Without marriage: how not to get burned in business with Chinese partners

“Now is the best time for small and medium-sized businesses to establish partnerships with friendly eastern countries — CHINA , Turkey, India — that are members of various economic unions,” said Nikolai Mozhenkov, founder of the Amresearch.me it company and president of the Conclave business club. , many of whose members cooperate with Chinese companies. - The main advice for those who are going to create a joint business with Eastern partners is not to waste time. If before that all entrepreneurs were guided by the principle “measure seven times, cut once”, today it is necessary to act the other way around. Who will be the first, he will occupy a free niche.

But business with China for an unprepared person is like entering the twilight zone, warns Andrey Orlov, HEAD of BRIK Co. Ltd (since 2007 helping clients set up business with China). The Chinese market often creates the illusion of bottomlessness and accessibility, notes Tatyana Shashlova, CEO of RADAR. And he warns: “It is important to understand that this is actually a very developed and highly competitive market. It is naive to think that any business that comes to China will be successful.”

To increase the chances of success, you will have to take into account both the peculiarities of doing business and a completely different mentality. “Many of the customs of this country sometimes seem irrational and even exotic,” comments Natalie Dronova, image and international etiquette consultant. “However, they are based on ancient traditions, and they should be studied in order to establish strong business contacts.” Many large Asian countries continue to be influenced by Confucianism as a philosophy and national psychology, which determines, among other things, the rules of relations in a group, behavior in society, explains Marina Belousova, HR DIRECTOR of Taile, author of the training Adapting to Asia, or Five Secrets business correspondence with Asians. The principles laid down 2500 years ago by Confucius are still alive, although they have been adapted to modern conditions.

RBC Pro learned from experts and companies that have been working with China for a long time, where the peculiarities of national business are manifested most clearly and how to succeed here.