10 survival tips for Foreign expats who work in China

I am always amazed by the Foreign newcomers in town who just arrived in China and tell you know nothing about China and that you are already too Chinese. In most of the cases, they overestimate themselves and fell blandly and quickly. I don't have sour feelings against these people and I give them some tips for survival:

1# China is not a bubble, it will not fade so easily;

2# Everything you have learnt in developed countries are only theoritical in China, you shall make a new assessment;

3# Stop trying to invent a China management model;

4# Frustration in China is unavoidable, keep going:

5# China is full of opportunities, if you can catch 1/100th of them you already are the king of the ring;

6# Don't overestimate your abilities, be humble;

7# Logistics are at the center of your success in China;

8# One-time deal doesn't exist, you shall have mid to long -term perspective in China;

9# Business: One China: no; Many China: yes;

10# You shall think China as no different to other markets, or you will not survive.

Comments

[Edouard]

#10 can't be more right, especially with the chinese always coming to you with this "China is different" crap. As if they knew anything else than China. As if they knew China themselves...

[Romain Guerel (depuis Pekin)]

Edouard, thanks for your comment.

You are perfectly right. I think I can even add 10 additional tips.

I added the #10 one because I also think a lot of foreigners especially the young ones and the ones who have been here for more than a decade are more inclined to do in a total different way than the international way. I think they shall be a balance between the "Western way" and the "Chinese way". The hardware shall be internatinal while the software shall be Chinese.

[renmenbi.com]

Very interesting "Top 10" list. I also would like to comment that we have a site [http://www.renmenbi.com] that covers some cultural differences and how to understand the business environment in China. Check that out and you'll see that China is quite different.

[China and I]

Renmenbi-

I am glad you like it.

[Peter Levenda]

Very good post. The observations are all spot on. I've been doing business in China since 1984, and I have had to tell my American colleagues the same ten points, over and over again.

[joe]

Great tips, particularly 4,5,8,9, but I'd be careful on Tip #1. There is a tremendous asset bubble built up in the real estate space. Many of the private projects, like the rest of the world, were dependent on foreign capital generated through leverage. As the world deleverages, it is going to be painful everywhere, including China, in a wave form.

As you know China has some very big challenges in Social Security, healthcare, education, rural/urban development gap, transitioning from the low cost provider to the innovator, etc. Point is lots of future costs. True, not a bubble Japanese style or dot-com style, yet, but still an asset bubble.

Given all this China is still one of the most exciting and dynamic societies.