An Intoduction to Chinese Business Etiquette

May 16, 2013. ZagrebProfessor Yan Lidong, Chinese director of Confucius Institute at University of Zagreb

Contact: jimmy4401@sina.com

We are different but live in one world

• Understanding cultural differences

• Avoiding misunderstandings

• Developing business cooperation

Main topics

1. What is Business Etiquette?2. What influences Business Etiquette?3. How to interpret Chinese Business Etiquette?

1. What is Business Etiquette?• 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?

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.

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

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)

2. What influences Business Etiquette?

• Age• Race• Ethnicity• Culture• Gender

Marital status Physical status Socio-economic status Education Religion Political ideology

S.H. 18MIOB.J. 12MIOCH.DU 10MIOHARBIN 9MIOT.J. 9MIOWUHAN.7MIO74 dialects56 nationalities

4450KM

3400KM

Categorizations of Chinese culture

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

400sounds*4 tones=1600sounds56,000characters/1600sounds=35 meanings per sound

Categorizations of Chinese culture

• Main questions:– What forms the characteristics of Chinese culture

as a whole?– What is the philosophical foundation of Chinese

behavior?

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– TaoismThese are the three philosophical traditions of Chinese culture

ConfucianismDeals 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

Deals with:• 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

BuddhismDeals with:• Uncontrolled power in

reach of human beings

• Enduring hardship• Looking forward towards a

better future

The Yin and Yang principle

3. Business Etiquette in ChinaGreeting Getting to know each otherIntroduction Improving mutual communicationAttending 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

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:1. Why did Brown and Wang Lin behave the way they did from a cultural perspective?2. What behaviors caused the misunderstanding in the first place?3. What corrections to their behavior would you suggest in order to avoid further

misunderstandings?

What’s wrong?Jin Yi is a new teacher in a middle school. One day, one of her Chinese colleaguesYang 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:1. What is the problem in this conversation?

Greeting – getting to know each other

• Greetings are the first step to observe a cultureCommon 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

Introduction to your Chinese partner

• Introduce yourself through a third party • Introduce yourself through

Shaking handsExchange 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

Introduction to your Chinese partner

Rules for a succesful introduction:

1. Do not forget to ask a Chinese person which name is their family name

2. Address a Chinese person using his or her family name only3. It is acceptable to call a person by their surname, together with a

title4. Avoid using someone’s first name unless you have known the

person for a long time5. Do not try to become intimate too fast 6. No touching like hugs or arm around the shoulder 7. Do not look people straight in the eye8. A man is always introduced to a woman9. A young person is always introduced to an old person10. A less important person is always introduced to a more important

person

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?

Introduction to your Chinese partner

• Rules for exchanging a business card:1. Have one side of you business card translated to

Chinese2. Hold the card in both hands when offering it, the

Chinese side facing the recipient3. Business cards should never be exchanged over a table4. Examine the card before putting it in a business card

case5. A handshake, nod or a slight bow should follow the

exchange

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

Attending a meeting

• Time orientation • Order of entering the meeting room• Introductions• Table shape and seating order

1. VIPs and guests sit on the right2. Leader sits in the middle facing the leader of the

partners 3. Principal host sits directly opposite to the principal guest

• Small talk in order to break the tension• Welcome speech (both sides, only senior members)

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.

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

Delicious and colorful Chinese food

Lu

Chuan

Hang/Zhe

Yue Xiang

Huaiyang

Hui

Min

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

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”?

Building up Guānxì

• What’s Guanxi?• Roles of the intermediary• Changes in personal

distance• Attention to different ranks• Formal invitation• Gift-giving

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.

• 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

IntimatePersonal

Social

Public

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Building up Guānxì

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)

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

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

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

Twelve animals

Twelve animalsMouse wise

Ox hard-working

Tiger brave

Rabbit cautious

Dragon fierce

Snake timid

Horse agressive

Sheep amiable

Monkey agile

Rooster eternalDog faihful

Pig flexible

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

Symbol of the Dragon

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.

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

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

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

Golden Rules of doing business with the Chinese

1. Everything is possible 2. Nothing is easy 3. Western business logic usually does not apply 4. It is a fun project if there is no deadline 5. You must be patient - things will eventually come your way 6. “You don’t know China” means they disagree 7. “New regulation” means they found a new way to avoid

doing something 8. When you are optimistic, think about Rule #2 9. When you are discouraged, think about Rule #1

Do as the Chinese do…