So one of the things I wanted to do with the blog is tell
people about some of the delicacies of doing business here in China, the differences
to other areas of the world I have worked in and my thoughts and opinions (and
please remember that they are just that) on them.
So one of if not the biggest thing I noticed when I first
started out here is how important Tea is, not just in business but in
general. Now I knew the Chinese loved
tea, and this is not new to me, I am an English man and we have a cup of tea
every five minutes, to think about things, to celebrate things, to commiserate
things and well just because a cup of tea solves most things. But it is almost
informal in England (unless it’s with the posh china when your mum was trying
to impress somebody), normally in chipped mis-matched mugs, with no real
ceremony in the making apart from the question of milk and sugar!! It doesn’t really matter what tea it is
everyone loves it, we are not generally connoisseurs and normally it’s served
stewed to death, “proper builder’s tea” as my father called it.
Now in China it’s different, Tea is treated with a reverence
and respect I would expect with fine wines, there are shops and boutiques
dedicated to it and costs range from sensible to eye-watering depending on
where it’s grown etc. It’s given as
gifts and I have even been to a tea drinking club with a client and friend that
was like a cross between a private gentleman’s club and educational center for
tea.
Now this comes into almost every business meeting I have
here in China. It may be at the beginning before we talk work as is traditional
or after the meeting but at some point in the meeting we will sit round and all
drink tea. Now it has a very formal
process that all seem to observe where everything is cleaned and then the tea
is brewed and served in little saucers, where it is slurped to enjoy the taste,
the addition of air to improve the taste.
All very similar to wine tasting except the spitting. Now it’s not as formal as what I imagine the
Japanese tea ceremony but still everything has an order that all seem to adhere
to.
When you enter most main offices there will be a tea table or service. They come in all sizes from a small tray to
half a tree, ornately carved into a beautiful work of art and everything in
between.
Over tea it seems bad form to talk about work but is an
opportunity to discuss everything else.
Often it’s about the tea itself, as there are many types, Green, Black
and even White. I have had Kung Fu tea
that is supposed to make you strong, to tea with Jasmine, ginseng and even
Ginger. I have been asked about my
family, my opinions on world affairs, what football team is likely to win the
Premiership, even my politics, I was once asked how as an Englishman I felt
about our best and strongest leader being a woman………………….I did not have much of
an answer but it was fun teaching them the song “Margaret Thatcher – Milk
Snatcher”.
The whole thing about having tea before the meeting I have
been told is traditionally to find out if the two parties can get on as friends
first before they talk business. This
fits in with a general rule here. In China traditionally business is done
between friends, there has to be a trust and a getting to know each other
period before any work will commence. I
have had some projects where it has taken three meetings (all with Tea and
dinner) before a contract was signed so they could get to know the person they
are dealing with.
I know it’s something
we are very conscious of now and make sure the beginning of any new meeting is
special and effort is made so our customers know they are as important to us as
the work.
Do you have any special little ceremonies you use because
the area where you work has that tradition, or because you find it works well?
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