Understanding Chinese business culture is an important issue for Canadian businesses that pursue business ventures in China. Today, cultural difference is a major issue for Canadians doing business with the Chinese as research has proven that this difference is the main barrier to success in China. The Chinese market is a uniquely challenging market to Western businesses and companies are caught off guard by the large gap between the two cultures. Standard Western training simply does not cut it.

Every year China hosts more than 1000 large intermodal trade shows and expos in first tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guang Zhong and Hong Kong. These trade shows are a great resource for Canadian exporters to achieve maximum exposure to a large number of potential customers, distributors, suppliers and investors. This allows Canadian business to meet with Chinese business face-to-face to develop sales leads with high possibilities for success. The single biggest advantage of attending international trade shows in China is that Canadian business is able to develop first-hand, their China marketing practice. A second but equally important advantage is that this also meets the Chinese business culture requirement in which Chinese companies prefer doing business with someone they have met and developed a personal relationship with.

The role that cultural difference plays is huge. Without the understanding of the culture, many things are misinterpreted. This does not stop just at the level of language. In the marketing field this is especially prominent. Advertisements created by Western advertising firms do not convey the correct message to the Chinese as they are created from a Western point of view. The way they think and the way business is conducted are just simply not what is seen in the eyes of the Chinese. To change this is not easy because the different cultures determine the method of people’s thinking processes and ultimately their decision-making.

JJICA Consultant provides Chinese Culture Consulting Services (CCCS) with grounded sensitivity to Chinese regional cultures, languages, political and legal environments for Canadian firms to ensure their communication efficiency and to mitigate adverse social and environmental impacts by :