I was selling engineered piping systems to the Chinese back in the late 80’s. Could of used Andrew Hupert’s help. Andrew runs a blog called China Solved (h/t to PanasiaBiz/Bill Belew) and he just put up his 10 commandments for competing in China today. I agree with everyone of them. Wonder what Esther Dyson thinks?

Commandment #1

Know what you don’t know – (for many westerners, this is by far the
most difficult challenge.). Any similarities between China and “back
home” are purely accidental. This is a completely different culture. Do
not be fooled by surface similarities or by local people who “seem to
get it”. Sources of reliable information are your #1 asset.

Commandment #2

China is still a communist country – and there is absolutely zero chance of that changing any time soon.

Commandment #3

You have to show up to win. You must be physically present and put in
the “face time”. There is no “autopilot” in Chinese business. If you
feel that you are too busy to learn about China, then you are certainly
too busy to be successful here.

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