Cross Cultural Communication in CHINA

We :
Amit Kr. Jha
Parikshit Shome
Partho Pratim Bora
Suresh Dash
Samarth Chanda

Welcome to China

CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
OVERVIEW
CHINESE COMMUNICATION CULTURAL
GOLDEN RULE (Key To Success in
CHINA)
REFERENCES

Intro of China
RELIGIONS:

: 1%-2%,

LANGUAGES:

Daoist (
: 3%-4%

),

Mandarin, Yue, Minbei, English

Extremely diverse; tropical in south

to subarctic in north
CLIMATE:

Jiaozi, Baozi (Steamed Buns);

Chaomian (Fried noodles); Chaofen (Fried
Rice); Zhou (Breakfast Food)
FAMOUS DISHES:

FESTIVALS:

History of China

Yangshao Culture (late

Neolithic Period, c. 5000-3000
BC)

Hongshan Culture (c. 3500

BC)

Liangzhu Culture (c. 3300-2200

BC)

Bronze Culture 16th century BC and

flourished for 1000 years

Overview of China
Located in East Asia on the western shore of the
Pacific Ocean
Having a land area of about 9.6 million sq. km
Surrounded by 15 countries
With 5,400 islands in its territory
Being the third largest country in the world
Over 1.3 billion out of total 6.6 billion world population
Literacy rate: 95.1%
Life expectancy: 75.20 years
One child policy since 1978
Poverty rate from 53% in 1981 to 8% by 2001
The 3rd largest importer and 2nd largest exporter

Chinese
Communication Cultural
(Business Etiquette's)

Business Meetings

Assumption : The first person who enters the room is the head of the group.
Appointments are must.
Important guests are usually accompanied to their seats.
When exchanging business cards, hold your card using both hands with the
writing facing the recipient.
Receive the card with both hands, and look at it for a while before putting it in
your pocket.
Card should be exchanged individually.
Meetings begin with small talks. Resist the temptation to get down to business
right away.
Allow the Chinese to leave the meeting first.

Value of Time
Perception about time is linear. (Punctual).
Relatively more attention to the long term future.

Power Structure
Power distance is high with power distance index of 80.

Collectivism
Collectivist Group loyalty, Decision-making oriented to
group welfare.

Spatial Relationships
Touching (i.e. patting someones back or putting an arm
around someone) is uncommon in Chinese culture and will
likely make a Chinese person uncomfortable.

Social distance, or the acceptable distance between two

people, differs significantly in each culture. Americans may
find that Chinese culture is oriented to a closer social
distance.

Greetings
Address a person by his/her family name. In china the
family name comes first.
For business purpose it is traditionally acceptable to
call them by surname, together with a title, such as
Director Wang or Chairman Li
Do not try to become too friendly too soon, and do not
insist them to address you by your given name.
Chinese way of greetings is a nod.
Handshake should be soft and lack of eye contact.

Gift Giving
Gifts in China means you are interested in building a relationship.
Particularly something representative about town, country, or region.
Do not expect your gift to be opened in your presence.
Do not use plain black or white paper gift pack, its a symbol of mourning.
Do not give flowers, clocks, handkerchiefs, umbrella or straw sandals as
they are associated with funerals and death.
Good gifts: Banquets, Fine Pen, Food items (Well packed).
Present gifts with both hands and mention its a small token of
appreciation.
Four is an unlucky number. Eight is the luckiest number.

Golden Rules
Key to Success in China
Change course from time to time.
Be prepared to tell white lies.
Have a lot of patience.
Do not try to change them. They are the way they are.
Carry a lot of Maggie, and readymade foods if you are a vegetarian.
Be prepared to eat new kinds of meat in the name of chicken.
Be prepared to face some of the hardest and longest negotiations
youve ever seen.
Be prepared to know that in most cases they dont know the value of
lifetime customers.
And last but not the least learn the sign language, as they dont
understand English and they wont for another decade, and you cant
learn Chinese.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_culture
http://www.cultural-china.com/
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/