Chinese Business and China

Shopping in Beijing

2011-09-07T11:25:00.000+01:00

For the traveller who loves to shop, there are few cities in the world where the consumer can experience such a diverse shopping experience as that which is on offer in Beijing. In the capital of China there is a healthy mix between traditional Chinese shops and those which fall into other categories such as western or high tech.

When you think of shopping culture in Beijing and China in general, one of the things which pops to mind straight away is the markets. These have played a huge part in Chinese culture for thousands of years and are still a big part of life in this part of the world, both in the cities and towns. Some of the best areas for markets in Beijing are Hongqiao Pearl Market, the Xiushui Silk Market and Sanlitun Yashou Market. Many of the markets in Beijing have evolved into indoor, multi-storey affairs which will keep you entertained for hours.

One of the most popular streets for shopping in Beijing is Wangfujing Street. Here you can find a number of malls and shops on and around the street and you will be certain to find whatever it is you are looking for. With Beijing being a city centre the prices on the more fashionable streets are not cheap, so if its bargains you are looking for you are better to stick to some of the afore mentioned markets or other silk markets in the city. Another great feature of Wangfujing Street is that there are so many places to eat and drink, and once again, there is a choice of traditional Chinese cuisine and popular western brands.

Have products you want to sell to the Chinese market. You might be interested in our previous blog on marketing to China and how to send freight to China, for selling products there. A very quick shamless plug for our friends who have just started the Rio travel and business portal and which will soon also have a business section, where they will discuss trade opportunities in Brazil.

Buying a Property in China

2011-04-22T21:47:00.001+01:00

Moving to a new country can be an exciting experience which can help us to grow and expand our life experiences. One of the more worrying aspects, however, is the need to find a secure property which is homely, convenient and affordable. Below are some tips on how to buy a property in China:

Apply for permission to buy a property - All foreigners in China who wish to purchase a property in China must first apply to the Chinese government, who will assess a number of different criteria to establish whether you are suitable to own a property in the country. If you do not follow this procedure there will be serious consequences.

Be sure to factor in purchase taxes - There are a number of taxes which you are required to pay upon purchasing a property in China. These taxes can add significantly to the price of the house, so be careful not to overspend on your property and end up short of cash. The taxes will be approximately 7%.

Cost of Ownership in China - If you are not confident that you will retain your right to live in China it may be an idea to rent a property as opposed to buying. This is because you can quite easily have your home re-possessed should you lose your right of citizenship.

Legal aspects - There are a number of legal aspects to take into account when purchasing a home in China. These laws can be reasonably complex and you may wish to seek legal advice to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of the laws before committing yourself to them.

Moving Livestock from China. Tips and advice

2011-02-26T17:12:00.003Z

It is essential that livestock can be transported efficiently and in a manner which is not damaging to the animal or the quality of the subsequent food products. Below are some tips and advice to achieve this:

Be patient and consistent when moving cattle - If you make an effort to remain calmer when moving cattle you will notice that you can get closer to that animal than when it is stressed. This makes it easier to dictate the movement of the animal.

Talk to the animals - Animals can hear and often have good memories. If the animal recognises your voice it will calm down and become easier to manage.

Do not approach the cattle from behind - Many animals have a blind spot directly behind them, meaning that if you approach from this angle you will surprise them and cause panic.

Give the animal space - If you notice that an animal is becoming agitated move away from it and allow it to calm down instead of trying to force it to move.

Lead from the front - It is important not to try and lead the herd from the back as this may cause panic and disillusion the pack. Instead, concentrate on moving the animals nearer the front of the herd and the rest will follow. In Summary, remember that the fastest way to move a herd is to move them slowly.

Moving cattle slowly without panicking them and allowing them a degree of freedom in their own movement is much more efficient than to rush them as this causes stress and the animal to become disillusioned.

The Chinese and Table Tennis

2011-01-23T18:13:00.003Z

Whatever the tournament, wherever the venue, there is one thing for certain, whenever there is a table tennis tournament the Chinese are sure to be in the running.

When I was younger I used to go to boarding school and, at the weekend, there would be various activities to keep us entertained. My personal favourite was the weekly table tennis tournament as I generally fared well. This was as a result of countless evenings honing my skills to a standard which, I believed, were to a good standard. Whilst working in China recently I decided to revive my skills and test them out against the locals.

To my surprise, I found that table tennis tables were much more common in China than they are back home. Had I put any thought into it perhaps with China’s prominence in the sport it shouldn’t be such a surprise. Whilst having a drink in a local bar I spotted a table and challenged one of the English speaking locals to a game. Needless to say, I lost, as I did on every other occasion during that trip. It turned out that my skills were not as strong as I had thought.

One of the key factors in my demise is the fact that table tennis is a favourite sport amongst the youth of China, whereas at home it is hardly touched. This obviously leads to better overall skills due to exposure to better players on a regular basis. However, I am not one to shirk a challenge and I will certainly not give up on my quest to beat a Chinese player.

Need to send freight to China including sports equipment?

Investing in China

2010-11-19T12:27:00.004Z

Anthony Bolton's comments this week have been interesting and the drop by around 8% this week of Bolton's China Special Situations Funds (FCSS) are a stark reminder of the fact that one should always maintain at least an element of awareness of the fact that China is by no means a guaranteed certainty for growth int he coming years.

Having said that though, in reality, the consumer spending and desire of the Chinese people certainly suggests that even if there is a slow down in the Chinese economy over the next year. What Bolton has said is that China will probably slow down BUT it could very well still generate around 8% growth.

If you balance a potential 8% average growth against other possible returns i.e. from UK banks then China still seems a very good bet for the next 12 months.

Quick Thank you: Cheers to James Burrows of Rome apartments co for his piece on Chinese Investment.

Chinese Cooking and a Garlic Love Affair

2010-10-19T19:40:00.004+01:00

After a few weeks in Beijing last week and staying with some good friends who are native Chinese (they speak English also though) I became fascinated with the deep passion so many Chinese people seem to have with cooking - and also how much they seem to adore GARLIC! I was teaching quite a few English lessons there and the smell of garlic also drifted around the room.

I thought this time that I would quickly just mention from what I picked up, some Tips on How to cook Garlic:

Garlic is a highly flavourful ingredient that is good for blood circulation as well and although many people use it in their cooking, very few know how to cook it properly so as to get all the benefits of the garlic. The process of cooking garlic starts with the selection of the right garlic and goes on to encompass a whole array of factors including peeling and cooking. This article provides some important tips on how to cook garlic.

The first tip to successfully cooking garlic is to select the best garlic. When choosing garlic, care must be taken to ensure that the bulb of garlic is not shrivelled, soft to the touch or spongy. Instead, the garlic bulb must be fat, big and firm and the skin must be completely intact and covering the garlic tightly. Before cooking garlic, check to see if there are any green sprouts in the center, they must be removed to avoid the dish tasting bitter.

If you are planning to cook a lot of garlic, blanche them for a few seconds and then plunge them into a container with cold water for easy peeling. When looking to cook rise or pasta and flavour it lightly with garlic, throw whole pods, either peeled or unpeeled into the water while the dish is cooking.

For sauces and dips where you would like to have a strong garlic flavour, you will have to mince the garlic finely and add to the sauce. Remember that the longer garlic is cooked, the less flavour you will have. Do not add the garlic too early or too late into the cooking pot as you can burn out the flavour or end up with raw tasting garlic in your dish.

I am in Barcelona right now. Some great Catalan Food also here and also lots of garlic :)

Travel Writing Competition - write about China!

2010-05-13T15:01:00.004+01:00

I am not sure about you, but in addition to loving to travel, I also quite enjoy writing about it and also taking travel photos. If you have a love of travel writing the same as I do then you might be interested in the new Barcelona Travel 2010 Travel Writing competition.

The good news is that you can write about China and your travel experiences. You can incorporate your travel experiences in China with one of 4 titles to write about:

The Perfect Weekend for Couples in (place)
The Perfect Weekend for Families in (place)
Why I would return to (place)
Best Food Shopping in (place)

The good news is that Holiday Velvet are offering 2 nights Barcelona accommodation rental in Barcelona and some other benefits. You can learn more about the competition online and also about Holiday Velvet's Holiday Rome apartments.

Investing in China - Stock and Shares

2010-04-13T11:21:00.002+01:00

The term BRIC was created almost 10 years ago but it is becoming a term more and more used in investment circles. BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as a group of countries which are considered to be the key to investment over the next 20 - 30 years.

Over the last 12 months the Chinese stock market has for many shares meant increases of 50% and all signs are that the Chinese economy will simply keep on going forward a lot more. Some people are concerned about if the bubble will burst in that potentially there will be a blip in the amazing growth China has recently seen.

My own view is that in the long term China is a very good investment area but plan long term. There could easily be a blip and some ups and downs along the way and as long as you are not trying to think too short term, you will be fine.

Chinese head to Barcelona for team building

2010-01-22T18:40:00.003Z

Friends from China recently met up with me in Barcelona and it was fun to see the reaction of my Chinese friends as they experienced Spanish and Catalan culture. The foods of course and very different and certainly overall everyone seemed to have a good time.

The reason for the visit. A reward for the department employees and a Barcelona corporate team building trip in association with Barcelona Adventure. Barcelona is a great city and the sites such as Sagrada Familia, the each and marina area and the view from Montjuic in Barcelona are excellent and overall ther trip I think was a success. A lot of shopping was of course done and I hope that the excess baggage costs for the flights back to Beijing were not too high.

They are actually quite a few Chinese people in Barcelona and 'Dong Lin' was a a restuarant where we all got to eat some excellent Chinese food (Av Paral·lel 152, Poble Sec) in Barcelona.

Beijing 2009 Marathon - running in China

2009-10-14T12:17:00.003+01:00

I am still trying to recover from last year when I ran the 2008 Beijing Marathon hence I have decided not to run the 2009 event myself. Many of you will be in Beijing though for the 2009 Beijing International Marathon and it should be a great event as always.

18th October 2009 is the date for this years event and if you are in the city and not yourself running, it is great a site and a good atmosphere and why not get out and cheer the runners on. A little like the London Marathon, you will see a number of theme runners i.e. people who are dressed in funny costumes and styles and its also a great photo opportunity in Beijing.

The race starts from 8am and you can learn direct from the official Beijing Marathon website online.

Good travel books on China

2009-05-11T17:30:00.006+01:00

There are a number of excellent books out there about travelng China. All of the big travel guides have an edition out for Beijing and for China, including the likes of Lonely Planet, Fodors, Let's Go and Eyewitness Guides.

Having looked at several of them the two gudie books for Chian I would recommend are:

1. China (DK Eyewitness Guide) - an excellent book and with up-to-date information.

2. Top 10 Beijing (DK Eyewitness) - I absolutely love the Top 10 books from DK and buy them for any city I am visiting. Easy to carry and information packed.

Sending Freight to China B2B

2009-01-18T13:34:00.002Z

Despite the economic problems in 2009, many of you are still needing to send freight to China or to import freight to the UK from China and many of you have emailed in to ask about the best way to find a freight forwarder.

I often help clients (many b2b) send and bring large shipments to and from China and I use RSJ Freight International and they have always done a great job so I stick with them. Why change what works.

What you need to conside rvery carefully is that you need to also consider:

Freight documentation
Collection
Storage
Customs and fees
and a number of other things.

The easiest way in my opinion is just to use someone such as RSJ who have a Freight Logistics service. They in other words, manage the whole process and this makes everything far less streesful.

Finding somewhere to stay in Beijing

2008-10-15T20:46:00.004+01:00

Deciding where to stay in Beijing if you are over for a few days on business or for pleasure is never an easy decision to make, so below some ideas for you with some sites I have used and found to be good, in the past.

Expedia.co.uk or expedia.com often offer their own expedia special rates for hotel rooms and also flights so their prices are usually very competitive.

Rather than a hotel, apartment rentals in Beijing can be a good option and this option gives you the chance to enjoy self-catering accommodation and enjoy space. Holiday Velvet are one of the good options in this area.

Laterooms.com are worth checking for late bookings and now and again they offer good prices.

Tickets for the Olympics - China 2008

2008-07-23T18:49:00.003+01:00

General tickets go on sale in 2 days time for tickets for events in the Chna 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The 25th July 2008 is the date when almost one million tickets become available through the main box office in Beijing. You can find lots more information on Beijing 2008 Ticket Sales online.

Only 16 days now remin until the start of the Bejing Olympics and what an event is should be. One of the best sites for keeping up-tp-date on all events and schedules for the Olympics is the BBC Sports such at news.bbc.co.uk/sport. Also lots of information on the China Travel portal.

Marketing to China and South Korea

2008-04-19T23:08:00.007+01:00

We very briefly mentioned how to target the Chinese market for selling products in China in a previous blog, but let us look in more detail how you can use PPC set-ups such as Google Adwords for marketing opportunities in China.

It is actually quite easy to target people in China and this can be achieved in the following languages in Adwords Pay Per Click:

Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese, or
English

Adwords is great because you can specifically set the ads to run in specific countries and even set specific areas or cities within a country. For a country of China's size, these settings might be even more useful than they would be for other countries. The choice of language really depends on your staff. There is little point in advertising in traditional Chinese if you are unable to check replies in this language.

You might also be interested in Trade and Business in South Korea, a country which is one of the biggest traders now in Asia, and where there are many opportunities and also more of an English speaking business area. Learn more about Adwords and China.

Marketing your business to China

2008-02-24T01:24:00.003Z

To give more information about hot to market your business in China from an EMarketing point of view, you can build up your own website and work on optimsing the site and creating content which will act as link bait (draw viewers in with genuinly good and useful content) and you can also get immediate results by using Google's Pay Per Click advertising, Adwords.

On Adwords you can target specific areas by geography hence you can get immediate traffic from people in China, interested in your business. You might well be faced of course if havign to think carefully about what language you use, i.e. whether you use English, Madarin etc. You will need to be able to understand all requsts so that language used needs at least to relfect the languages you can read and respond to and do business in.

You can read more about marketing your business in China.

Tackling the Chinese Market and Adwords

2007-12-01T19:26:00.000Z

Just a quick blog this time, to let you know that there is a new page in the China Business website detailing information about Marketing your business to China.

The Great Wall of China

2007-11-29T19:20:00.000Z

Oner place I strongly recommend that you visit if you ever visit China, is the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall tends to be open from approx. 7am to 6pm and viewable from space, this one attraction is considered the largest in the world.

The Great Wall is simply somwehere you have to visit if you make it to China. Some of the wall dates as far back as 7BC and the length of over six thousand kilometres, the wall goes from Korea (East side) to the Gobi desert (on the walls west side).

The history of the wall itself is fascinating. You can learn more about the wall by visiting the Beiijing official site. You can also visit Chinese attractions to learn more about other tourist attractions in China.

Canton Fair Trade & exhibition show, China

2007-10-16T20:14:00.000+01:00

The Canton Import and Export Exhibition Fair in Canton, China, takes place this week and it is sure to be a big event, if 2 years is anything to go by. The Canton exhibition fair is in fact China's largest and it brings together hundreds of traders and business into one area.

Canton is not known as Guangzhou, a city which sits in the Southern part of China. This fair will include over a staggering thirty thousand exhibits, run by over three hundred companies, with the companies promoting everything imaginable, including clothing, electronics, garden furniture and sports gear.

Learn more about Canton Exhibition Fair at http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/ and click here to learn more about exhibition stands for China.

Made in China

2007-09-10T23:21:00.000+01:00

In the British news over the last two months, the 'Made in China' situation has come under the microscope with many products having been called back from the shops due to problems including poisons in the paint on some toys.

So are products with a Made in China sticker on the bottom okay to buy? I am not a doctor so i cannot say but I do know that the problems found are a incredibly low percentage of the products that re on sale in UK and around Europe, which were originally Made in China.

Getting tickets for the Olympics in China for 2008

2007-07-03T11:31:00.000+01:00

Are you planning to head to the Beijing 2008 summer olympics in China? You might be wondering how to get tickets for the events in Beijing and for others venues in China.

At least seven million tickets shoul be available and within China for domestic ticket sales, tickets went on sale on April 14th 2007. If you are resident in China you can find out detailed ticket info via http://en.beijing2008.cn/

For tickets to the China 2008 Olympics, for residents of other countries, you have to contact you own olympic organisation. In the UK for example, the British Olympic Committee have hired Sportsworld.co.uk to take care of tickets, tel. 0870 385 0808.

Need more information on the 2008 Beijing, China Olympics.
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Chinese shares drop dramatically.

2007-06-04T23:45:00.000+01:00

This first week of June 2007, Chinese shares dropped quite dramatically after the government increased the trading taxes. The shares as a reult dropped a high 8.3%, which meant a drop of more than three hundred billion dollars.

Many small investors quickly sold stock as they panicked, despite warnings from the government that the trading taxes increase would not have any long term negative effects.

Globally, the effects of the Chinese shares drop affected the world markets little thus and in the last few days things seem to have settled down a little and the panic for now seems over.
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Business Travel in China

2007-05-03T17:02:00.000+01:00

The latest statistics show that China is close to becoming the 3rd biggest Business Travel country in the world. China is fast becoming a power in terms of business traveler numbers into China. As the Chinese economy continues to grow, business traveller numbers also grow.

As Chinese hotels continue to improve their service for foreign visitors and as technology and infrastructure move forward, Business Travellers to China continue to flood into the worlds 4th largest country. The interest in business travellers though is also largely expected to be fuelled by the large demand for networking and educational possiiblities in China, from business people.
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Internet news on China

2007-04-15T18:17:00.000+01:00

This last week Yahoo China made an announcement that they will soon launch a new blogging and networking service. i.yahoo.com.cn will include a blogging service, photo gallery and an online networking service Chinese Yahoo users.

Yahoo's move forward in the Chinese market is a sign of the continues interest and strength of this as a powerhouse on the Internet in coming years. At this time the commercial website
Alibaba dot com owns Yahoo China.

China and unlucky number 4

2007-03-11T23:58:00.000Z

If you are new to Chinese Business and wish to know what to avoid then you definitely will need to know that the number 4 is considered bad in China. The pronounciation in Chinese Cantonese translates to a sound similar to the English word death.

The number four is considered unlucky and many Chinesese cities and regions even go so far as to ban the number four from car license plates. Additionally, many buildings have no fourth floor! Knowing about the situation with the number four can potentially save you an embarassing sitution in business and it will also help you understand why the button for the 4tth floor is always missing in the lifts (elevators).

China students perform well in England (24th Feb. 07)

2007-02-24T22:37:00.000Z

A recent report in the English media finds that Chinese students are the best performing ethnic group in England. The Chinese students were found to be getting a pass rate of over 85% for national curriculum tests, a higher rate the 80% for native British students.

By the age of eleven ,Chinese students were found to be outperforming all other students and the success of Chinese students in English schools appears to comtinue through secondary schooling. The pass rates for Chinese students for GCSE level was also very high.

If you need information on flying to China take a look at the new Getting to China page.

Mandarin to be introduced in English schools (6th Feb 2007)

2007-02-06T12:10:00.000Z

The importance of China as a future business and economic power has again recently with the announcement that English schools are quite likely in the the neat future, to start offering Mandarin as a langauge which students can study.

It is expected that Mandarin and Arabic will be introduced to school sin the EU, for children aged between eleven and fourteen, starting from September 2008. The rules as they stand at the moment are that children must be taught at least one langauge from French, Italian, German or Spanish.

Conducting business in China (7th Jan 07)

2007-01-07T13:14:00.000Z

Trust is a word you may hear many times when you are involved with Chinese business. in China, conducting business involves a large element of trust and people often prefer to do deals with people they at least feel they now. Drinking as mentioned in a previous blog, is designed to give people awareness of the other when they let their guard down after drinking alcohol.

For Western companies this way of doing business can make it a little harder for them to get close to Chinese businesses. This style of doing business also works on a one-to-one basis whereby the Westerner must also continually work on this personal relationship with the company and counterpart.

China and doing business - Golf (13th Dec. 06)

2006-12-06T16:18:00.000Z

Apart from drinking, golf has also been quite important during business deals in China in recent years. Interesting, Xiamen University in China is including golf lessons for their law and business students. The idea is that teaching golf lessons will better prepare students for the real Chinese business world.

The golf lessons will begin for the students from January 2007,with the University President, Mr. Zhu Chongshi stating that the golf lessons will help students to find better jobs, with many Chinese business deals often taking place on golf courses.

Chinese Business and drinking culture (22nd Nov. 06)

2006-11-22T22:31:00.000Z

If you are not familiar with Chinese business culture, you will very likely be interested in knowing about how drinking plays a very important part. When attending meetings in China (and also in South Korea) companies very often hire people and give them good job title's, when in fact there role may be as a drinker, to entertain and drink with other businessmen. This is a well known practice.

There is a philosphy in China and Korea that if you cannot trust someone when they drink, and let their inhibitions go, then you cannot trust them in business. The feeling also is that if you drink together, you will know each other better. Some businessmen are finding it too much these days and golf is becoming more popular as a way of entertaining clients. Whatever happens, you will probably find that things are done differently in China.
http://www.chinese-china.cn

Which language for the Chinese market (25th Oct.06)

2006-10-25T16:33:00.000+01:00

When thinking about starting a website involving Chinese business, there are a few considerations that you might wish to make. You need to consider for example, what market you are targetting. Are your main customers English speakers who want to trade in China or is your target market Chinese people who are looking to buy from abroad?

If you are aiming your business at people who are English speakers looking to learn about how to do business in China, i.e. how to overcome the bureaucracy etc, then English might be enough for your site. If you can also do the site in any of the Chinese languages then even better of course but at least English is a start. There are bound to be many people in the future looking for information about getting involved with Chinese business.
Information is gradually being added to www.chinese-china.cn

Buying Chinese domain names (13th Oct.06)

2006-10-13T15:39:00.000+01:00

Buying Chinese domain names with endings such as dot.cn is not as herd and not as expensive as you may have thought. A company such as http://www.cnnames.net sell Chinese domain names for roughly 23 U.S. dollars and there are many good names available.

When choosing a domain name, if you possible can, include the keywords that you use for your site, in the domain name itself. If you are dealing with music, try and include china and music in the domain name for example. There are tricks you can also try, so that you still get a good name. Using a hyphen in the name for example, can mean that many more names are available to you which will include your keywords.