1. An Intoduction to Chinese Business Etiquette
May 16, Zagreb
Professor Yan Lidong, Chinese director of Confucius Institute at University of Zagreb
Contact:

2. We are different but live in one world
Understanding cultural differences
Avoiding misunderstandings
Developing business cooperation

3. Main topics What is Business Etiquette?
What influences Business Etiquette?
How to interpret Chinese Business Etiquette?

4. 1. What is Business Etiquette?
The importance of knowing the
Acceptable way of doing things
—what to say, how to dress,
how to react in various situations –
becomes more and more important
as your rank becomes higher.
It is all that you do and say while others are looking at you and listening to you
It is the forms, manners and ceremonies established by convention as acceptable or required in social relations, professional relations or in a business setting
It dictates how people of differing or similar tastes relate to one another
How does business etiquette benefit you?

5. 2. What influences Business Etiquette?
Business Etiquette is the behavior within a culture
Culture exists in the background through its fundamental impact on the behavior of people who are in the center of business relationships
Culture is the business of international business (Hofstede,1994)
Cultural understanding is difficult and sometimes hard to attain, but the rewards can be great

6. 2. What influences Business Etiquette?
In order to understand Chinese Business Etiquette, it is important that you try to understand the increasing diversification of the Chinese culture (especially Han culture)

7. 2. What influences Business Etiquette?
Age
Race
Ethnicity
Culture
Gender
Marital status
Physical status
Socio-economic status
Education
Religion
Political ideology

8. 3400KM 4450KM S.H. 18MIO B.J. 12MIO CH.DU 10MIO HARBIN 9MIO T.J. 9MIO
WUHAN.7MIO
74 dialects
56 nationalities
3400KM
4450KM

9. Categorizations of Chinese culture
400sounds*4 tones=1600sounds
56,000characters/1600sounds=35 meanings per sound
By form
Chinese culture as a whole
Subcultures
By language
Capital culture (hanzi, hanyu)
Wuyue, Cantonese, Minnan, Sichuan
By ethnicity
Han culture
Minority cultures
By geographical position
Northern Chinese culture
Southern Chinese culture
Mid-Chinese culture (inland)
By context
Business culture
Festival/daily life culture
Restaurant culture
Urban/rustic culture

10. Categorizations of Chinese culture
Main questions:
What forms the characteristics of Chinese culture as a whole?
What is the philosophical foundation of Chinese behavior?

11. Chinese culture Characteristics of Chinese culture:
Long history and diversity (over 5000 years old with 56 ethnicities)
Social structure (family-oriented)
interperson-oriented, collectivist group loyalty (guanxi)
Network embedded (guanxi wang)
Philosophical foundation of Chinese culture:
Confucianism
Buddhism
Taoism
These are the three philosophical traditions of Chinese culture

12. Confucianism
Deals with:
Moral cultivation
Human relationships
Interpersonal relationships
Guanxi / Renqing (EQ) /Trust
Respect for age and hierarchy
Family orientation
Avoidance of conflict (indirect)
Need for harmony (concept of the face)
Taoism
Life in harmony with nature
Doing nothing
The Yin/Yang principle (there exists neither absolute black nor absolute white. They depend on each other, exist within each other, give birth to each other,)
Yin: Female, moon, night, water, weakness, darkness, mystery, softness, passivity
Yang: Male, sun, day, fire, strength, brightness, clearness, hardness, activity
Tai Chi, Gong Fu
Chinese traditional herbal medicine
Buddhism
Uncontrolled power in reach of human beings
Enduring hardship
Looking forward towards a better future

13. The Yin and Yang principle

14. 3. Business Etiquette in China
Greeting
Getting to know each other
Introduction
Improving mutual communication
Attending a meeting
Dress code, punctuality, polite conversation
Attending a dinner
Table manners
Building up Guanxi (interpersonal relations)
Personal space, rank, roles of the intermediary, giving gifts, saving face
Some symbols
Color preferences, figure preferences
Holidays
Official holidays and traditional holidays
Tips to better understand China

15. What’s wrong?
Li Yong returns to China after one year abroad in the States. He marries Wang Lin, his childhood sweetheart, who has never traveled abroad and speaks very little English. Li's best friend in the States, Brown, comes to visit Li in China for the first time and is introduced to the bride of his best friend.
"Gee, it's great to meet you", says Brown, "Li talked about you all the time back in Houston!" , and kisses Wang Lin heartily on both cheeks. Wang Lin is shocked.
Questions:
Why did Brown and Wang Lin behave the way they did from a cultural perspective?
What behaviors caused the misunderstanding in the first place?
What corrections to their behavior would you suggest in order to avoid further misunderstandings?

16. What’s wrong?
Jin Yi is a new teacher in a middle school. One day, one of her Chinese colleagues
Yang Fan introduces her to their middle-aged foreign teacher Maggy.
Yang: Jin Yi, this is Maggy, our English teacher from America. Maggy, this is Jin Yi, our new colleague.
Jin and Maggy: How do you do?
Maggy: Your sweater is so smart.
Jin: Oh, it is only an old one, I bought it last year.
Maggy: You are so young and smart, I am sure you are a good teacher.
Jin: No, no. I am just a newcomer, I should learn from you old teachers.
Maggy looks surprised and thinks, "I am really so old?“
Question:
What is the problem in this conversation?

17. Greeting – getting to know each other
Greetings are the first step to observe a culture
Common Chinese greetings:
Traditional
way
Did you already eat? Ni chi fan le ma?-你吃饭了吗？
Have you been busy recently? Zui jin mang ma?最近忙吗？忙不忙?
Where are you going? Qu na er? 去哪？
Hello! Ni hao! 你好
Modern way
Good morning! Zao shang hao! 早上好
Good afternoon! Xia wu hao! 下午好
Bye! Zai jian! 再见
See you later! Hui tou jian! 回头见
Other
(limited body contact)
Nodding
Handshake (gentle, short, with a smile)
Make a bow with your hands folded in the front

18. Introduction to your Chinese partner
Introduce yourself through a third party
Introduce yourself through
Shaking hands
Exchange of business cards (ming pian 名片)
A formal introduction
Take care about the following:
Chinese don’t like to do business with strangers – introduce yourself through a person or an organization
Chinese like formal introductions – stand up, and keep standing throughout the introduction
Chinese don’t like direct body contact – a short handshake is acceptable, maybe a hug with an old friend

19. Introduction to your Chinese partner
Rules for a succesful introduction:
Do not forget to ask a Chinese person which name is their family name
Address a Chinese person using his or her family name only
It is acceptable to call a person by their surname, together with a title
Avoid using someone’s first name unless you have known the person for a long time
Do not try to become intimate too fast
No touching like hugs or arm around the shoulder
Do not look people straight in the eye
A man is always introduced to a woman
A young person is always introduced to an old person
A less important person is always introduced to a more important person

20. Introduction to your Chinese partner
How to make an introduction?
Title
Surname
One/two syllable given name
How to use a business card?
What should be on a business card?
When do we exchange business cards?

21. Introduction to your Chinese partner
Rules for exchanging a business card:
Have one side of you business card translated to Chinese
Hold the card in both hands when offering it, the Chinese side facing the recipient
Business cards should never be exchanged over a table
Examine the card before putting it in a business card case
A handshake, nod or a slight bow should follow the exchange

22. Attending a meeting Make an appointment in advance
Pay attention to the agenda
Dress properly
Promptness or early arrival is welcome
Keep body language limited
Hire an interpreter if necessary

23. Attending a meeting Time orientation
Order of entering the meeting room
Introductions
Table shape and seating order
VIPs and guests sit on the right
Leader sits in the middle facing the leader of the partners
Principal host sits directly opposite to the principal guest
Small talk in order to break the tension
Welcome speech (both sides, only senior members)

24. Attending a meeting – FAQ
Who should enter the meeting room first?
Senior members (usually escorted to their seats)
What is the dress code for a business meeting?
Conservative business suits
Why should the starting price leave room for negotiation?
It is not likely that any decisions will be made during the meeting
Bring the materials in both languages
How to interpret „We’ll see.” or „We’ll think about it”?
Look for signs of dismay or surprise (such as sharp intakes of breath)
Take care that applause is a common form of greeting in China, be respectful and return the applause.

25. Attending a business dinner
Delicious and colorful Chinese food
Prepare a short, friendly speech in response to the host’s speech
Understand the table manners
Seating arrangement
Some common missteps

26. Delicious and colorful Chinese foodLu
Hang/Zhe
Xiang
Yue
Hui
Chuan
Min
Huaiyang

27. Attending a business dinner
When to sit down?
Guests first, host second;
Seniors first, juniors second;
Older first, younger second.
The main tables and the important tables first
What to order?
Drinks (beer, Baijiu or alcoholic beverage)
Starters (Tea, cold dishes)
Main courses (hot meats and vegetables)
Soup (with Rice, noodles or dumplings)
Public chopsticks and spoons
Conversation
Paying the bill

28. Attending a business dinner – table manners
All dishes are placed on the table and shared
Chinese hosts will sometimes put food in your bowl or plate with public chopsticks
Do not stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl
Make sure that the spout of a teapot is not facing anyone
Do not turn over the fish
Do not tap your bowl with your chopsticks
Do not overorder or overeat
How to tell a Chinese “ I am really full”?

29. Building up Guānxì What’s Guanxi? Roles of the intermediary
Changes in personal distance
Attention to different ranks
Formal invitation
Gift-giving

30. Building up Guānxì
How to build up Guanxi? How to interpret „friendship first, business second”?
In China, guānxì provides the necessary social glue between parties who interact over an extended period.
In this context, Guānxì refers to a long-term relationship based on mutual obligation.
One begins to build guānxì by doing small favors, taking one out to dinner, or bringing a gift.
Trust also grows with the relationship, and one relies on the honor of his guānxì partner rather than legal remedies to vouchsafe an agreement.

31. Building up Guānxì Chinese people rarely do business with strangers
Personal space in China is closer than in the West.
The person with the higher rank should always be respected
Personal
Intimate
Social
Public

32. Building up Guānxì - gifts
Gifts are very important for Guānxì and friendships
It is appropriate to bring a gift to a business meeting or a social event
Giving business gifts
time
amount
wrapping (color of the wrapping paper and appropriate time to open)

33. Building up Guānxì - gifts
Do not give clocks, chrysanthemum, cut flowers, white objects which are associated with death
Wrap gifts:
red and gold colors for wrapping paper
Do not use black or white paper to wrap the gifts because they are the colors of mourning
Do not use red ink to write names
Chinese do not open gifts when they are received because it indicates that it is the thought that counts more than the material value

34. Saving face Saving face, losing face, giving face
Saving face plays some roles in almost every culture, but in China and other southeastern Asian countries it is a constant preoccupation
One never speaks or acts in a social setting without consedering the effect on reputation
A primary goal at a social or business gathering is to avoid embarrassing or offending one's associates
One does not show or provoke anger
“Thank you” is mainly spoken to strangers

35. Common symbols and interpretations
Symbolization is how people imagine or regard something, which reflects the way people think
Meaning of symbols differs across cultures
Symbolic meaning of nonverbal communication can also cause problems
Common Chinese symbols
Symbol of the Twelve animals
Symbol of Wu Xing
Symbol of the Dragon
Color preference
Figure preference

36. Twelve animals

37. Twelve animals Mouse wise Ox hard-working Tiger brave Rabbit cautious
Dragon
fierce
Snake
timid
Horse
agressive
Sheep
amiable
Monkey
agile
Rooster
eternal
Dog
faihful
Pig
flexible

38. Symbol of the Dragon
We regard the dragon as God and say that we Chinese are the descendants of the dragon
The God of Dragons of the four seas takes charge of the rainfalls, so we sometimes also call it the God of the water or rain.
Dragon is imagined as snakelike, flowing in the sky most of the time
Its shape is a combination of the face of a horse, the horns of a deer, the ears of an ox, the body of a snake, the claws of an eagle, squama of a fish
Many emperors in the history of China declared themselves to be the sons of dragons, wore clothing with the dragon symbol, had thrones carved in the likeness of a dragon
In the West, dragons, like dinosaurs, can stand on the ground with feet and fly with huge wings
They are regarded as dangerous due to their ability to breathe fire - they have even become the symbol of the Devil

39. Symbol of the Dragon

40. Color preference
In the APEC summit held in Shanghai in 2001, the presidents wore the traditional Chinese Dang suits and took a photo together. The colors of the suits were chosen by themselves freely. However, it’s quite interesting to find that most Eastern leaders chose red while most of the western leaders preferred blue.
To explain this, it’s easy to realize that what red means is almost opposite in the East and the West
Red means luck, fortune in China. We Chinese often use this color to decorate for festivals, such as red lanterns, red Chinese knots, red banners
red stands for blood, revolutions in the West.

41. Number preference 4 (si)
Similar pronunciation as death, hardly ever used
6 (liu)
Good luck
8 (ba)
Wealthy, pronounced the same as fa
9 (jiu)
The biggest number
10 (shi)
The perfect number

42. Holidays Spring Festival The first day of Chinese lunar new year
Lantern Festival The fifteenth day of the Chinese lunar new Year
Qing Ming festival April 5th
Dragon Boat Festival May 5th Lunar year
Mid-Autumn Festival The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month
Chong Yang Festival The ninth day of the ninth month in lunar year

43. Holidays and working hours
New Year’s day (January 1st)
Labor day (May 1st)
Children’s day (June 1st)
Army’s day (August 1st)
Women’s day (March 8th)
National day (October 1st)
Working hours:
Monday to Friday, 8h a day
Extra pay for overtime

44. Golden Rules of doing business with the Chinese
Everything is possible
Nothing is easy
Western business logic usually does not apply
It is a fun project if there is no deadline
You must be patient - things will eventually come your way
“You don’t know China” means they disagree
“New regulation” means they found a new way to avoid doing something
When you are optimistic, think about Rule #2
When you are discouraged, think about Rule #1

45. Do as the Chinese do…
Havala and
wish you a successful career!