China Business Stereotypes. Enlightenment Needed.

A couple days ago, we did a post, entitled, “Outsourcing IT To China. Fear Not?”  The thrust of the post was whether it is safe to outsource IT to China.  The post was based on that question being asked as part of a Computer Weekly survey.  In our post, we talked of how on many important statistical measures China scores considerably better than India, and yet one rarely hears businesses talking about being afraid to outsource their IT to India.

At one point in the post though, I noted how “I am of the view that in the end the best analysis is by company, not by country.”  In response to that, a very worldly client-friend of mine called to say that not choosing by company is a common form of stereotyping and then talked of how that sort of thing goes on all the time.  He’s absolutely right and I have to admit that I have been guilty of it myself.

I own two German cars and one Japanese one.  True to stereotype, the German cars have amazing engines, but mediocre electronics and ergonomics and the Japanese car has a good engine with excellent electronics and ergonomics. For years, I took the German cars to a repair shop run by a Teutonic looking older guy who spoke with a German accent and looked like he stepped out of a TV Ad as the head engineer at Mercedes. Then he retired and a Greek guy took over.  The changing of the guard gave me pause.

I used to occasionally buy lunch from a small local grocer, with a really good gourmet deli counter. The grocery was run by a very polished looking 45ish caucasion woman with a French accent. When it was sold to a Korean couple, I immediately worried about how the food might go downhill.

I would like to think (and claim) that my worries were just about going from one owner to another, but I have to admit they went beyond that.  I mean, if we are being honest here, we would admit to a certain comfort in having a German fix our car and a Frenchwoman fix our lunch. Ugh.

One of the great things about China is that it is so huge and so diverse that stereotyping becomes more difficult, but it happens nonetheless.  I cringe every time one of our clients proclaims how “the Chinese just can’t be trusted.”  I virtually always counter that by saying that my firm has had long-term great relationships with a number of law firms in China and trust has never once been an issue.  I then usually follow that up by saying that we have a number of clients that have had twenty plus year relationships with their Chinese factories without a single incident involving deception.  This is but one common example.

So what are the stereotypes that you have found yourself harboring about Chinese companies that you know to be unfair or just plain irrational? What China business stereotypes did you once harbor but have been proven wrong such that you have now managed to banish them from your thoughts.  The last thing I am asking here is for China-bashing and I will delete such comments. What I am seeking here is comments that will help all of us expand our minds when it comes to doing business with China.  Enlightment sought here.  Please help.

We will be discussing the practical aspects of Chinese law and how it impacts business there. We will be telling you what works and what does not and what you as a businessperson can do to use the law to your advantage. Our aim is to assist businesses already in China or planning to go into China, not to break new ground in legal theory or policy.