Meeting

GENERAL

Business meetings with the Chinese follow a set of protocols that all Westerners should be familiar with. As in many other areas of Chinese life, there are steps to the business meeting many of which are formalistic and based on tradition. Understanding how these business meetings are arranged and conducted can help Westerners have a more productive and successful meeting with the Chinese colleagues.

ARRANGING

Arranging a meeting with the Chinese can be a relatively involved process that may require more than a simple phone call. This is especially true when one is seeking a meeting with a government organization. Chinese organizations will be reluctant to agree to a meeting with people they are unfamiliar with. Hence, if a prior relationship has not already been established, be prepared to provide the Chinese with written background information about your organization as well as the purpose of the meeting in advance. If the Chinese are the party requesting the meeting, they have likely already done their research about your firm. In this case, many of the initial administrative hurdles in setting up the meeting will not be an issue.

The Chinese will want to know as much about you as possible before agreeing to any formal meeting. They will carefully study the materials you provide. Therefore, it is important to provide them with all necessary and requested information and to also allow them adequate time to review what you have submitted. The Chinese prefer information in advance for two main reasons. First, they generally do not like surprises in business and want to know all they can in advance so they have time to discuss among themselves and be as prepared as possible. This is somewhat different than in Western culture where business meetings are often an opportunity to “unveil” a new product or service and assess initial client/customer reaction. Second, providing the Chinese with adequate information will help ensure that the proper representatives from the Chinese organization will attend the meeting. Chinese officials often have limited authority to act within a meeting and may be also be restricted to discussing only specific issues or topics. Westerners should give the Chinese enough information beforehand to ensure that those who attend the meeting for the Chinese can speak to-and act upon-the meeting agenda.

It is not uncommon that the Chinese reschedule business meetings and/or who will attend on their behalf until the last minute. Westerners should not be surprised if a meeting which was arranged well in advance has been rescheduled or if a specific individual will no longer be attending. The Chinese may even wait until you arrive in China–or as late as the anticipated day of the meeting–before a specific meeting time is arranged. Generally, the more high-ranking the government official or business executive, the more likely meeting arrangements will be finalized at the last minute. Westerners need to be aware of how the Chinese operate in this regard and try to maintain relatively flexible schedules during their stay in China.

BEGINNING

Always arrive on time to your meeting. The Chinese value punctuality and see it as a sign of respect. Always apologize if you arrive late to a meeting. Conversely, do not arrive too early. The Chinese may feel embarrassed if you arrive early and they are not fully prepared to receive you. Arriving five minutes before the scheduled meeting time should be fine. Guests will almost always be greeted upon their arrival by the host’s representative. This person will lead the guests into the meeting room where the host (and other attendees) may already be waiting to greet you. Meetings are almost always held in rooms specifically designated for business discussions. Do not expect to meet in someone’s office or room where firm or government employees are working. Meeting rooms generally come in two forms. First, a Western-style conference room which contains a long, rectangular conference table with some limited furniture on the perimeter of the room. Second, some meeting rooms are simply lined with couches and chairs along the perimeter with “coffee table” style tables placed throughout.

The highest-ranking guest should enter the room first as whoever enters first will be assumed by the Chinese to be the leader of the group. All other guests should enter thereafter by rank. Interpreters are the only individuals who generally break up the rank as the party enters the room. After shaking hands with their hosts, guests are led to their seats. The seating arrangement in business meetings with the Chinese is very important. Where one sits and whom he/she sits with denotes which party s/he represents as well as his/her rank within the party. Refer to the module on seating arrangements for more information on the proper place to sit during a business meeting.

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