Doing Business in China For Dummies®

Communicating Effectively Outside the Meeting Room

Because the Chinese value personal relationships, people prefer to do most business in person. However, with mobile phone use in China growing by leaps and bounds, getting in touch with the Chinese by phone is becoming an option. And other forms of electronic media, such as the Internet and text-messaging, are creating more opportunities to communicate with the Chinese, which is good for your business.

Using the telephone

People are doing more and more business on the telephone in China. Mobile phone use in China is skyrocketing. (In China, they prefer the term mobile phone to cellphone.) Mobile phone users in China now number close to 500 million, and around 50 million new mobile phone users are added each year in China.

Don’t work by phone on important business matters unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Reaching people in their offices

Reaching someone by the office telephone is difficult in China. Executives often aren’t around because they’re too busy in face-to-face meetings all day. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get through at all and the phone just continues to ring and ring.

Most senior Chinese businesspeople still rely on assistants to answer their telephones at the office. However, trying to reach your contact’s assistant isn’t easy, either. Get to know the office assistant — perhaps the assistant can give you a direct ...