Doing Business in China For Dummies®

Doing Your Homework

Hands-down, the best way to begin to understand China is to spend serious time on the ground there. This idea is a test of your company’s patience and commitment. Is it willing to send people to China without very clear agendas? Ideally, at least one person can go to China several times for a few weeks at a time.

Of course, you need to do plenty of research before you step foot on China’s shore. This section tells you a bit about the research process and how people and published resources can help you find what you need.

Continuing research as you develop your plan

Planning and research are iterative processes. In other words, you come up with a plan. You research it and find out what the issues are. Then you go back to the drawing board to adjust your plan. You then research the revised plan, and so on and so forth. Going through the process once or twice would be nice, but that’s unrealistic. You encounter so many moving parts and surprises when setting up in China. Being able to accept a lengthy iterative process without becoming frustrated is important.

Be realistic about your company’s resources and commitment. If your company can’t make the full plunge, you can pursue China opportunities in alternative ways. Assuming you want to move forward, start with your company’s goal or idea (for instance, you want to manufacture widgets in China for export to Europe).

After you have your basic idea, look into Chinese law. As we discuss in Chapter 7, a host of ...