Guanxi cannot be explained in a sentence. Mianzi cannot be covered in a slide. Why SOEs function differently from private companies, and what that means for your negotiations: that requires a certain depth.
China Business Culture: Beyond the Basics is the six-part series for those who want to understand Chinese business culture not just at the surface, but thoroughly. Six modules that build on each other, from the cultural foundations to a practical toolkit for everyday business.
Grounded, current, and close to practice. Not the China of 2010, but the China of today: including generational change, digital channels, and new values.
For European companies active in China or planning to be. As a live webinar series or intensive day.
Each module stands on its own, but builds on the previous one. The series is designed as a complete package.
| Module 1: Understanding the Cultural Profile | Why do Chinese partners think and communicate the way they do? This module lays the theoretical foundation: high-context communication, core cultural concepts, and why the same situations are read completely differently in Germany and China. |
| Module 2: Communication and Relationship Building | Guanxi, mianzi, indirect communication, and trust. This module shows how Chinese business communication actually works: channels, meeting culture, the no that is never spoken as a no, and why the relationship matters more than the contract. |
| Module 3: Working in Organisations | SOEs vs. private companies: two entirely different worlds. Plus: hierarchy, decision-making, delegation, giving and receiving feedback, resolving conflict, and attitudes to time. The module for those who wonder why everything runs differently in Chinese teams. |
| Module 4: Marketing and Sales | Positioning, advertising law, sales processes, price negotiations, and contract logic. Why European quality promises often do not land in China, and how to adapt them without losing the core message. |
| Module 5: Generational Change | The China of the younger generation is not the China of the textbooks. 996 vs. tang ping, involution, new consumer values, and digital channels. The module for those recruiting in China, marketing to younger consumers, or working with mixed teams. |
| Module 6: Practical Toolkit | The ten most common communication mistakes made by European companies. Concrete strategies for emails, meetings, negotiations, and conflicts. Working effectively with interpreters. Checklists for everyday use. This closing module turns understanding into practical capability. |
You understand not just what characterises Chinese business culture, but why. That understanding transfers to every new situation.
You know how lasting business relationships in China develop, and which signals matter in the process.
You can tell whether you are dealing with an SOE or a private company, and what that means for decision-making and communication.
You understand the difference between older and younger generations in China, and can adapt your communication accordingly.
The practical toolkit from Module 6 gives you checklists and strategies you can use the next day.
Six modules that build on each other embed knowledge more deeply than a one-off seminar.
| Executives with China Responsibility | Those making decisions that require deep cultural understanding. The series gives you the foundation to think strategically, not just react situationally. |
| Teams Already Active in China | Those working daily with Chinese partners, clients, or colleagues who keep hitting the same communication barriers. The series explains the logic behind them. |
| Companies Preparing for Market Entry | Those planning entry into the Chinese market who want to set the right course from the start. Grounded, not superficial. |
| Marketing and Sales | Those developing messages and campaigns for China who want to understand what works there and what does not. |
| HR and People Development | Those recruiting Chinese talent or leading mixed teams who want to better understand generational change and cultural differences. |
6 x 60 minutes, two modules per week over three weeks. Includes recordings of all modules, supporting materials, and checklists. Up to 30 participants per session.
All six modules in one day, six hours, in-person or online. For teams who want to complete the programme in a compact format.
The series as an exclusive company format, adapted to your industry and your specific China situations. Prices on request.
All modules are recorded. Participants have three months of access to all recordings and materials.
The decision was made in a conversation you were not invited to
A European company spends months negotiating a joint venture with a Chinese partner. Both sides have invested heavily: travel, in-person meetings, extensive documentation. The European team arrives at the “final” meeting with full authority to decide.
The Chinese counterparts listen attentively, nod, ask questions. The atmosphere is good. At the end, the Chinese CEO says: “Very interesting. We will discuss it internally.”
The Europeans are taken aback. They thought today was the decision. What they did not know: the real decision would be made in a conversation they would not be part of, between the CEO, the party secretary, and the chair of the supervisory board.
The formal meeting was not a decision-making session. It was a briefing. Decisions in Chinese organisations are reached through informal alignment beforehand, not through a vote at the table. Those who do not know this interpret silence as agreement and courtesy as commitment.
Module 3 of this series explains how decisions in Chinese organisations are actually made, and what that means for your negotiation strategy.
B2B Communication
We understand business communication, not just cultural theory
Direct access to specialists, personal project support
That depends on your needs. Contact us and we will find the right format together.
Yes. All modules are recorded and you have three months of access to all recordings and supporting materials.
Yes. Communicating Successfully with China gives you a fast entry into the core concepts. This series goes further systematically: six modules, a research-based foundation, generational change, organisational structures, and a complete practical toolkit.
Yes, as an intensive day or as in-house training. Contact us for individual options.
Most china business seminars cover etiquette lists and cultural dos-and-don’ts. We go further: guanxi is not simply networking, mianzi is not simply saving face, and generational change is reshaping both concepts right now. Those who understand the cultural logic behind chinese business culture can decode any new situation themselves.
Guanxi in China refers to a network of relationships built on mutual obligation and trust, developed over time. It is one of the most misunderstood concepts in chinese business practices: often reduced to “networking,” it is in fact a system that governs access, loyalty, and decisions at every level. Guanxi management — the active cultivation of these networks — is a core competence for anyone doing business in China. Module 2 covers guanxi meaning and its practical implications in full.
Three things above all: that relationships come before contracts, that decisions are made before meetings, and that indirect communication carries as much weight as what is said directly. Business culture in China rewards patience and consistency. This series builds the framework to work with that logic rather than against it.
The next level: China, Japan, and Korea in a German-Asian contrast. Particularly valuable for those whose experience from one market becomes a trap in another.
Cultural Values China
A systematic assessment of where your organisation stands in its communication readiness for China, and where the greatest development needs lie.
Asia Communication Readiness Audit
Brand messages for the Chinese market: culturally precise, not just translated.
Transcreation
Talk to us. We will recommend the right format and agree on dates and group size with you.