Doing Business in China For Dummies®

Contact: Working Your Network

Getting access to government officials can be challenging at times, but this section provides you with several good approaches. You can use one or all of the suggested methods.

Getting your Chinese employees to make connections

Most senior Chinese business executives know the right way to get access to Chinese government officials. They know how to build a network of relationships that can help support your business activities. They also understand the right way to go about using Chinese protocol to gain access to certain officials. Relying on your local senior management team to build the right relationships is a good approach to bettering your government relations.

Calling in company big shots to access senior officials

Sometimes, due to their relative position within the company, your senior Chinese executives may be unable to gain access to specific government officials. Chinese companies view hierarchy as very important, so only people at certain levels can talk formally to the same level of person at another company or organization. Often, your company can gain access to more senior Chinese officials by wheeling in your company’s C-level people (CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and so on).

If you plan to get your company’s C-level executives to meet Chinese officials, start planning the visit well in advance. We recommended that you start at least two months ahead of time. And don’t be surprised to get confirmation of the meeting just weeks or possibly days ...