the Eastern Paradise for many academic, governmental and business travelers.

Going to China and dealing with Chinese people requires thorough preparation and an open and positive attitude. It’s important to be briefed on China’s history, economy, political system, demography and especially its culture.

A sincere interest in these five elements will provide a solid background to help understand the contemporary mindset of Chinese people and hopefully help develop the foundations for a long-term relationship with a Chinese working or business partner.

In China, this long-term approach is particularly valuable. Thus, it is wise to choose and get to know a business partner well.

Back to the basics

China has the largest population in the world with 1.3 billion people. It is also one of the oldest civilizations, its 5,000-year-old culture kept alive by its huge local population and the millions of Chinese living abroad.

At first glance, China’s wise and diverse culture may appear too difficult to understand. But as one gets immersed in it, one begins to comprehend it, appreciate it and even integrate it into one’s life.

Chinese people have a deep respect for education, culture and history, especially ancient history. These are important elements to consider integrating into one’s own cultural baggage when deciding to develop any type of relationship — academic, governmental, business and even a social relationship or friendship. Chinese people have a deep respect for their family ancestors and their national ancestors.

Chinese wisdom comes from ideologies like Confucianism and Taoism, which developed in China, and those adopted from abroad, such as Buddhism. These ideologies have influenced China’s literature, calligraphy, painting, music, architecture and even its delicious and nutritious cuisine.Wise businessmen are like good Chinese chefs: they know how to mix the right ingredients at the right time for a delicious meal.

Business culture “ingredients”

To do business in China requires effective communication skills and a keen awareness of the key differences between Chinese values and the values of one’s homeland.

Learning how to communicate effectively means understanding the culture. Organisations and companies that have successfully entered China have done so by operating with sensitivity towards the values, communication styles and cultures of their Chinese counterparts. Harmony, face and relationships are three fundamental aspects of Chinese culture.

Harmony

The ancient book I Ching — said to be about 3,500 years old and written by Emperor Wen and his son the duke of Zhou — was mainly used for divination purposes.

 Its latter interpretation was attributed to Confucius, making it a useful tool for transmitting Confucian thoughts.

The book also has a Taoist approach. According to Taoism, Qi (pronounced “chee”) is a universal energy composed of two polarities: the ying and the yang. One of the main Taoist ideas reflected in the I Ching is the need to be in harmony with the Qi.

Throughout history, the Chinese have placed considerable attention on harmony and balance in all aspects of life, especially harmony between people. This is typically represented within the relationship networks at work or in the family by sowing respect for seniority and hierarchy.

Face

Face is a mark of personal dignity that is a core part of the Chinese mindset. It reflects a person’s level of status in the business and social life.

Keeping and gaining face is of vital importance for Chinese people. Saving face justifies many actions that the Chinese do, actions that an outsider may perceive as insincere.

Giving face is welcomed and helps earn respect and loyalty.

Relationships

Many Westerners conduct business with a “get right down to business” attitude. In China, people believe in developing a relationship with a prospective business partner first. Then the commercial transactions can follow.

Meals, rather than a waste of time, are an important ingredient in building a business relationship.

They also help a foreigner enter the network of connections widely know as Guanxi in Chinese.

The members of a Guanxi network are expected to help each other at some point in time in a direct or indirect manner, contributing to a constructive cycle of relationships and development.

Harmony and destiny

An important cultural concept to consider is that of the Theory of The Five Basic Elements. It is not clear when this theory originated, but its use can be found as back as the Warring States Period (475 to 221 BC).

It is believed that the five elements — water, wood, fire, earth and metal — are the fundamental energies in the universe. Material and abstract elements found in the universe result from the interaction of these five elements. They can be applied to every aspect of life, such as defining someone’s personality. The elements interact with one another according to some basic rules that generate two cycles: the Cycle of Birth and the Cycle of Destruction.

Knowing these two cycles and the relationship they have along with the more complex discipline of Feng Shui, will be helpful in understanding the mindset of some great generals and strategists who shaped China’s destiny. The thoughts of Sun Zi (from the Spring and Autumn Period, 770-476 BC) and Zhuge Liang (from the Three Kingdoms Period, 220-280 AD), for example, have been quite influential among different generations in China and other countries.

Many business people from the West and elsewhere have read Sun Zi’s The Art of War, which has been translated into many languages. Even after more than 2,000 years, Sun Zi’s treatise on military strategy — an examination of psychological, political, economic and social factors in battle — is relevant to modern military and business challenges.

Goal-oriented versus process-oriented

Perhaps the best strategy that a first comer to China should apply is to leave his traditional business expertise at home and bring along a sincere willingness to learn a new way to communicate, negotiate and do business. Also a new way to achieving satisfactory result — for both parties.

Western culture is goal-oriented while Chinese culture is process oriented. The purpose of negotiating in China is to see if relationships can develop to a stage where both parties feel comfortable to do business with one another.

It requires mutual understanding and benefit as premier Zhou Enlai once mentioned in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. When negotiating, it is important to keep in mind the benefits that the business will bring to the people. Knowing each other takes time.

Communication style

Communication in China is indirect and circular. Because Chinese rarely say "no", foreigners should be able to read the context in which something is communicated.

One should be aware that the search for harmony and virtue is far more important than that what Westerners consider the truth.

Hierarchy

In corporate life, subordinates are dependent on their superiors. Initiative is not appreciated as the superior may suffer loss of face. In contrast to many Western cultures, Chinese subordinates expect their superiors to tell them exactly what to do.

Foreigners can ask open questions to check if orders are understood. If someone makes a mistake, never confront him directly.

Similarly, foreigners should not expect Chinese business relations to tell them about their mistakes. Instead, mistakes may be communicated in an indirect way, such as a tale with a moral.

Meetings

Usually, several people attend meetings in China. The foreigner, expecting to meet only one person, may feel intimidated by the presence of so many Chinese people. Great respect should be shown for the senior people present.

Chinese drink a lot of tea during meetings. It is wise not to empty the tea glass. This way, it cannot be filled up.

Negotiations

Chinese people are regarded as excellent hosts. Being a good host enables the Chinese to guide the agenda and pace of negotiation.

It is a way to control the schedule and the mood of the negotiating process, which includes business and entertainment activities. This control gives the Chinese the element of surprise, a point mentioned in the Art of War.

The Chinese are very hospitable and tough negotiators, too. Keep in mind that people and long-term orientation are two key ingredients while negotiating in China.

Open and respectful attitudes are perhaps the most important ingredients to achieving a successful dialogue.

The journey could be a long one and it is certainly worth the try.

April 2002

Victor H. Garza is a cross-cultural consultant in China and Eleonore Breukel is a cross-cultural consultant in the Netherlands.