Trust or Not?

In recent press there have been vari- ous reports alluding to the conduct of foreigners in China. These have ranged from the disgraceful and unseemly， notably the behaviour of a British man who drunkly molested a Chinese girl， to the frivolous， best illustrated in the antics of a rude Russian cellist refusing to move his feet on a train – something that bewilderingly received nationwide coverage in a country the size of a continent.

The increased reportage and interest in such stories， which are also finding their way into social media platforms such as Weibo， suggests that the Chinese may now be saying out loud what they have been thinking privately for some time， that those who are guests in the country should behave as such and not abuse the privilege. Some say that an uncharacteristic impatience is emerging exemplified by the startling remarks of Yang Rui， one of CCTV News 9’s foremost hosts who outlashed against ‘snakehead’ foreigners and aimed direct expletives towards a respected female journalist. This was particularly surprising as his presenter role is with a foreign language CCTV station and is essentially meant to help facilitate understanding of both Chinese and foreign culture.

Undoubtedly a small minority of foreigners do take advantages and liberties that they would not attempt at home. At the same time， we shouldn’t overlook the behaviour of some Chinese who look to exploit foreigner’s naiveties and wallets. Most foreigners would say that a local business partner is not only essential but desirable. But I have heard others say that they are reluctant to trust Chinese partners. We need to explore why. Is this genuine mistrust or an anxiety about language or cultural exclusion. Many Chinese business people believe that with an international business partner or overseas presence， their business gains credibility， yet others dismiss the idea as foreigners can never “understand” the local marketplace.

So， what does all of this mean for business? Should business partners of different nationalities， or more importantly cultures， be trusted? Can they be trusted? Unfortu- nately the nature of the media is that stories peddling bad experiences sell better than good ones – so you rarely hear of the many and far more common successes and benefits that such joint ventures and cooperation enjoy.

Recently a Chinese prospective business partner approached me， he cited that in his view I ‘understand’ China as the reason for doing so. In a literal sense， this is of course untrue， it would be wildy foolish of either of us to believe I understand China， having only lived here for two years. What he meant however， was that I was making the effort and trying to ‘understand’ China. From a man who has established a successful career in developing links with China and foreign countries it was my endeavours and enthusiasm to learn about China and local business practice that attracted his interest. It was intent rather than achievement that provided the foundation of his trust and what could grow into a long term business relationship.

This experience is probably atypical. Trust is usually established over a period of time rather than immediately and this is evident in international and local Chinese business behaviour. It is quite natural to favour people of your own culture and everyone has heard horror stories of trade scams， missed payments， financial default and late deliveries. Too often these are wrongly attributed to the cultural aspects of partnership when in fact the fault lies with the naive and the dishonest. Individuals， not culture， not language. Yet an initial basis and opportunity must be allowed for people to demonstrate dependability. Whether the relationship goes on to develop from personal likeability， robust financial performance or professional capability is almost incidental， it is probable that as long as there is fair treatment between the parties， and an enduring effort to understand and work together there will be trust.

When frivolous stories such as the one concerning the Russian cellist are given sensationalist news coverage in an attempt to exploit or distort more serious issues， we forget that economies and cultural exchange grow and rely on cooperation with people from different backgrounds who may also behave differently. Singling out for disproportionate attention the actions of a handful of feckless foreigners can do wider damage to our perceptions of and our trust in our (potential) foreign partners.

Of course， this example is something of a caricature but you get the drift….a local businessman or a small enterprise may be influenced by such nonsense to think again about working with foreigners who they come to regard as not fit for partnership or purpose. So let us have more positive news， a bit more trust and a more enlightened insight into the unreported skills and talents of feet planting foreigners.