Posted by Andrew
Yesterday I was watching a movie about casinos which prompted me to go to the bookstore and read more. It was at the bookstore that I met a fellow from 阿富汗 (Afghanistan) who grew up in 伦敦 (London)and whose ancestors were 波斯人 (Persian) and also happened to be descended from the notable 诗人 (poet) Rumi. We went to a nearby McDonalds and discussed 商机 (business opportunities) , 心理学 (psychology) , and 经典文学作品 (classic literary works) for several hours. On the subway on the way home, I noticed more signs of 3G’s 普及 (spread) in China. There will be some interesting changes around the corner once the 框架 (framework) is fully rolled out.
阿富汗 a1fu4han4 - Afghanistan
伦敦 lun2dun1 - London
波斯 bo1si1 - Persia
诗人 shi1ren2 - poet
商机 shang1ji1 - business opportunity(opportunities)
心理学 xin1li3xue2 - psychology
经典 jing1dian3 - classic
文学作品 wen2xue2zuo4pin3 - literary works
普及 pu3ji2 - spread
框架 kuang4jia4 - framework
Posted by Andrew
Hello Readers!
Today’s post is about contracts in China. If you get a contract, you need to find a 律师 (lawyer) immediately to 审核 (review) every single 条款 (clause) present. This is for you and your employer, as you can 避免 (avoid) potential 不良后果 (negative consequences) and 误会 (misunderstandings) which could 导致 (cause) you to have people say that your work 态度不积极 (attitude isn’t positive). Also, you need to make sure that you can 保护 (protect) all of your 合法权益 (legal rights). If you can do this, you’re on your way to a mutually equitable contract.
律师 lv4shi1 - lawyer
审核 shen3he2 - review
条款 tiao2kuan3 - clause
避免 bi4mian3 - avoid
误会 - wu4hui4 - misunderstanding
不良后果 bu4liang2hou4guo3 - negative consequences
导致 dao3zhi4 - to cause (used in negative situations)
态度不积极 tai4du4 bu4 ji1ji2 - attitude not positive
保护 bao3hu4 - protect
合法 he2fa3 - legal
权益 quan2yi4 - rights and welfare
Posted by Andrew
This post is for the business-focused readers of the blog. When you’re negotiating in China, there are several things to keep in mind.
人不为己, 天诛地灭 - “Every man for himself, and the devil takes the hindmost.” (also said as 人不利己， 天诛地灭) People are not usually magnanimous when it comes to negotiations, and it takes two people with genuine foresight to come up with a solution that benefits each other and people external to the deal. This is nearly everybody’s #1 operating principle (and it’s certainly not exclusive to China).
双赢情况/两全其美 - Both of these can mean “win-win situation” or “mutually beneficial”. The former is an imported phrase and the second is native. Remember this in your negotiations - any deal that you can complete is a “win-win” situation. Nobody would willingly agree to a “win-lose” agreement if they’re on the losing side. If the terms of the deal are in any way unacceptable for any party, he/she won’t sign on the dotted line. Simple as that. That also means that you can walk away
沉默 - Silence. This tool could be your most valuable asset when it comes to negotiations. Pause for five seconds and see if the person you’re talking with begins to fill in the gap. Bear in mind that this does not work as well in China, but realize at the same time that somebody may be employing this tactic with you. You’d be surprised at the concessions people make when confronted with an seemingly unending silence- don’t be one of those people and you just might save yourself some headaches.
What are some of your thoughts/experiences on negotiation? Leave a comment!
Key words:
己 ji3 - self
诛 zhu1 - punish
灭 mie4 - extinguish/exterminate
赢 ying2 - win
沉默 chen2mo4 - silence
Posted by Andrew
While in Korea, I saw a sign that said 人民币升值了, 抓住机会 (the RMB is rising in value, seize this opportunity!). In fact, the island of 济州岛 (Jejudo/Jeju Island) has rolled out many 措施 (measures) to attract 游客 (tourists) from China. Even the 路牌 (road places) have Chinese names of places (this is unrelated to Korea’s use of Chinese characters in other situations). One of the attractive point of Jeju for Chinese tourists is that they can purchase many 名牌 (name brand) products at a 免税店 (duty-free shop) without worrying about the high 关税 (tariffs) at the Chinese border for products such as makeup. They also don’t have to weigh the option of 走私 (smuggling).
Words
人民币 ren2min2bi4 - “people’s currency” - the currency used by the PRC
升值 sheng1zhi2 - to increase in value
抓住 zhua1zhu4 - to seize
机会 ji1hui4 - opportunity
济州岛 ji2zhou1dao3 - Jejudo, an island off the southern coast of South Korea
措施 cuo4shi1 - measure(s)
游客 you2ke4 - tourists
路牌 lu4pai2 - road signs
免税店 mian3shui4dian4 - duty-free store
关税 guan1shui4 - tariff
走私 zou3si1 - smuggling
Posted by Andrew
If your company needs seed funding to make it to the next step, you need to understand the process of 筹款 (fundraising). Investors are going to be vigilant in their questioning of your 市场定位 (market position), your 目标客户群 (targeted customer group), and their 回报 (return on investment) quantified by 利息 (interest). Your best bet is to 较低 (lay the cards out on the table) and prepare to let a lot of 期权 (stock options) go.
筹款 chou2kuan3 - fundraising
市场 shi4chang3 - market
定位 ding4wei4 - position
目标 mu4biao1 - goal/target
客户 ke4hu4 - client/customer
群 qun2- group
回报 hui2bao4 - return (on investment)
利息 li4xi1 - interest
较低 jiao1di3 - lay the cards out on the table
期权 qi1quan2 - options (like stock options)
