How to talk business in China

Reviewed by Michael Jen-Siu

Tim Cole, a magician from Las Vegas, Nevada, met me in a Beijing coffee shop about two years ago and said he had been cheated out of US$127,000 because his Chinese business partner canceled several performances in violation of their contract. The partner also stuck Cole with the trans-Pacific shipping bill for the show equipment, he told me.

His story followed a series of interviews I had done with the

owners of a Hong Kong engineering company that lost a large hotel to court receivership in Dandong, northeastern China, because the Dandong partner tried to pass off its own loans on the Hong Kong side.

I remember these two cases because they go against the overwhelming majority of China business news stories, which generally follow China’s fast-track investment deregulation and the natural flood of foreign businesses entering an anticipated record- sized consumer market. But the magician and the engineering firm showed paperwork to prove that they had been cheated despite the hype.

The Chinese Negotiator, a topically overdue book published this year, suggests that the magician or the engineering firms might have misunderstood their Chinese counterparts when they agreed to do business together. Maybe Cole or the engineering firm upset their local partners during contract negotiations, I started to imagine. Maybe they didn’t even have a solid enough deal before business began.

Authors Robert March, a negotiator and consultant since 1985, and Wu Su-hua, an entrepreneur for 25 years in Taiwan and Australia, provide 280 pages of tips on how to negotiate with teams of stoic chain-smokers who don’t say what they’re thinking. They tell foreign companies to negotiate according to a 12-step process and to pick a team with refined social graces and a taste for Chinese food. They explain why foreign teams must come to the table as a unified front but with a clear leader and every other member assigned non-conflicting responsibilities to avoid the appearance of uncertainty or risk spilling sensitive details too soon.

More important, The Chinese Negotiator shares scores of subtle, example-rich insights about Chinese versus non-Chinese psychology in language that brilliantly transcends stereotypes. These lessons could help almost anyone get along in any Sino-foreign environment, whether as a negotiator, a boss or a common employee. The authors point out that overlooking these subtleties during a contract negotiation can quietly offend the Chinese side, which in turn might sign with a competing foreign firm or plot revenge against the offending party.

March and Wu note, for example, that Western negotiators bristle too obviously when deals don’t come together soon enough and do not see how non-business chats over alcohol can improve later negotiations. Chinese, for their part, are as flexible as street-market vendors, take a shared-destiny view of joint ventures, and may look to an absentee boss far removed from the negotiations for serious contract decisions, even after deals are struck at the table. They also subconsciously use any of 36 classic Chinese war stratagems that promote deception, secrecy and elaborate mind games to get what they want.

The book’s top lessons, threads that bind one chapter to the next, are that interpersonal trust must precede business, that the Chinese value a harmonious negotiation atmosphere (despite their own poker faces), and that negotiations can last much longer than foreigners expect – though we’re never told exactly how long. Another piece of repeated advice: foreigners should avoid talking too much about business in opening negotiation rounds so the parties first get to know each other personally.

The Chinese Negotiator leaves one big red elephant in the negotiating room. That’s the profound influence of China’s government. Almost every day of my seven years in China, as a reporter or a colleague or a teacher or just someone in the street, I met with the nationalism of modern Chinese people. Much of their distrust, resentment or superiority toward foreigners stems directly from the government’s relentless teachings in school or through media that Chinese are historically superior people victimized by foreigners.

The government promotes especially strong anti-Japan sentiment and the questionable idea that ethnic Chinese inside and outside China are all the same except that outside they’re lucky to be rich. Before 2000, it was legal to overcharge foreigners at government tourist landmarks. These prejudices are not checked at the negotiation-room doors. Local courts normally back the Chinese side in any dispute, another sign of us-versus-them nationalism. And because of China’s non-consultative policymaking and lack of public participation in government, many laws touted as business-friendly via government-run English-language media are vague, redundant and even contradictory.

Cole or the Hong Kong engineering firm might have blundered in their negotiations, but they could easily have been cheated out of sheer resentment, or fallen into the red through a legal gray area. The Chinese Negotiator might have noted the state’s formative role in Chinese psychology and advised companies on how to reach sound, cheat-resistant business agreements that have the flexibility to withstand undulating local laws on key matters such as currency conversion and patent protection.

Key foreign countries are also missing from the book. Most of the advisory anecdotes feature firms from developed Western countries, but what about growing powerhouses such South Korea or Russia, where business cultures differ, likewise stereotypes held by the Chinese? And if I were a sole proprietor magician or hotelier, rather than a company with a big staff, I’d want to know how to negotiate against a complex Chinese organization without hiring a team. Is there a network of negotiators for hire?

Finally, The Chinese Negotiator could further explore China with a few more anecdotes from the book’s namesake. Experienced contract negotiators at the foreign-affairs offices of state companies or the poker-faced Chinese bargainers who quietly evaluate their foreign counterparts across a table might tell revealing stories about what it’s like on the home court.

Influential Chinese people do not always open up to foreign writers, but some will talk, especially if contacted through personal connections. Chinese sources also might offer details on how they arrange room, board and meeting venues for the negotiators – and who pays for it all. Maybe we would learn that some Chinese publisher is about to release “The Foreign Negotiator”.

The Chinese Negotiator: How to Succeed in the World’s Largest Market by Robert M March and Wu Su-hua. Kodansha International, February 2007. ISBN-10: 4770030282. Price US$24.95 hardback, 280 pages.

Michael Jen-Siu is a wire-service reporter living in Taipei.

Baidu Will Offer Search Engine Service For The Blind

Chinese search engine service provider Baidu.com says it will soon launch a barrier-free service for the blind and those with visual disabilities.

Baidu began developing the barrier-free project about six months ago and named it “The Blind’s Lane Program”. This program has reportedly received great support from the China Blind People’s Association.

China has about 5 million blind people, accounting for 18% of the world’s total. It also has more than 6 million people who have visual disabilities.

Although there is a lot of software for the blind to use, most of the software are not specially designed for the blind to approach and search Internet information. Baidu says this is why it has launched this new service.

AutoMart To Offer Mandatory Exhaust Inspections In Beijing

AutoMart-China, the largest independent auto aftermarket company in Beijing, has signed a Letter of Intent with Beijing Wan Quan He Automotive Certificate Company as its first step in being able to perform mandatory safety and exhaust inspections at its repair and maintenance centers.

AutoMart said the non-binding LOI is with Wan Quan He, which is authorized by Beijing’s municipal government and Ministry of Communications to conduct annual tests for cars and motorcycles in the capital city. WQH is also authorized to conduct motor vehicle exhaust testing, as authorized by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China.

AutoMart, with more than 450 employees serving the auto aftermarket in Beijing, is currently working to finalize the agreement and add mandatory safety and exhaust inspections to its other services, including auto repair, parts, and insurance, said the company’s Chairman and CEO Pang Guisan.

“Annual safety and exhaust inspections are required by the government for the more than 4 million cars and motorcycles in Beijing,” Pang said. “AutoMart is excited about the opportunity to partner with WQH and serve this emerging market. AutoMart plans to work with WHQ in order to gain access to virtually millions of owners of cars and motorcycles, and be able to cross-market our other repair, parts and insurance products to them.”

IT GSM Sr. Engineer – A Top semiconductor Company

A Top semiconductor Company
Report to: Quality Director
Location: Suzhou

Requirements:
1.Good communication in both oral and written English.
2.Quick learner.
3.Open-minded.
4.Experienced in process, manufacturing or product engineer perferred.
5.5 years with related working experience and major in Computer Science and Technology

Responsibilities:
1.Work as laision between MTECH / PDE and IT, understand the customer requirement and propose the the IT infrastructure and roadmap to support the future test methodology.
2.Lead the group of equipment interface to minimize the human effort and enable the real-time data collection.
3.Lead in the investigation for any production issues which is overlapped between PDE and IT.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
‘topjob_it094sz@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)

Migrant Workers to Enter China’s Legislature

China’s millions of rural migrant workers will have their own representatives seated in the national people’s congress if a draft resolution on lawmaker elections for next year’s National People’s Congress is approved by legislators at the ongoing 10th NPC annual session.

The draft resolution on deputy election for the 11th NPC has been submitted to lawmakers for deliberation, stipulating that provinces and municipalities with a large population of rural migrant workers should have an NPC deputy quota for them.

Sheng Huaren, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, told about 3,000 legislators that China’s migrant labor population has become larger and is growing into one of the mainstays of the country’s work force. Sheng says they should have a number of lawmakers to represent their rights and interests.

The draft resolution also proposed an increase of lawmakers from farmers and industrial workers, saying that the NPC deputy numbers from these groups is dropping in recent years.

China has about 200 million migrant workers, of whom more than 120 million work in cities and the remainder work in villages. Official figures show 13 million farmers will become migrant workers each year if China reaches the urbanization target of 56%.

Chinese Workers To Increase Salaries Faster Than American Counterparts

New research reveals real pay increases for workers in the United States will substantially lag those in China and India in 2007.

The Hay Group says their new research shows says administrative, professional and senior management employees are predicted to see real increases of just 1.4%, versus increases approaching 8% in high-growth economies.

“Much like their colleagues in Europe, US employees will be seeing relatively modest increases in base salaries when compared to the emerging economies,” said Iain Fitzpatrick, General Manager of Hay Group’s US Reward Information Services. “Projected 2007 increases are fairly consistent with real increases seen in the US over the past several years.”

Hay Group’s Global Pay Day analysis, compiled using Hay Group PayNet, one of the world’s most comprehensive global pay databases, predicts real base salary increases for administrative, professional and senior management in 2007 for 50 countries worldwide, based on employers’ projections once inflation has been considered. The PayNet database contains 7 million individual records from 13,000 organizations in 19 job families across a number of industries.

“The wealth created by rapid, focused economic development is resulting in a pay boom for Chinese and Indian workers, who will enjoy some of the largest real pay increases worldwide in 2007,” said Hern Yin Goh, Director of Hay Group Reward Information Services in Shanghai.

China tops the tables for each of the three job categories, with a predicted 7.9% increase for administrative workers, 7.8% for professionals and 8.9% for senior management. High pay increases in India last year ¡ª 7.2% across the board ¡ª look set to continue into 2007. The country boasts the second highest pay increase predictions for 2007, with increases of 6.2% forecast across the three job levels. Senior managers can anticipate a real increase of 6.9%, professionals and administrators 5.9% each.

Quality supervisor – A Top Electronic Company, Fortune 500

Report to QA Manager
Location: Kunshan
A Top Electronic Company, Fortune 500

Reports To (Job Title): QA Manager / Production Manager.

JOB SUMMARY:
Support quality system management, maintain quality control system and manage quality function. Conduct internal audits including process audits and support system audit. Deal with customer complaints and manage corrective actions procedure. Support qualification plan and review PPAP documents. Support local sourcing program and provide quality training to quality team and other department for quality promotion. Lead quality team and promote team work.

Maintain quality control system and perfect related procedures.35%
Study and analyze production process quality data, enhance production quality.15%
Customer complaints handle and corrective actions management.15%
Support qualification and PPAP plan. 10%
Quality team member skill promotion.10%
Support on system audit and process audit.10%
Other tasks assigned 5%

Qualifications:
Education/Knowledge: University degree or above.
Experience: Several years experience in quality area in multinational companies or Operation.
External & Internal Contacts: both
Special Skills or Qualifications that is helpful:
1.Be familiar with quality skills, quality system, quality analysis and internal audit knowledge.
2.Good interpersonal skills for both external & internal communications.
3.Computer application skill and SPC technology, experience with ISO9001 & TS16949.
4.Good command of English & team work.
5.Good moral and be responsible.

Career Development:
Along with company¡¯s expansion, can be senior quality supervisor and manager.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
‘topjob_mn139ks@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)

More M.B.A.s From China Seek Employment Back Home

By Ronald Alsop

When Zhe Xu receives his M.B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley this spring, he will hop a plane back to his native China for a job in management consulting rather than seek employment in America.

Just a few years ago, such a career move would have been almost unthinkable. Most students reluctantly returned to China only because they couldn’t land a position with a U.S. company that would sponsor them for a work visa.

But Mr. Xu represents a new breed of Chinese M.B.A. student, for whom China’s booming economy is proving more alluring than a career in the West. “It is much more exciting right now to be in China, especially in the health-care area,” says Mr. Xu, who plans to do life science and health-care consulting in the Shanghai office of Cambridge, Mass.-based Monitor Group. “Many things are changing rapidly, and I can really put my hands on some of the hot buttons and make my own mark on the country’s economic development.”

While many Chinese students at U.S. business schools still covet a visa that will allow them to work in America, career-service directors say a growing number are much more willing — even eager — to return to their homeland after graduation. “International companies have long tried to pitch this idea of going back to China where a student’s language and cultural background is of great value to them, but until recently, it fell on deaf ears,” says Paul Allaire, career-resource center director at the University at Buffalo School of Management.

Abby Scott, executive director of M.B.A. career services at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, even sees some Chinese-American students, who were raised and educated in the U.S., moving to China. “They want to be part of all the interesting things happening over there,” she says. “The safe way is to get your feet wet by joining a multinational, but a few gutsy students are trying to start something of their own.”

At Stanford University, Virginia Roberson, the business school’s international career adviser, finds entrepreneurial-minded students especially drawn to China. “It’s like the Wild West and the gold rush to them,” she says.

Students say they expect ever greater career opportunities and compensation as China’s economic expansion rolls on. “I plan to go back to China after my studies because of the high demand for real-estate and infrastructure development,” says Patricia Cheung, a first-year M.B.A. student at Berkeley who will be interning this summer at Deutsche Bank’s real-estate asset management office in Hong Kong and working extensively in China. “I am passionate and patriotic about China and also feel that it is where I have a comparative advantage both in language and culture. I speak fluent Mandarin, Cantonese and English and have lived or worked in many Asian countries.”

Indeed, U.S. and European companies consider many Chinese M.B.A. graduates ideal managers because of their knowledge of languages and business customs. They also have studied the ways of Western companies in business school so they can relate well to their employer’s management style.

“Chinese students are more valuable back in their home country where they can charge a premium for their expertise,” says Mark Wilkins, president of Stampede, who last year hired a Chinese graduate from the University at Buffalo to represent the distributor of electronic products in Shenzhen, China. “We needed his knowledge of the country and language because doing business in China is all about relationships.”

Johnson & Johnson, which has had business operations in China from more than two decades, also is finding it easier to recruit Chinese nationals and has already hired 13 this school year for its pharmaceutical and medical-device businesses. Irene DeNigris, director of global university recruitment, seeks M.B.A. graduates who have acquired both general-management skills and the ability to work in cross-cultural teams in business school.

“Salaries are much better than five years ago” in China, she says, but she acknowledges that student-loan repayment still poses a financial challenge for some M.B.A. graduates there. J&J and other companies offer bonuses, housing allowances and other incentives to help ease the loan burden.

Some Chinese students still prefer to spend at least a year or two working in the U.S., both to repay some of their education debt from their higher income and to learn about Western business practices firsthand. Zhou Yu, an M.B.A. and computational finance student at Carnegie Mellon University, has accepted a job in fixed-income strategy at Citigroup because he believes some experience in New York should make him “more marketable.” But in a few years, he and his wife hope to return to their families in Beijing.

Likewise, Qin Yu, an M.B.A. student at Ohio State University, plans to start with Intel as a senior financial analyst in the U.S. before heading back to China as a manager for the chip maker. “Most major U.S. companies have an operation in China now, so going back to China is not so bad,” he says. “But before I go, I need to work in America to better understand the business culture. Academic experience alone is not sufficient.”

Tech Flocks To Shanghai

HONG KONG – Lured by the vast size of China’s domestic market and its lower labor costs, plus a raft of corporate tax breaks, foreign technology companies are setting up shop in Shanghai in droves.

According to a report from Russell Reynolds Associates based on Shanghai government statistics, 144 foreign companies now have their Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, 48 of which established operations there only in the last year.

Alcatel (nyse: ALA – news – people ) was the first major multinational to make the move in 2001; now there are 11 in Shanghai.

This list includes AlliedSignal, Delphi (nyse: DPH – news – people ), FedEx (nyse: FDX – news – people ), General Electric (nyse: GE – news – people ), General Motors (nyse: GM – news – people ) , Goodyear Tire, IBM (nyse: IBM – news – people ) , Johnson & Johnson (nyse: JNJ – news – people ), Kodak (nyse: EK – news – people ), Rhodia (nyse: RHA – news – people ), Roche and Sharpe.

Russell Reynolds said 15% of the top 50 U.S. tech companies now have their Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, compared to 40% in Singapore, the city dubbed “Asia for beginners,” and 20% in Hong Kong.

Of the top 50 European technology companies, the executive search firm said 14% have their regional headquarters in Shanghai, 50% are in Singapore and 4% are in Hong Kong.

Beyond the tax breaks, low manufacturing costs and the desire to have executives on the ground in what many believe will soon be one of the most lucrative markets in the world, the report said one of the top reasons companies set up regional HQs in Shanghai is to make a political statement to the Chinese government.

The negatives of operating out of Shanghai include a lack of experienced talent at the executive level and the high cost of expatriate housing and schooling, often higher than comparable cost in Singapore.

Shu-Ching Jean Chen, Forbes

Recruitment Supervisor — A Top Electronic Company, Fortune 500

Reports to (Job Title): HR Manager
Location:KunShan

JOB SUMMARY:
This position will mainly focus on the recruitment and employee relationship function, reporting to HR manager.
Work with the HR Manager to do workforce needs analysis and design annual recruiting plan, also involved in headcount budgeting. Establish a job description bank based on existing resources .Work with the HR manager to improve the recruitment process

Duties & Responsibilities: % of Time
1.Set up the Requirement system, included the Testing program, salary strategy, interview program, candidates general evaluate.
2.Evaluate the recruitment efficiency and take action for improvement accordingly.
3.Screen profile of applicants and conduct first round test and interview.
4.Involved in negotiating the offer and all follow up services for new employees.
5.Build up database of talents for the Company. Keep long term relationship with the potential candidates.
6.Be responsible for employee relation build up.
7.Establish a staff communication system and process.
8.Conduct regular staff meeting to understand staff motivations and recommend to management for improving the overall environment.

Qualifications:
Education/Knowledge: University graduates, major of psychology or human resource are a plus.
Experience:
5+years experience (Manager position should have 8+ years experience) in human resource function preferably in MNCs
External & Internal Contacts: Both
Special Skills or Qualifications that are helpful:
1.Have good communication skills and the ability to communicate in English at an international level, face to face and by telephone and e-mail.
2.Be able to divide and control his/her attention to the different projects that are being dealt with.
3.The labor market for certain areas is intensively competitive. To fulfill the recruitment cases in terms of quality of people, delivery speed etc. sometimes is challenging.
4.University graduates, major of psychology or human resource is a plus.
5.Good interpersonal skills and good at communicating, judgment, planning and organizing.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to:
topjob_hr084ks@dacare.com