Chinese Business Etiquette (Part 2 - During a Meeting)

Summary

(In this article, I will use the word "senior" and "highest ranking person" interchangeably; the meaning is the same.)

  • After entering a meeting or any setting, the highest ranking or senior person will always step in first and the others follow.
  • When you greet a group, you should always greet the highest ranking person first.
  • Do try to greet everyone in the group. For example, if you shake the first person's hand, you should shake the hand of everyone present in that meeting.
  • When sitting down, the Chinese people will sit in order of rank as well. The highest ranking person from one party should sit in front of the highest ranking person from the other party.
  • Tea will be served at the beginning of the banquet.
  • At the beginning of the banquet, the Chinese people tend to talk about something other than business. Often, the people may ask some personal questions. Do not be alarmed.
  • Do not discriminate, show sexism, or ignore the women in the work place. In China, women do play a big role in decision making.
  • Meetings mostly will take a long period of time.
  • Even when cell phones ring constantly, you should not ask people to turn off their phones.
  • In a meeting, there will only be one representative on each side that has permission to speak. Most of the time, the representatives are the two senior people present in the meeting at the time.
  • If for some reasons, the Chinese representative is not the senior person in the meeting, then you should not be offended. This just means that the lower ranking person understands the world more than the senior does. In turn, make an effort to communicate better.
  • Interrupting a conversation while others are talking is considered inappropriate and rude. If you want to speak, try to raise your hand before doing so.
  • Sometimes, the senior person may lean over to the representative and whisper in his/her ear, and vice versa. It is normal, and you should not be alarmed.
  • Each person will take a turn dominating the floor for a period of time to appeal his/her case.
  • There are times a person will dominate the floor for a very long time but not say anything to explain or contribute to the nature of the business. Please be patient and listen because the speech sometimes contains a subliminal message.
  • When you are preparing for the presentation, you should concentrate on providing the long term goals rather than short term.
  • Be careful about using color in your presentation because color has special meaning to it. For example, do not use red as a highlight, underline, or font color, because it is considered to be bad luck.
  • Black on white background is very acceptable.
  • It is appropriate for you to take notes during a meeting; however, it is inappropriate for you to record the meeting.
  • Even when the contract is has already been signed, the Chinese people may still ask you to change it so be prepared.
  • You should not tell the Chinese company when your return date is going to be, because they may force a deal on you at the last minute or change the contract.
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Raphita Tobing