China Partner

The 80ies generation of the big cities is critical towards Westerners, which is very good as they ask don’t take us as gods as their parents do. They request knowledge as they want to learn from us. But as the school system is very „streamlined“ – it consists of learning by heart, and not questionning [...]

The 80ies and 90ies are different from all other generations. Not only for us – but also for the Chinese! The generation 40+: expects a life long support from the enterprise, believes in Western managers, obeys and works dilligently. Having missed 10 years of school from 1966 – 76, they have often a simple education. [...]

China is the most competitive market in the world. To find – and keep – outstanding personnel is quite a challenge. We often lack the guidelines to distinguish between very good, good and average job candidates. The documents they send don’t help us much as they are in Chinese – and can be bought! If [...]

Today I was driven to the “New Town” of Kunming by a friend: the whole city government and all the universities of Yunnan have been moved to this place. The whole area has the size of Frankfurt! It’s a gigantic new city with an impressive infrastructure, built from scratch – also with the help of [...]

Naturally China isn’t only business partner, but more and more competitor. As the Japanese and South Koreans before, Chinesen are incredibly fast learners. They lack our arrogance. Their ability to and learn lead to them starting with small steps as is very well researched in one of my favorite books „The Dragons at your Door [...]

Looking forward to your comments! Do the Chinese really lose face? View more presentations from Daniela Fehring

Interestingly enough our culture often influences our perception. Our „either – or” thinking pattern leads frequently to the discussion whether China is a business partner or competitor. I believe in the Chinese Yin & Yang version: China is both at the same time! To get China as a partner, you first need to invest: Time [...]

I can’t believe my eyes, but it’s true: Interlaken lies directly in front of me, lovely mountains at the back – and almost immediately at its side wonderful Chinese tea gardens. If not for the many Chinese visitors, I wouldn’t believe to be in China. An excellent show in the middle of the park mixes [...]

I often hear that German engineers fly to China to participate in negotations or meetings without understanding what has been talken about. When I ask for the purpose of the trip, they tell me that their „China man“ had asked for it. If I ask: „Where was your translator?“ they tell me „That’s our China [...]

To establish a really good communication channel, it is necessary for both sides to learn the other’s language. Ideally the language level would be so high that all discussions could be in Chinese, German or English. As that might still be a dream for some time, I’d like to make another point: if you learn [...]