Conducting business in china requires a great deal of patience, respect, timing, humility, knowledge, cunning, and just the right amount of aggression. Knowing these are the tools that are to be employed for successful negotiating is completely worthless unless you know how and when to use each of them. Missing a cue for changing from being patient to aggressive, or being humble instead of cunning, will make or break a negotiation in an instant. As the article entitled, "Scaling the Great Wall: The Yin and Yang of Resolving Business Conflict in China" states, as Americans with aspirations of obtaining a piece of the Chinese-market pie, we must invest the time to understand the sources of Chinese culture and not just the culture itself. Because within the culture of today's Chinese business tactics, are glimpses into the ancient history of a people that have not only survived, but flourished longer than any other civilization in the history of the world. Knowing only what we (Americans) want to achieve from a particular negotiation with a Chinese business person is extremely near-sided and will almost guarantee certain defeat. Instead, we must have a firm understanding of what our Chinese counterpart is also seeking from the negotiation and therefore be able to anticipate their strategy for succeeding. This "anticipation" tactic is vital because it is the very tactic that will be employed by our Chinese counterpart against us, and as history has proven many times, that is a very successful tactic. .
The Chinese consumer market is like that of a massive mountain that contains the world's highest concentrations of gold. However, there are some very difficult obstacles to be overcome before reaping anything short of gold dust. This "mountain" has been closed off to outsiders for centuries, and most prospectors are even unsure exactly where the mountain is located or where to even start climbing the mountain.
