Selling to China : a guide to doing business in China for small- and medium-sized companies / Stanley Chao.

"Learn effective ways to deal with Chinese businesspeople and private and state-owned companies; analyze whether certain products or services are viable for the Chinese market; understand the psyche of the 'Mao generation' Chinese who are now China's business owners, executives, and government leaders; and develop low-cost, market-entry strategies"--P. [4] of cover.

Includes bibliographical references.

Debunking conventional wisdom : Guanxi: it's not that important ; Don't lose face over mianzi ; Drinking and socializing ; Building trust ; They say business takes time in China ; The Chinese lack creativity? ; Does group harmony trump individualism ; Intellectual property theft: it's not the culture -- Finding your Chinese partner : The underground economy ; Taking the trust factor out ; Don't trust your gut instincts ; If you must trust, then whom? ; Selecting Chinese companies -- The translator: your only link : Three important roles ; Bad translators ; Selecting a translator ; Working with your translator -- Throw away the contract : Disadvantage to SMBs ; Vague and changing laws ; In theory, but not practice ; Cultural differences ; Legacy of corruption -- So, how do we protect ourselves? : Still need something in writing ; Chinese-language contracts ; Governing law and arbitration ; Highlight life-or-death issues ; Contract period ; Use Chinese law firms ; Enforcing a court's judgment ; Think differently -- Negotiations: a never-ending process : Haggling at Beijing's silk market ; It's the culture ; Countering the haggle ; Negotiating with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) ; They want your technology ; Protecting your technology ; Negotiating with Chinese SMBs -- Selling to China: answer four questions : Are your products or services right for China? ; payback period ; Pirating and competition ; Your China business in five to seven years ; Advance technologies -- Selling to China: market study : Trip logistics ; Finding contacts ; Study completed: go or no go? -- Selling to China: distributors : Selecting partners ; No exclusivity ; Channel conflict ; Contracts ; Short-term thinking -- Selling to China: WOFEs and JVs : Reason for a WOFE ; WORD registration ; Location, location ; Reduce WOFE expenses ; Hiring employees ; Integrating the WOFE ; Joint ventures: never do it! -- Thirteen rules for doing business in China : 1. Don't rely on gut instincts ; 2. You don't know what you don't know ; 3. Sweat the details ; 4. Take the trust factor out ; 5. Never do JVs ; 6. Adapt and move quickly ; 7. Never compete with locals ; 8.Use multiple partners ; 9. Think long-term, but react short-term ; 10. Don't create competitors ; 11. Listen to experts ; 12. Don't rely on contracts ; 13. When in doubt, ask questions.