(2 of 4)
Out of the confusion, however, emerge some clear rules: be patient, be friendly, and above all be prepared. "For a negotiation that would take six months some place else, anticipate that it will take at least two months longer in China," advises Eric Kalkhurst, North Asia sales director for Fluor Corp., which has won a fat contract to develop a Chinese copper mine. And that is after a delegation visits Peking; wangling an invitation to go there often takes much longer. Some deals signed last fall were the fruit of contacts that were made as early as 1972.
Opening procedure: write to a Chinese ministry or government-run Foreign Trade Corporation that might be interested in a product or service. Include in the packet a proposal, plus all the technical data that can be amassed—papers, speeches, manuals—and the company annual report. The Chinese want to study in advance everything about a firm. Send several copies: the Chinese may want to distribute the material widely, but they are woefully short of Xerox machines.
Then wait, and be ready for mystery; one U.S. executive corresponded for years with a Chinese official who signed himself, Get Smart-style, as M 903. A breakthrough can come when least expected. An American businessman was sitting in a dentist's chair in Hong Kong having a tooth drilled, when a messenger rushed in with news that a Chinese official whom he had been trying to get an appointment with for weeks wanted to meet him in the street immediately. Once invited to Peking, rule No. 1 is never go alone. The Chinese will ask more, and more detailed, questions than any one executive can answer. Depending on the importance of the deal, a good-size delegation would be from four to six: some experts who can discuss the details, and one or two top officers who can sign on the spot if asked. They should go with a commitment to stay as long as necessary.
Negotiating sessions generally consist of a morning meeting from 9 until noon, a break for lunch, then an hour or two in the afternoon; each session opens with a pot of steaming green tea. All are conducted in English, through an interpreter supplied by the Chinese. (Japanese businessmen complain that they face a greater language barrier than Americans, since many more Chinese speak English than Japanese.) Nonetheless, it is wise for Americans to bring their own interpreter, if they can find one skilled in both the Chinese language and U.S. business terms. Misunderstandings do occur; once some Boeing negotiators, slipping into airline slang, referred to a small bulkhead in a 747 jet, where food trays or small luggage can be stored, as a "doghouse." After many blank stares, the puzzled Chinese asked, "Why design your airplanes to accommodate dogs?"