Surviving Tips When in China

If you intend to get into the China importing business, most experts would suggest that you should personally go to China. There, you can meet in person with your potential suppliers, brokers, and even physically inspect the products you plan to import to your country. However, China has sets of customs and practices that are much different than yours back home. Additionally, Chinese people speak a language that you are unfamiliar with. So how should you act and behave? To help you with this dilemma, here are a handful of tips that should be helpful when on a business trip in China. • Chinese language can be quite complicated compared to English. Regardless, try to learn a few basic Chinese words. This is not just an excellent icebreaker, but also a good way of showing your interest in your host's language and culture. Additionally, this will enable you to communicate with non-English speaking Chinese individuals. • It's vital to learn Chinese but don't be too hard on yourself. Chinese customs might look stringent for a foreigner like yourself, but Chinese, more often than not, make allowances and don't expect you to know all of their customs and etiquette. • Never point at an object with your index finger. This is plain rude. Instead, use an open hand when indicating a direction or pointing an object. • Never beckon someone especially Chinese with your index finger facing up. This is considered rude by Chinese etiquette standards. Instead, do it with your palm facing down. • Arm yourself with a large supply of business cards. You do not know how many people you might meet while in China, so be ready. Remember, business cards are an important part of doing business in China and in other countries as well. • When sending correspondence with Chinese, write your dates in full. This will avoid any future confusion, although the 2/5/10 generally means February 5, 2010. In addition, writing your dates in full also commands formality and respect. • Drink only properly sealed, bottled water regardless if you are inside the hotel, restaurant or on the street. This doesn't imply that drinking water in China is contaminated and can make you ill. You are doing this just to be sure. • Remember to always carry with you basic prescription medicines such as medications for cold, cough, and anti-diarrhea. Most Chinese medical products are written in Chinese and some of them contain things that are not present in your local medicine. You might have allergies to some of them. So better be safe than sorry. • When doing small friendly talks, never mention anything about politics or religion. Instead, talk about the places you've been in China or in other countries, Chinese foods, sports or famous celebrities. • If ever someone praises you about your looks or manner, it is generally polite and modest to graciously deny it. • Don't give gifts or anything with number that totals to 4 or 11 as these are considered unlucky numbers. Instead, find those with numbers 8, 7 or 5. Surviving Tips When in China is a post from: Traveling China from Traveling China http://www.chinaya.org

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