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The Chinese Approach to International Business Negotiation

Ball State University, Muncie, IN

While a new, market-driven China has been emerging fast in the global market place, Western companies have often reported frustration and confusion when negotiating in China. To identify the roots of the problems, this study investigated what Chinese negotiators are trained to do in the global marketplace by examin ing China's international business negotiation textbooks used in their training pro grams. The results indicate the following: (a) The win-win, win-lose, cooperative egoism, and concessive negotiation strategies are taught in China with the win-win recommended and the cooperative egoism controversially recommended, and Chi nese negotiators are also trained to probe the counterparts' strategies and then act accordingly; (b) Chinese negotiators are taught a large variety of communication techniques for negotiation arrayed along a continuum from the relationship-based win-win strategy to the pure competition-based win-lose mentality; however, the win-win techniques are taught and used far more frequently; and (c) the Chinese textbooks clearly reflect China's foreign trade and economic cooperation principles: equality, mutual understanding, mutual trust, mutual benefit, and long-term coop eration. At the same time, the textbook authors may see a need to emphasize the win-win strategy because in nearly half the cited real-life cases it was not used.

Key Words: Chinese Business Communication • Cross-Cultural Negotiation • Inter national Negotiation • Negotiation

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