I think there are at least two differences in the way of business between Chinese and American bussinessmen.

 

First, Chinese tend to have business negotiation in a rather indirect manner,as opposed to a direct manner of American businessmen. Chinese take time to see Whether their prospective business contacts are really reliable as human bings, for example, by inviting them to a party and socializing wiht them. In contrast, Americans act with "get-down-to-business-first" mentality.

 

Second, the decision-making process of Chinese companies is considered to be very slow and time-consuming. This is because most Chinese companies have the bottom-up decision-making system which involves many people in the decision-making, as opposed to the American companies which usually operate with quick decisions made by the top management.

I hope American businessmen will understand these differences in business practices and adjust to the Chinese way of business.

 

Notes:

 

way of business: 经商之道

indirect:婉转的

as opposed to :相对于

prospective business partners (contacts):将来的交易对象

socialize:交际

in contrast :相对地

decision-making:决策

time-consuming:耗时