A survival guide for negotiations in China
Since the economic reforms started in 1987 China became a vast, fast-changing country with exploding economic opportunities. China’s GDP growth rate (USD) peaked at 14% in 2007 and stabilized around 7.5% from 2012 to 2014. (The World Bank Group, 2015) In the last two decades many Western corporations showed increasing interests in expanding their business to one of the largest economic systems as well as in building business partnerships with Chinese Companies.
A critical skill for building a business or partnership in China is negotiating. Some knowledge about Chinese cultural aspects and negotiation styles is a must when entering this market. The first part of this paper focuses on how to prepare for a negotiation. The second part concentrates on general negotiation tactics and what a negotiator should know before starting a negotiation process in China.