Doing Business in China For Dummies®

Chapter 8. Understanding Government Relations with Your Business

In This Chapter

Understanding how the government can work with your business Identifying your current and desired government relations Reaching out to government officials Understanding how the structure can work for your business Gaining approvals from government officials

Chinese government officials can have a lot of clout, especially in foreign business circles. For instance, the mayor of a good-sized city often plays a more important role in business than his or her counterpart in Europe or North America. A Chinese mayor may be able to get the authorities to speed up the investment approval process or help fix a problem that a foreign investor is facing.

Also, the Chinese government often plays multiple roles. For example, it can be an investor and regulator at the same time, blurring the relationship between business and the government. Therefore, you really need to understand how to deal with Chinese officials.

In this chapter, you find out how the government looks at foreign investment, which can help your company put government relations into perspective. The chapter also shows you how to determine which Chinese government organizations you should get to know. It discusses how you can access government officials, too. And after you’ve managed to get to know officials better, you discover how you can maximize the benefits of your relationships with them.

When you work with the government, you also deal with ...