To surprise people by making an excellent offer (price and product), that Chinese business partners cannot refuse, is certainly not appreciated. When you start immediately with a bid in the sense of 'now or never', that always turns out wrong. Putting people under pressure at an early stage is usually counterproductive.
To Chinese business partners what comes first is the answer to the question: do I want to do business with this foreign partner? There's no way foreign parties can get around this if one really wants to do business in China.
Chinese trading partners are fond of comparing quality and prices first and balance that in their own fashion, but their consideration also includes the matter of this foreign partner being either an ephemeron, or someone who likes to do business with them in the long term. A passer-by is soon forgotten.
The ideal foreign business partner is someone who functions as a regular contact person and of whom they know they can count upon. Chinese partners tend to sound out their foreign contacts in a very subtle way and then they reach a decision after mutual consultation: are we going to take our chances with this partner or not?
A Chinese business partner is usually not immediately eager for a specific offer, if not, prudence is called for.
Yujie Services comes each month with a premise that focuses upon a certain aspect of the Chinese business culture where things may go wrong.
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