Relationships are the key to China business success. Take care of them.

When you are working on a China business project your most important resources are your relationships with Chinese partners. Yet this is the area in which so many ventures run into trouble.

Don’t leave things to chance. Count on our professional relationship management to establish smooth working relationships, avoid misunderstandings, and to overcome problems if they arise.

Meeting Facilitation

Many of our clients are surprised when communication problems arise in meetings and conference calls, even though their Chinese partners speak English. This is usually because of differences in cultural expectations. An experienced intercultural meeting facilitator can help to identify and overcome potential areas of misunderstanding. If it becomes necessary to have difficult conversations, a facilitator can help you to do that in a sensitive way.

Relationship Management

The right time to manage your China relationships is now. That way, when you need to talk brass tacks you know you will be doing so on the basis of trust and good will.

Let us maintain your relationship by making regular contact with your Chinese partners on your behalf, sending your best wishes on Chinese holidays and letting you know about their changing circumstances.

Troubleshooting

Don’t let your venture run aground just because the relationships it is based on have gone cold. Problems frequently arise between British and Chinese partners due to misunderstandings and mismatched expectations.

We can get in touch with your partners on your behalf to find out the causes of any problems and then work with you to establish what would be necessary in order to get the relationship back on track.

Gain confidence in running your China-facing business with Sinophoria Chinese language and culture courses

Sinophoria Day Course

Most training courses on China for businesspeople focus on so-called Confucian psychology, explaining that ancient principles mean Chinese people think fundamentally differently from Europeans. We think this approach is unhelpful and only increases damaging feelings of confusion and alienation. Instead, we focus on explaining the practical differences that make life in modern China unique.

Intensive Chinese Course

3-day Intensive Mandarin Crash Course

A three-day intensive crash Mandarin course which covers the fundamentals of the language, to enhance your confidence in China.

6-day Intensive Mandarin Crash Course Over 2 Weeks

Session one (days 1-3): Mastering the fundamentals of the Chinese language.
Session two (days 4-6): Developing conversational confidence, and learn to communicate in specific industries.

12-Week Chinese Course

If you are interested in learning Mandarin Chinese, but could only spare one lunch time per week, then our 12-week lunch time course would be suitable for you. Each lunch time session is 45 minutes, and there is no homework. This course is specially designed for people who can only spare a short amount of time each week.

Sepura undertook the services of Baozhen Shi as part of an internal drive to train our staff on Chinese culture and how it differed from western cultures. We also included some learning of some key Mandarin phrases with a great insight into the characters used to build Mandarin sentences. Baozhen was very engaging, keeping the lessons focused but also fun.

I would highly recommend Baozhen to any other western company that is working with Chinese companies, the insight and understanding taught to our staff has really helped our relationships with our Chinese owners.

Steve Barber

Acting CEO, Sepura plc
Working for a Chinese company for the first time was quite daunting.

Simple things like people’s names, email etiquette were difficult.

When my company offered the chance to attend some Chinese language and culture training I jumped at the chance. Baozhen got a lot done in a few weeks and I’m certain my communications are now much more effective. I have a lot of contact with HQ and so I’m putting her learning into practice every day! I learnt a lot about the fascinating Chinese culture and we have some laughs in the process.

Martin Underhill

Head of Bid Management, Sepura plc
Baozhen Shi was recommended to Lynton by the UKTI (DIT) as an experienced translator and Chinese cultural liaison. Since then, Baozhen and Lynton have worked in partnership with great success, developing and maintaining a strategic relationship with a key supplier in the Far East.

This has been achieved via regular video conference calls and, on some occasions, site visits. Baozhen has demonstrated a good knowledge of international commercial activities and a professional, meticulous but enthusiastic approach to her work.

Although Baozhen has acted on a consultancy basis, she has presented Lynton in a great light at all stages and operated with our best interests at heart.

Dr Ben Dickinson

Operations Director, Lynton Lasers
It is very rare to find someone combining strategic commercial insight, legal background with first hand cultural and linguistic knowledge of China. Baozhen has demonstrated an adept ability in all these areas. Her excellent support is greatly appreciated.

This combined with her contagious enthusiasm and energy has helped us considerably in our business development activities across several projects in China.

I would not hesitate to recommend Baozhen to companies that need strategic business development and relationship management in China.

Jonathan James

Sales Director (Asia), Thruvision Ltd
I thought I would let you know that everything went really well at the party last week (in China). Our individual speeches went great and the poem went down a storm! Everyone was so impressed with all of us and really appreciated the effort we had gone to! Thank you so much for supporting the three of us and making it possible.

谢谢 and 新年快乐!

Jane Cooke

Director, People & Organisational Develepment, Abcam plc
“Baozhen is smart, direct, and attentive to detail. In addition to interpreting on conference calls and in meetings, she has provided valuable insight and advise on Chinese culture and the practicalities of developing relationships with Chinese businesses.”

James McCrone

Managing Director, TTP Ventus Ltd
Baozhen helped me enormously with Chinese language and understanding Chinese business culture as our business started trading in Taiwan. She helps businesses develop a mutual understanding.

Dr Tim Norman

Managing Director, NIRAS Consulting