Doing business in China? Then you'll be attending lots of meetings!
If you’re attending meetings in China, then it’s important to understand a little about Chinese culture and how meetings are run.
To get you started, we’ve pulled together a simple slide show which outlines some of the most important considerations.
These tips can help you understand the Chinese approach to meetings and how this may differ from your own expectations as well as help you create new strategies on how to create positive outcomes.
Slideshow: Tips on Meetings with the Chinese
The considerations in the slide show below include reference to:
• Important Chinese cultural values such as harmony, group, hierarchy, guanxi and mianzi
• The need to build trusting relationships with your Chinese peers if you’re to get things done
• The importance of guanxi and mianzi in networking and trust-building
• Important behaviours to avoid if you’re to protect the ‘face’ of your Chinese peers
• The role of the ‘group’ in Chinese meeting structures
• The importance of hierarchy in the way people are treated and seated
• Prolonged decision making due to the need for the Chinese team to reach consensus
The slideshow below has more tips.
Take a Course on Doing Business with the Chinese
If you want to learn more, why not sign-up for our Chinese online e-Learning cultural training program ?
It's jam-packed with guidance, practical insights, quizzes, case studies and resources.
Developed by Chinese culture and business specialists, this course will get you off on the right foot and help you to engage productively and positively with your Chinese peers.
Here's a preview for you.
Image by Richter Frank-Jurgen on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)