China- Britain Business Council (Continued)

telecoms equipment were only a fifth of their peak levels. It is
therefore essential to ensure that your research is up to date –
what might have been true a year ago may no longer be the case
today.

You may have been told that China is a “difficult” market or that
it’s hard to make money there. Yes, things might go terribly wrong,
but that is a risk that you take when doing business anywhere.
There are many UK companies of all sizes currently doing well in
China. There’s no reason why yours shouldn’t be one of them if
the demand for your product or service is there.

Western business visitors are often deadline-driven and unwilling
to slow down to the Chinese pace when discussing business. But
in China the pace can be fast and slow simultaneously. Those
involved in negotiations know how long they can drag on when the
Chinese side is consulting internally or has other reasons for delay.
But Chinese negotiators can move with lightning speed on other
occasions and exhaust Western business visitors and local
partners in consecutive midnight meetings when a deadline
is looming.

Speedy conclusion of business like this always results in
extremely tight equipment/service delivery dates. Part of this
feeling is subjective. Any chess player knows how long one has to
wait for the other player and yet how fast one must move oneself.
Nevertheless, Chinese negotiators use time more consciously
than do their Western counterparts.

Top 10 tips when doing business with China

If you would like to explore the Chinese market, below are our
top ten tips that will help you make the most of the opportunities
China presents:

1. Prepare well. There is plenty of information about the
Chinese market available from reliable sources in the UK.
Save time and money by researching these first, then fill in
the gaps while in China.

You will be able to find out much valuable free information from
carrying out desk research. A good place to start is the UK Trade
& Investment (UKTI) website (www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk) which
provides detailed country and sector information. Registering
on the website, which is free, provides you with a number of
additional benefits such as access to business opportunities,
country-specific sector reports and information alerts. It also
enables you to self-manage the information you receive.

The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) website
(www.cbbc.org) also has a large amount of good quality
information on China, and both sites provide links to other
useful websites. Up-to-date information on political and economic
developments in China, as well as information on aspects of doing
business there, can also be found in the business press and trade
magazines. Once you have gained a clearer idea of the China
market and what you want to achieve, it is time to start making
contact with the specialists and exploring what kind of tailored
research you might need to make an effective entry into the
market. Both UKTI and CBBC offer a range of services to
businesses.

Another source of information is the Hong Kong Trade
Development Council (HKTDC) website (www.tdctrade.com),
which can assist UK companies wishing to do business with China
via Hong Kong.

There are also many professional and legal firms, as well as
private sector consultancies, which provide services to companies
looking to do business with China.

2. Select the right person. Choose someone in the company to
lead on your China activities. Success demands a person with
the right mix of seniority, technical knowledge, energy, patience
and enthusiasm.

3. Pitch well. Prepare a concise presentation about your
company, products and services, backed up by a written
translation in Chinese. Without exaggerating, talk up your size,
capabilities and existing customers. This will help establish
credibility with the Chinese side.

4. Be patient. Building trust takes time in China and cannot
be rushed. Meetings and banquets are part of the business
process and a vital part of building the relationships and
friendships necessary for business.

5. Make an effort. Showing the Chinese side that you know a
little about the situation in China and that you can even say
a few words in Chinese are huge icebreakers and can provide
the foundation for a productive relationship.

6. Maintain focus. After finding your feet, try to build relationships
strategically with your eyes firmly fixed on the intended
outcome. Enjoy, but do not become too distracted by hospitality
and well meaning rhetoric.

7. Show you care. On a personal and business level, show you
are genuinely interested in the problems and challenges faced
by the Chinese side and try to become part of the solution. Look
for opportunities to make your contacts gain face and never cause
them to lose face.

8.  Show commitment. There is no automatic pilot for business
in China. Keep your customers and contacts warm through
regular visits, establish a presence on the ground with a Chinese
representative and express sentiments of long term cooperation
and mutual benefit.

9. Be flexible. Don’t come to China with fixed ideas, fixed
methods and fixed prices. Be prepared in advance to
compromise, negotiate and make concessions, without losing
your shirt. Keep an eye out for unanticipated opportunities that
may come from unlikely sources and, when they appear, give
them due consideration.

10. Never think you know it all. China can frustrate, confound
and delight foreigners in equal measure. Never make
assumptions about any situation or relationship. There is always
something new to learn.