International Trade Blog

China is a major player in the global market and although it has not yet reached the development level of Western Europe countries and USA it still plays an important role in global market. Trading with Chinese can be a very profitable undertaking, but to succeed you must n\know at least a bit about their business traditions.

As most their business counterparts Chinese men prefer a conservative wardrobe with the appropriate colors. Women should stick to very conservative clothes as Chinese frown upon women who ‘’show too much’’. Jeans are allowed for both genders, but not for official business meeting. Avoid large hand gestures and if you must point to something use the palm of your hand. In general Chinese are not very keen on personal contact. Gifts are accepted, but you must be very careful what you present your partner with. One of the big no no’s is to gift a watch as it is connected with death and therefore should be avoided. Giving gifts to government officials is illegal and is viewed as attempted bribery. Chinese are very punctual so you should always arrive early for a business meeting. While it is very common in other countries do not discuss business affairs during a meal. Remember that Chinese prefer large quantity of small portions during a meal. Do not completely finish your meal or it may be translated that you did not receive enough food and are still hungry.

The general greeting is bowing, but there is a chance that you be offered a handshake. Always wait for your counterpart to offer it. Use formal introductions. Have several copies of all written documents. Chinese value rank and status very highly. The Chinese party will always be the first to leave the meeting. Although some Chinese speak English it would be wiser to use a translator as most Chinese people still do not understand English.

Granted it can be quite hard to successfully conduct business with the Chinese, but the reward can be very satisfying. Respect is a key part in every business deal.

China is on its way to become a superpower in global market. Even the global economic crisis that is currently wreaking havoc in the rest of the world has not been able to crush the prospering economy of China.

China is gaining power continuously for the pas 20 years. While twenty or fifteen years ago we sneered at the quality of Chinese goods, today we gladly purchase a lot of Chinese items. Yes the quality of Chinese products was really bad a few decades ago. China had a lot of cheap labor which in theory should be a good base of great industrial capacity, but China lacked education and technology. So the government of China, a communist government might I add, opened up the country to foreign investors. A bold move if you ask me, considering the ideology. None the less it worked. Western and USA enterprises allocated their factories to China due to the cheap labor costs thus decreasing the manufacturing costs and the overall price of the produced items. That meant good news for the everyday consumer. They brought advanced technology to China and the people who worked at the factories became more skilled thus increasing the quality not only of Chinese products, but also the quality of life.

Now China exports a lot of stuff all over the world and it means a lot of money. People are not any more afraid to buy Chinese goods as the have acknowledged the increased quality. I myself have purchased some Chinese goods and at least until now I have not been disappointed. If China stays on it course I believe it can achieve global market dominance. Where else can you find a rather cheap labor force numbering in more than a billion?

The crisis is currently ruling the world and everyone is just trying to survive. So what does China do? Amidst the global recession China’s economy is still growing. And growing good!

The experts predict that the growth will reach the 8 % mark in 2009. That is hell of a lot higher if we compare this, for example, with the prognosis of USA (1-1.5 %). Still experts warn that China is not completely out of the woods yet and there are a lot of problem that have to be solved. Largely this economic growth is contributed thanks to the huge government economy stimulus plan which was launched in the autumn of 2008 (585bn dollars). Hell a lot of money, but apparently it worked. Most of China’s experts warn that the growth is not stable and it would be much too soon to speak about a full recovery of China. Although the firmaments of recovery are still considered unstable and weak the average income has increased by approximately 10 %. And in general that is a good sign for the population. While that may be a good thing people are still afraid to spend more money and consumer level of China is still decreasing. Not by much, but still it is decreasing.

Export has suffered a significant decrease compared to the previous year. China is exporting approximately one fifth less than last year. Many workers in the export sector have lost their jobs, but thanks to the plan launched by the government did not fell into unemployment. Various government infrastructure projects provided numerous jobs for the laid off workers. This is an admirable achievement for the government. The export levels still remain low due to the overall economic situation in the world. Sadly China’s economic recovery is not enough to pull the whole world out of recession due to the fact that China is not a major importer.

So good news for China! Yeah, but how does it benefit me, my country is still tumbling down the rabbit hole? The deliberation is very simple – if China can do it then we also can. Just don’t give up.

Roughly two centuries ago the Wild West (USA) was the land of infinite possibilities and it offered great opportunity for a smart businessman. Today China can be viewed as the Wild East, a new land of vast riches and potential profits.

China is the fourth largest country in the world, but the number one population wise (1,320,000,000) so by default the potential of labour force is enormous and in time with the right decisions China can become the leader in global market. Although China is ruled by a communist party and its market policy is Central Planned due to some smart decisions by party leaders in the last few years, the GDP of China is steadily increasing. Well in 2009 the increase has been slowed down by the global crisis, but the domestic market decreased the effect of the crisis. In 2009 the inflations is decreasing.

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China already is one of the market leaders in Asia and nowadays is establishing a foothold in the global market. Well if ten years ago we all made fun of people who bought products that were tagged with – made in China then now the situation has changed and China can successfully compete in the global market. As the market grew a need for a global trade platform emerged and that originated in the birth of Made-in-China.com. Continue reading »

Have you ever heard of the international trade site Alibaba.com? Well if you haven’t you should. And here is why:

Alibaba.com is the World’s largest marketplace for international trade. This is the place where buyer meets the seller online. This way sellers can promote their businesses online.

Alibaba.com itself does not offer any products – it is an online business platform where to post information and find potential business partners. Continue reading »