Tips for businessmen selling to Chinese

Press, 25 August 1983, Page 27

Tips for businessmen selling to Chinese

PA Auckland Patience, a steely nerve, and a strong bladder are among the attributes a businessman needs if he is to negotiate successfully with the Chinese, says the chairman of the New ZealandChina Trade Association, Mr Stan Stanworth. Mr Stanworth outlined Chinese negotiating techniques at a trade seminar in Auckland. The Occidental businessman would face long talks, sometimes long periods of staring silence, endless cups of tea and a lot of pressure, he said.

Chinese negotiators placed great emphasis on achieving friendship in busi-' ness though the chat and talk of politics was less then previously and was now limited to half an hour at the beginning and end of meetings. It was a principle he agreed with, he said. The best business deals were made among people who got along well. New Zealand businessmen

should forget their rivalry and agree on price demands for the Chinese market: they were all dealing with the same buyer in one form or another — the Chinese State.

“They are the most clever traders in the world,” Mr Stanworth said.

“They will always ask you your price first — even before you have drunk the first cup of tea. Any answer to this must be avoided at all costs at that stage.” The Chinese would lengthen meetings, particularly the first ones, to see if the foreign businessman lacked patience. “And they distrust fast talkers wanting a quick deal, as some Americans are learning.” First-time negotiators were sometimes daunted to find they are up against a team of up to seven Chinese counterparts, supported by experts. If there was a hold-up in the talks the Chinese might sit without saying a word until they resumed.

“It can be very disconcerting to have three bland or smiling faces looking at you and saying nothing. If you speak, it is the wrong thing to do, whatever you say.”

At least some of the techniques learned through bitter experience were now being reversed on Chinese trade delegations visiting New Zealand. One was to ask when the businessman was leaving. “You find you are given a lot of sightseeing and then the final negotiations are done in the day or two before you leave, when you are under a lot of pressure.”

Mr Stanworth suggested potential exporters keep two days “up their sleeve” to combat that. The Chinese took careful notes throughout of everything said by both parties sometimes to embarrassing effect. Mr Stanworth said he had had his comments quoted back to him as much as three years later. Other tips Mr Stanworth has for the New Zealand

businessman: • Get an invitation to visit first. A person could not just apply for a visa and then go and negotiate, he said. The best place to get an invitation was the Canton Fair, held twice a year. - • Go as part of a delegation if possible. This made access to the people much easier, Mr Stanworth said. © Business cards and product literature should be printed in both English and Chinese. These are easily obtained in Hong Kong. • Small personal gifts to exchange, unacceptable two or three years ago, are now acceptable.

• The businessman will be met at the airport and probably given a dinner. It was sensible to give a dinner for the hosts in return at the end of negotiations, said Mr Stanworth. It cost only about SNZ23 a head for an eight-course meal. © Chinese interpreters are excellent but businessmen should not be afraid to ask politely for some added assistance if having trouble with highly technical terms.