While the USA’s slow-motion self destruction will be a catastrophe, those with interests in China can at least take solace from the fact that bond holders will fare the least-worst of anyone.
By Andrew Hupert
– July 25, 2011
Getting money into China has never been more straight-forward, but once a deal goes off the rails it is often a total loss. Far from making life easier for newcomers, the polarized nature of Chinese deal making has raised the stakes and made China more dangerous.
By Andrew Hupert
– June 15, 2011
For the Chinese side technology is the goal, time is the weapon.
Chinese negotiators often assess the success or failure of a deal by the technology and IP they acquire. They don’t really care how they get it.
By Andrew Hupert
– April 18, 2011
Chinese negotiators generally consider their BATNA to be fairly strong because they operate under the assumption that there is always counter-party. Many westerners, however, confuse ‘guanxi relationship’ with ‘lifelong monogamy’.
By Andrew Hupert
– January 25, 2011
Chinese negotiators are well schooled in tai-chi tactics – and are all too happy to allow brash, confident (and well-financed) western partners and buyers to dominate business relationships until they over-extend their resources and transfer technology, know-how, and best practices.
By Andrew Hupert
– January 17, 2011
The future of US-China commerce depends on counter-parties’ ability to manage chaos and change. The same reality will govern individual businesses and industries. When entrenched players begin to lose ground to competitors – or are weakened by environmental factors – the stage is set for disruption and hyper-competition. This is not a scenario that favors soft-landings – or steady recoveries.
By Andrew Hupert
– January 7, 2011
Chinese negotiators view guanxi from a family connection as a rare commodity that they are contributing to the venture – one that will benefit the entire organization and should be borne by all beneficiaciaries.
By Andrew Hupert
– October 1, 2010
When the literature talks about ‘cultural barriers’ between China and the West, be aware that the key differences are not “fork & knife vs. chop sticks” superficialities – they are deep-seated core beliefs like guanxi vs. due diligence.
By Andrew Hupert
– September 8, 2010
Part 1: Is guanxi a real thing? What is it? When it comes to the value of guanxi in China, the international community is split between the true believers and the heretics. Believers share the Chinese conviction that guanxi is the single most important predictor of success in China, and that if you have the [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– August 31, 2010
Americans in general – but the hard-driving New Yorkers in particular – need to keep their eyes open during their first couple of China deals.
By Andrew Hupert
– August 13, 2010
Chinese negotiators often see the foreign partnership as a short-term tactic on the way to the real long-term goal of independent global competitiveness.
By Andrew Hupert
– July 21, 2010
To some Chinese negotiators, your gain is their loss and your loss is seen as a valuable asset.
By Andrew Hupert
– July 9, 2010
5 best practices for negotiating in a less-friendly China.
By Andrew Hupert
– July 7, 2010
Western commentators are once again connecting unnumbered Chinese dots to form the picture that they want to see.
By Andrew Hupert
– June 21, 2010
Unlike the first round of trade conflict between China and the West, this will not be a war of words between elites, but more of a bare-fisted brawl between street fighters
By Andrew Hupert
– June 16, 2010
We’ve looked at the causes of the Balance of Power Shift (BOPS) and how it affects Chinese negotiating tactics. Now we are ready to look at how American negotiators in China can prepare and protect themselves from the fallout of BOPS.
By Andrew Hupert
– June 9, 2010
Last time we talked about why US-China deals undergo a shift in the balance of power. Shifts in the power balance have to be seen through the filter of your counter-party’s culture and experience. You might think that moving money or assets into China means that you have more power in the relationship with your [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– June 4, 2010
When the power shifts in a Chinese relationship, you’d better know it. Introducing, the Balance of Power Shift, or BOPS. Part I: What’s the Balance of Power Shift? Part II: BOPS and tactics. Part III: BOPS and counter-tactics In every Chinese deal a little power must shift. There will come a time when the prospective [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– May 28, 2010
Last week we talked about the perils and pitfalls of SUCCESFUL negotiations in China. One of the first rules of doing business in China is that a signed contract is a starting gun, not a finish-line flag. In China, negotiations don’t really get started in earnest until after the signatures are on the dotted line. [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– May 18, 2010
In spite of public signing ceremonies including photographers, reporters, dignitaries and permanent commemorative wall plaques – the Western institutions are instructed to treat the agreement as a state secret. China celebrates the signing but hides the cooperation.
By Andrew Hupert
– May 11, 2010
Sun Tzu had his moments, but the best Chinese negotiating advice comes from Lao Tze in the Tao Te Ching. Deal with problems early – before they turn into crisis. (Or as he puts it in Chapter 63: Deal with the difficult while yet it is easy; Deal with the big while yet it is [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– April 29, 2010
Negotiators often use the analogy of ‘jumping through hoops’ to describe the steps needed to reach an agreement. That’s certainly an apt description for the process of negotiating deals in China — but it’s not necessarily a prescription for success. Jumping through a hoop for a pot of gold can make great sense. Jumping through [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– April 19, 2010
It’s hard to criticize China for being arrogant in its dealing with the West when the US is kowtowing like a supplicant. Like most rational negotiating entities, China tends to repeat tactics that are successful – and it has been very, very successful in its management of this US administration. If there are any good [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– April 13, 2010
Team Obama just can’t seem to make a play in China. After 8 years of Bush/Chenney, Obama was supposed to be a stiff fresh breeze that blew out the cobwebs of war and nationalistic unilateralism. The Americans, however, can’t execute on the basics when facing China. This April Fool’s week announcement that the US was [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– April 5, 2010
The policy of Engagement has run its course. The US had unreasonable expectations about the allure of Western systems and methods. China has always been wildly optimistic about the effectiveness of its soft power. As China realigns its relationship with the rest of the world, growing tension and conflict between governments will almost certainly have [...]
By Andrew Hupert
– March 30, 2010
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