Business Negotiations in China

I just got a chance to watch this video about conducting business negotiations in China. The speaker has years of international business and negotiations under his belt and his tallk about business negotiations in China reminds me a lot about my encounters in China.

[googlevideo]4634363396909200237&q[/googlevideo]

Testified by my own encounters, what the speaker says about business negotiations in China is fairly true, especially in the following aspects:

1. The Chinese like to tell you they look for a win win deal in business. But in reality, they look for a deal that they win only.

2. Contracts mean nothing in China. They can be changed, modified and ignored any time any place.

3. The Chinese are very patient in the negotiation process. They wait to wear you out and then get the upper hand when you are most tired.

4. The Chinese take time to find out more about you and your business and they never strike a deal with you right away.  So if you’re imbued with western culture, and aim to get the deal sealed as soon as possible, do remember this cultural difference.

5. The Chinese will tell you that you cannot do this and do that because the regulations forbid it. Don’t trust them. Go and find out the truth yourself and in most of the cases you will find that your Chinese negotiation counterparts did not tell the truth.

And of course, “mianzi”, the face, is very important to the Chinese and if you can give them some face in the negotiation, they will be happy and may in the end reciprocate. 

I am a Chinese but I am very discomfortable with the Chinese culture exhibited in business negotiations. What does this tell?