Saturday, May 21, 2011
China Business Travel 101
Ever wondered if you could deal directly with manufacturers ... China? It's easier than you think.
First Impressions
I visited China in Autumn 2005 with a group of business associates and I have to admit I was surprised both by the warm welcome we received everywhere we went, and we visited the factories . It has never been there before, and have only news accounts of "problems" between China and the United States to feed my imagination, I assumed things would be too formal and official, at best ... at worst, cold ... and we would be "seen" at all times. I was so wrong on both counts. We were treated like welcome guests and only had to ask hotel staff to do anything to have almost magically produced.
Lost in Translation:
Apart from the hotels and manufacturing facilities, operating on the streets and small shops was mostly very difficult. We have organized our site visits and business meetings with our contacts in China, and there was no problem on that side when it comes to language. But once we left our side, who rarely find anyone - not even in stores for tourists - who could communicate in English at all. The next time you visit China, I hope to be armed with little more than a few phrases in Mandarin, but to all visitors, even just for fun, I recommend hiring translators to help.
Species in China:
Another word of warning: the home business owners in the States can be suitably impressed with your Gold Card, but the Chinese grocery store is just a nice piece of plastic that will not buy a cup of Chinese tea. Even in big cities, you have to carry around Chinese Yuan (aka RMB) in cash if you want to be able to go shopping or eating out. I must say that the rise of this is that you will not find you within your budget. But with the incredibly low price Chinese retail, which would probably not happen anyway.
Reduced retail prices:
Once you have overcome communication difficulties you may be surprised to find deals to be found in small shops. To begin with, is a paradise of electronics. Just make sure you do your homework on what will and will not run back to the United States. Of course it is easy to carry personal purchases, but the actual value becomes even more attractive ideas to start selling the house.
Factories in China
Our visit to a factory in Huizhou all of us. . . and "impressed" does not seem a strong enough word. The building, which was a sort of soft look with banners here and there, but the inside was a different story. First, they treated us like we were VIPs instead of mid-level managers of Kenosha. More importantly, however, the level of automation in this factory has been remarkable, even by American standards, and if you look at the numbers, is that productivity is impressive. No longer a mystery to this American why China is finding a ready market in the United States. Back Again:
I wish I had more than seven days, we were able to stay in China, but it will not be long before I'm back, this time with a group of my friends who heard me talking about business opportunities when I came back ... and now want to go there to get a piece of the action for themselves.
Pictures/SnapShot :
First Impressions
I visited China in Autumn 2005 with a group of business associates and I have to admit I was surprised both by the warm welcome we received everywhere we went, and we visited the factories . It has never been there before, and have only news accounts of "problems" between China and the United States to feed my imagination, I assumed things would be too formal and official, at best ... at worst, cold ... and we would be "seen" at all times. I was so wrong on both counts. We were treated like welcome guests and only had to ask hotel staff to do anything to have almost magically produced.
Lost in Translation:
Apart from the hotels and manufacturing facilities, operating on the streets and small shops was mostly very difficult. We have organized our site visits and business meetings with our contacts in China, and there was no problem on that side when it comes to language. But once we left our side, who rarely find anyone - not even in stores for tourists - who could communicate in English at all. The next time you visit China, I hope to be armed with little more than a few phrases in Mandarin, but to all visitors, even just for fun, I recommend hiring translators to help.
Species in China:
Another word of warning: the home business owners in the States can be suitably impressed with your Gold Card, but the Chinese grocery store is just a nice piece of plastic that will not buy a cup of Chinese tea. Even in big cities, you have to carry around Chinese Yuan (aka RMB) in cash if you want to be able to go shopping or eating out. I must say that the rise of this is that you will not find you within your budget. But with the incredibly low price Chinese retail, which would probably not happen anyway.
Reduced retail prices:
Once you have overcome communication difficulties you may be surprised to find deals to be found in small shops. To begin with, is a paradise of electronics. Just make sure you do your homework on what will and will not run back to the United States. Of course it is easy to carry personal purchases, but the actual value becomes even more attractive ideas to start selling the house.
Factories in China
Our visit to a factory in Huizhou all of us. . . and "impressed" does not seem a strong enough word. The building, which was a sort of soft look with banners here and there, but the inside was a different story. First, they treated us like we were VIPs instead of mid-level managers of Kenosha. More importantly, however, the level of automation in this factory has been remarkable, even by American standards, and if you look at the numbers, is that productivity is impressive. No longer a mystery to this American why China is finding a ready market in the United States. Back Again:
I wish I had more than seven days, we were able to stay in China, but it will not be long before I'm back, this time with a group of my friends who heard me talking about business opportunities when I came back ... and now want to go there to get a piece of the action for themselves.
Pictures/SnapShot :
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