Many westerners seem to feel that Chinese people must be depressed given that by western standards Chinese society lacks certain personal freedoms, democracy and justice. But walking down the street in Chinese cities, it¡¯s hard to see much evidence of people being ¡°depressed¡±.
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Not being able to speak Chinese might be a problem but hiring the wrong interpreter will make matters worse. While having an interpreter can be a simple solution to overcoming the language barrier, it is important to be aware of and avoid some common mistakes.
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Ambiguity is so deeply rooted in Chinese culture that Westerners simply need to get used to having nebulous conversations. Westerners often find the Chinese way of talking about business bizarre ¨C they tend to spend ages talking about irrelevant topics and may even be unfocused and unclear when they finally start discussing the ¡°real¡± topic.
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Australians and Chinese differ when it comes to trust. Cecilia Fan looks at the distinctions. The Chinese tend to think many Westerners are na?ve and too quick to trust others. At the same time, Westerners may find that little trust exists among Chinese people, and within Chinese society.
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Street market stall tactics won¡¯t necessarily get you far across the business table, yet many people seem inclined to follow this approach into the business world, despite the fact that market bargaining and business negotiations are not comparable in many areas.
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Westerners need to understand that Chinese professions of inferiority are cultural, not an opening for tough negotiation points. The ability to laugh at themselves, self-criticise and go through a self-realisation journey, has always been treated as a virtue in Chinese culture.
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Relationships in China are important, but need to be closely examined if you are to understand why some things work and others don¡¯t. The intimacy and closeness of the relationship amongst the Chinese is sometimes admired and appreciated by westerners.
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Why do some companies, with formidable reputations behind them, stumble when they hit the Chinese ground? Many reputable companies and industry leaders find themselves feeling extremely frustrated in the Chinese market. These are acknowledged professionals with proven track records outside of China. What is going on?
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Different attitudes to the contract can impact on cross-cultural business dealings. The Chinese have a reputation for "not abiding by the contract." They don't pay on time, they request additional services and they want to change contractual terms after everything has been agreed ¨C they're trouble.
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Examines the differences between Western and Chinese approaches to backing a business idea, and finds Chinese takes greater risks with less information - not necessarily a bad thing.
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Australia is playing an increasing role in educating Chinese students, with rapid increases in the size and importance of the Australian education industry.
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Beijing based Cecilia Fan talks to Chinese returnees who have studied in Australia and asks how the country can improve its value add for education exports. ? With over A$3 billion yearly earnings, Australia's education exports rank among the top eight Australian export industries.
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