Doing Biz With China

SmartCompany.com.au:

I was in the Telstra shop getting a new mobile the other day and the sales assistant upon finding out that I was a solicitor and did international trade work took the opportunity to pick my brain.

His friend intended to export nickel to China and he asked me one of the most frequently asked questions from exporters hoping to conquer China – is a contract with the Chinese worth the paper it is written on?

My answer was the same as always – yes it is, but you need to be aware that the Chinese value relationships more than they value legal documentation. It is no good getting your solicitor to draw up an export agreement and simply emailing that to your Chinese distributor and expecting them to agree and sign it in a week!

To do business well in China you need to embrace the concept of guanxi – the art of building a business relationship. You need to have known your distributor for awhile and have nurtured your relationship. Dinners, gifts, multiple visits to China are all encouraged.

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