Question

As a Thai entrepreneur who imports from a Chinese manufacturing company, you

need to explain the main cultural differences between Thailand and China to your

management staff, according to the GMP Group recommendations (separate file):

“Understanding Asian and European Business Culture”

Please tell us, what you would do according to this article:

1. How do you understand the cultural differences between Chinese and Thai

businesses?

2. What does it take for a Thai company to make a business deal with a Chinese

company?

a. Meeting etiquette

b. Agreements / contracts

Answer 1

1. To understand the cultural difference between China and Thailand, or any two cultures, one needs to learn new concepts of time, space, values and attributes.
What it means is that some cultures values being on time more than others, some give more or less personal space. Some cultures also have values that are very different from other countries. We will have to understand these differences between Chinese and Thai culture to understand the cultural difference.

2a. The first step is to be on time. The Chinese value the importance of being on time.
Next, it is important to learn proper greetings. Nodding and handshakes are popular, but one must wait for the Chinese to do it first.
Exchange of card should be done by both hands in China.
Except a few provinces, business Breakfasts are usually not prominent in China. Business lunches have grown in popularity.
Sitting etiquette in China dictates that the most important person sits at the center and then everyone sits in order of hierarchy.

2b. In Chinese cultures, the meaning and spirit of the agreement is more important than the exact word, so one should make sure that the idea behind a particular clause, and the whole agreement generally, has been incorporated-rather than exact specific words and sentences. There should be no conceptual disagreements between the 2 parties.