How to do business in China: 3 top insider tips

When conducting business in China, building, and maintaining strong relationships—known as the Chinese concept of Guanxi—can make or break a deal. 

Yet, succeeding in the Chinese business environment is about much more than just making vital connections. From understanding cultural differences in China to improving your language skills, here are the top three insider tips for successful business negotiations in China. 

1. Leverage your business school identity

Since Chinese business culture emphasizes and values hierarchy, leveraging your identity as a business school student or graduate from a top-ranked institution could go a long way to growing your business network in China.

ShuDuo Fang is a graduate from the Tsinghua Global MBA at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (Tsinghua SEM). 

“Use your Tsinghua identity wisely,” he says in a GMAC video, emphasizing the strengths of the Tsinghua alumni global network, which is 300k-strong.  

ShuDuo used his Tsinghua Global MBA to launch a career as an investment professional at Naton Medical Group in Beijing. 

There are several opportunities to leverage your business identity at business school in China. The Tsinghua MBA organizes corporate visits, integrated practical projects that enable students to work with real companies, alumni gatherings, and case studies.

Tsinghua’s corporate recruiters include the likes of BCG, Chanel, and Microsoft. 

“It was extremely helpful during case students to be able to say, 'we’re from Tsinghua, we want to see if we can help you with something',” says Rafael Ratzel, graduate from the Tsinghua Global MBA and executive director, and head of international business, at TH Capital in Beijing. 

2. Embrace business differences between the east and west

In the world of global business, success requires grasping the subtleties of both Eastern and Western approaches to business.

The International MBA at Fudan University School of Management, which is based in Shanghai, is formed in partnership with MIT Sloan School of Management in the US. This offers students a gateway to compare eastern and western management styles from the perspective of the world’s largest economies.

Cheng-Hua Tzeng is the associate professor of strategic management at Fudan.

“MBA students need to be not only an economist, who only reads statistical mega-data, but also an anthropologist, who collects local stories and insights about target customers,” he says.

Fudan IMBA students take part in iLab consulting projects, which provides teachings on doing business in China.

The projects focus on how foreign companies can enter the Chinese market, or how Chinese companies can penetrate foreign markets.

Previously, students have worked alongside top global companies including IBM, Huawei, and Pfizer for these innovative projects.

“MBA students combine theory and business practices by continuously interacting with executives and managers of multinational corporations and Chinese firms,” he says.

3. Get to know China as a country

China is a big country—encompassing a land area of 3.7 million square miles, to be precise. 

In a country this big, then, it’s no surprise that the provinces across China will have cultural, social, and business differences. So, don’t assume that conducting business in a northern city such as Beijing will be the same as in a more eastern province such as Zhejiang.

Ugur Kilicarslan is a graduate from the International MBA (IMBA) program at Renmin University of China, Renmin Business School in Beijing. 

Ugur joined the Renmin IMBA while he was working as an inspector for the undersecretary of Turkish foreign trade to the commercial councilor for the Republic of Turkey in Beijing.

During his MBA at Renmin, he was able to gain a deeper perspective of international relations in China and beyond during courses in Project Management and Business Communication.

“Understanding the culture has been beneficial to my career,” he says, adding that he gained a better perspective of cultural nuances across each province in China.

Renmin also offers opportunities for international students to brush up on their Chinese language skills, which will be especially useful for forging strong connections in the Chinese business context. Even learning basic Chinese phrases can go a long way to improving your Guanxi.

China is a rapidly developing economy, which is technologically leaps and bounds beyond many countries across the world. Finding your feet in China and embracing the rich diverse culture that regions across China offer could be your ticket to an exciting career in a cutting-edge part of the world.