If you do not have a contact within the company, use an intermediary to arrange a formal introduction. Once the introduction has been made, you should provide the company with information about your company and what you want to accomplish at the meeting.

You should arrive at meetings on time or slightly early. The Chinese view punctuality as a virtue. Arriving late is an insult and could negatively affect your relationship.

Pay great attention to the agenda as each Chinese participant has his/her own agenda that they will attempt to introduce.

Each participant will take an opportunity to dominate the floor for lengthy periods without appearing to say very much of anything that actually contributes to the meeting. Be patient and listen. There could be subtle messages being transmitted that would assist you in allaying fears of on-going association.

Send an agenda before the meeting so your Chinese colleagues have the chance to meet any technical experts prior to the meeting. Discuss the agenda with your translator/intermediary prior to submission.

Meeting require patience

Guests are generally told where to sit, which are in descending order of rank. Senior people generally sit opposite senior people from the other side.

It is imperative that you bring you own interpreter, especially if you plan to discuss legal or extremely technical concepts as you can brief the interpreter prior to the meeting.

Written material should be available in both English and Chinese, using simplified characters. Make absolutely certain that written translations are accurate and cannot be misinterpreted.

Visual aids are useful in large meetings and should only be done with black type on white background. Colours have special meanings and if you are not careful, your colour choices could work against you.