5 Reasons why a Saudi organization needs an experienced advisor when engaging with Chinese companies

Before you listen to any advice make sure you talk to people that understand China!

China is huge, complex, and misunderstood by foreigners. Many books have been written about China. Sadly, most publications are still written by Western authors who do not understand China. Their thoughts are often inaccurate, unhelpful, and misleading. To understand China, you must live in China, live with Chinese, do business in China, understand the culture.

The crucial starting point is the Chinese language. You never will understand China or the Chinese people without speaking, reading, and writing Chinese fluently. You always will be an outsider and mostly miss what is truly going on.

Chinese culture is very deep and subtle based on more than five thousand years of history. Few people speak directly what they want to communicate with words. The message is between the lines. The meaning is found in the interactions, in relations, and understanding of context that is constantly evolving.

Why you should consider listening to a person like me

While nobody has all the answers on China – not even any Chinese person – arguable I have earned an opinion:

Since 2002 I have lived and done many projects in China. I was one of the first foreigners in modern China to manage operations of a Chinese State-owned enterprise. I have been key part of the business success stories of several very famous Chinese companies. I helped transform the manufacturing supply chain across China, visiting and auditing factories & entire companies, making executive recommendations for companies who to partner with.

I have also worked in leadership positions for several Western top brands to successfully develop their strategies, build their operations and successfully implement their projects. I speak and read/ write the Chinese language. I am still passionately studying Chinese history, culture, arts, literature as well as business negotiations as a pursuit in life.

Five reasons you need to get advice and on-going support from an expert to work with Chinese companies:

First: Chinese people are trained to compete very hard (please note: I refer to people/ decision makers above 30 years of age; the younger Chinese generation(s) are increasingly influenced by social media culture)

From childhood on Chinese people a trained to compete: The competition is merciless in China. Move forward or fall behind. Constantly perform or be replaced. Never relax, always strive to achieve more. The toughest rivals are often own family members, best friends, husband or wife.

Second: Chinese people are very diligent and strong IQ

There are tens of thousands of Chinese characters. Writing and learning those trains diligence. Memorizing long lists of information in the Chinese education system, trains people to remember and process large sets of information.

Third: Chinese people are committed life-long learners and constantly improve

Growing up in Germany, I always have been trying to learn from the best. Chinese people take that to mastery. Within two decades modern China has grown from poor people on bicycle to affluent, educated people that travel on their own bullet trains with the fastest speed in the world.

Chinese always want to learn, advance, and improve mentally and economically. While in other cultures asking questions appears to go against the pride of people, Chinese people are humble (and smart) enough to get close to anyone who can teach them and learn everything about the expert’s skill. Then the Chinese apply the skills for achieving their own success.

Fourth: Chinese language itself includes deep wisdom and gives the context of conversations

Chinese sayings are quoted around the world for their wisdom and practicality. There are thousands of sayings.

Many expressions that are used in daily life are based on a historic story, which carries great insight and advice. A foreigner not speaking/ reading Chinese will miss out all the wisdom. Further, Chinese people may propose an idea or summarize/ resolve a situation by simply referring to an expression (that may only have four characters). All is then said , and nothing left to be added. Consequently, China-uneducated foreigners miss the entire essence of conversations because they do not know the Chinese language.

Fifth: Chinese culture is embedded with wisdom, warfare tactics and strategizing

Chinese strategists and masters of warfare have developed many tactics that helped them to win astonishing victories. These techniques have been recorded over thousands of years and have been applied successfully in politics, business, and negotiations. Chinese people grow up with such teachings that and apply those naturally. Sometimes they react to highly complex situations in smart, tactical ways automatically, often not being aware of it.

As anecdote: I fervently studied Chinese philosophy, literature, sayings, expressions, and tactics. Every time I got a few hours I rushed to a park or tea place to write Chinese. It not only relaxed me, but also helped me better understand how the Chinese mind worked. It helped me a lot in business meetings!

I always love to be in Chinese business meetings with foreigners. It can be very entertaining. Suddenly, the Chinese may propose something that appears totally confusing to the China-non educated foreigner. The foreigner tries to figure out the logic behind it, fails to see it and then gets frustrated or even angry. In many cases the Chinese had simple pulled one of the tactics to probe the other side, get information, throw a smoke screen, wear out the other negotiating party or simply test the ability of the foreigner to understand & handle challenges.

In early years when Chinese counterparts tried to pull tactics on me, I made a fun exercise to simply write down every respective tactic in Chinese on a piece of paper visibly to everyone in the meeting. After catching and recording a few of those tactics, other meeting attendants took note. We all started laughing. I earned my respect without saying a word and we usually got to a good meeting outcome. ?

Conclusion

A Japanese saying (yes, I also studied Japanese in Japan) proposes that you cannot see, what you do not know. I hope this article has helped you recognize what you potentially did not know.

Now you will have recognized the challenges effectively engaging with Chinese businesspeople. Going in without an expert who advises and supports you will likely result in frustration and sub-optimal results.

Do you want to (more) effectively engage with Chinese people coming to Saudi Arabia? Talk to me!

China and the Chinese people have much to offer. There are many opportunities of Saudi Arabia government and business to collaborate with Chinese counterparts. I personally love China and the Chinese culture. I would be happy to help you more understand/ appreciate the Chinese and guide/ support you to even better business outcome. Reach out to me any time at [email protected]

iValue

I am part of iValue Management Consulting ( ivalueconsult.com ) , working closely with the CEO to deliver innovative, practical and value-adding services & solutions to distinct clients in Saudi Arabia. iValue is a consulting company with registered offices in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. iValue is very well-connected with government organizations and private companies.

Disclaimer:

This content represents my own personal point of view and does not claim to reflect the opinion of any of my current/ past clients, employers, or partner organizations. There are always different viewpoints, and all have their merits when we discuss in open dialog.