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Why Cross-Border Leadership in China Requires Dual-Culture Management

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Editor’s note (2026):
This article was originally written in 2020. While the examples reflect that period, the leadership challenges around trust, speed, and cross-border alignment remain highly relevant. I’ve lightly updated it to reflect my current perspective.

Managing cross-border teams and projects can be difficult. Different languages and customs create daily challenges, and frustrations often appear where you least expect them. This kind of cultural friction is a natural part of adapting to any new environment, and with time and effort, things often improve.

However, terms like cultural friction are often relegated to purely personal experiences. The following article will discuss how culture influences organizational thinking and behavior, and how expatriate and foreign managers must adapt.

The management challenge becomes even more complex when working with large cultural gaps and being expected to balance HQ and local team needs while delivering business results.

Whether you are part of a team or leading a department or office, success depends on more than personal adjustment. It depends on how well you manage within a specific business culture, as well as how effectively an overseas HQ can provide support, where many norms and expectations are often left unspoken.

China is a country and market where these types of issues become unavoidable. Management is often more indirect, and context, relationships, and hierarchy play an important role in how work actually gets done.

Beyond internal dynamics, leaders must also understand local consumers, business partners, media, and government stakeholders. Many decisions leaders are expected to make are shaped by our prior experiences in our home markets, which form an internal map of what we believe works and what does not.

While these mental patterns are useful, they can also limit us and blind us to other possibilities when operating in new environments. But they can also be limiting. This can slowly undermine local trust and decision-making and, over time, lead to business failure.

This is where traditional cross-cultural thinking runs into setbacks. The Chinese market is not simply a culture; it is a complex system of doing business. It is also constantly changing with the breakneck development of a country, which is fragmented by region along different cultural and industrial lines.

What is Dual-Culture Management?

With this in mind, I want to introduce a concept I’ve discussed with students and professionals in Mainland China: Dual-Culture Management (双文化管理).

While it may sound similar to cross-cultural management, there are several important distinctions. First, the idea of Dual-Culture Management focuses on the ability to observe and respect multiple cultural systems at the same time, rather than expecting one to dominate the other.

In my work in China, I have often seen cross-cultural collaboration simplified into the culture with less power becoming subservient to the culture with more power.

This can materialize in the form of Chinese teams in Western companies being forced to adopt Western styles, or Western employees in Chinese companies being expected to conform completely to local norms. In both cases, the result is usually surface-level compliance rather than genuine alignment.

In addition to purely cultural ideas, there are also business practices and market realities. In China, we see traditional culture influencing how business is done, but we also see enormous impact from technological innovation, modern consumer preferences, as well as concentrated industrial hubs.

I began using the term “dual-culture” because bridging cultures effectively requires more than switching between styles. It requires the ability to hold multiple ways of thinking at once. Here, success is not only about meeting business objectives, but about building strong, sustainable, and trusted teams across markets.

To move toward this more balanced approach, there are several areas where I suggest leaders and managers consider making adjustments: communication style, business instincts, cultural sensitivity, and working speed.

Adjusting Your Management and Communication Style

Taking on a management role in a foreign business environment can be challenging. Differences in hierarchy, organizational structure, and workplace culture often shape how teams expect to be led.

For example, when overseas managers move to China, they may find that teams require more direct instruction. This can sometimes lead to misunderstandings stemming from norms in overseas markets. perceptions of micromanagement or the need for additional training around tasks that might be considered basic in other markets.

Communication itself can also be a challenge, especially when English is a second or third language for most of the team. In these situations, the need for clearer direction often exists alongside the expectation of more respectful and indirect communication, regardless of whether someone is a manager or an employee.

In China, there are also long-standing cultural concepts related to management and behavior, including ideas around face, relationship-building, and appropriate conduct. I’ve discussed some of these previously, including the concept of Suzhi, which touches on expectations around character, etiquette, and social behavior.

While every company is different, these factors help illustrate why management practices that work well elsewhere may need to be adapted in the Chinese context.

From my experience, most Chinese colleagues do not expect foreign managers to adapt perfectly. However, those who make the effort to adjust often see greater success in daily communication, team management, and relationship-building over time.

In the end, Chinese professionals and teams want to feel respected by their boss, organization, and even the overseas HQ. They just want to do it in their own, familiar way.

Adjusting Your Business Instincts

When Western companies establish operations in markets such as China, one of the biggest challenges for managers on the ground and leadership overseeing operations from abroad is how familiar business instincts can quietly steer decisions in the wrong direction.

If you want to hit your business targets, you need to understand local market realities. And the realities in China are fundamentally different, from how consumers buy to how companies operate and how the government views risk.

Senior leaders often rely heavily on their previous experience and an unconscious sense of how things “should work.” In China, these instincts can affect decisions across many areas, including people management, partnerships, media engagement, and interactions with government stakeholders.

A Chinese client told me, “we want to work with you because you understand how Huawei does things.” My Western boss told me, “the Huawei way is wrong.”

One common example is local media relations. In many Western markets, media engagement centers on relationships and expectations of editorial independence. In China, media dynamics are shaped by different commercial arrangements, government influence, and regulatory considerations. For overseas companies, this creates both operational challenges and potential risks if these differences are misunderstood.

Another example comes from my own experience. While advising a Western company planning to expand in China, my team presented insights into new retail models that were already working in the local market. The primary feedback from senior leadership was that these approaches did not fit their existing operating model.

This reluctance to consider alternative approaches is not unusual. However, in China, where domestic competitors understand the market deeply and move quickly, this type of mindset can make it very difficult to compete effectively.

Overall, continuing with “business as usual” in a new market is a common instinct. At best, it leads to poor preparation. At worst, it results in serious market mistakes. Leaders expanding into China need to be willing to recalibrate their instincts if they want to succeed alongside local competitors.

Adjusting Your Cultural Sensitivity

Every market contains cultural landmines, but in China, these can be amplified by the speed and scale of digital communication.

One well-known example was when Dolce & Gabbana faced widespread backlash for releasing advertising content in China that many consumers perceived as racist. The situation escalated quickly, leading to the cancellation of events and a widespread refusal by e-commerce platforms to carry the brand.

Another example comes from IKEA in Shanghai. Over time, some of its stores became popular gathering places for elderly residents. When the company attempted to change this practice by forcing older visitors to leave, the backlash on social media was swift and damaging.

These examples highlight how everyday operational decisions can take on very different meanings when viewed through a local cultural lens.

Foreign companies and senior managers must not only adjust how they think about consumers, but also build habits of including local managers and talent in decision-making processes. Doing so helps surface potential issues early and reduces the risk of costly mistakes.

Adjusting Your Operating Speed

Different cultures operate at different speeds. Many people are familiar with examples such as the so-called “Mañana Culture” in parts of Latin America, where work often moves at a slower pace.

China presents a much different challenge.

In the Chinese tech sector in particular, long working hours and intense workloads are common. Employees, especially engineers, are often expected to handle multiple projects simultaneously. Tight schedules, late meetings, and frequent travel are not unusual.

From my own experience working inside companies like Huawei, these conditions reflect the competitive pressure companies face in the Chinese domestic market. They also tie closely to incentive structures, where compensation and career advancement are strongly linked to performance and results.

Many Chinese employees are highly driven, both by personal ambition and by pride in seeing domestic companies compete successfully on the global stage. As a result, speed becomes deeply embedded in how organizations operate.

This “China Speed” phenomenon, which I often discuss on LinkedIn, is a combination of national-level planning, regional infrastructure hubs, and ingrained company behavior. And it can be difficult for overseas leaders and HQ teams to adapt to. Processes may feel unclear, structures informal, and expectations constantly shifting.

However, as can be seen from China’s massive technical advancements in areas like AI, robotics, new energy, and other sectors, China Speed is a huge advantage for Chinese companies, and a huge risk for overseas companies.

For overseas leaders operating in this environment, there is a clear challenge in learning to move faster to compete locally while maintaining alignment and trust with overseas HQ teams.

Closing Thoughts

In recent years, with the rise of domestic competitors, the Chinese market has become more difficult for overseas firms. Likewise, Chinese companies looking at overseas expansion are being met with rising geopolitical risks and consumer expectations.

Dual Culture Management can act as a helpful tool in reframing how we understand, interact with, and build relationships with stakeholders in different cultures, markets, and organizations.

Success does not come automatically or quickly. Frustration and discomfort are natural, especially early on. Progress requires the willingness to move forward while also accepting that other systems, values, and practices that differ from your own are not fundamentally wrong.

To learn more about the intricacies of navigating, communicating, and managing across China and overseas markets, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.

If you’re interested in thoughtful perspectives on China, cross-border work, and how culture, incentives, and organizations shape real outcomes, you’re welcome to subscribe to China Culture Corner and receive future posts by email.

I also share related ideas and longer-form video commentary on LinkedIn and YouTube, and post updates across the channels linked above.

If you or your organization is navigating China execution or cross-border alignment challenges, I work with teams on an embedded and remote basis. Reach out directly: Sean@SageSightConsulting.com

BUSINESS IN CHINA

China Speed Won’t Stay in China. It’s Building Toward Your Home Market.

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China Speed is often discussed in business circles and in the news, usually in terms of the advantages it gives Chinese companies and how it makes competition harder for overseas companies in China. Today I want to talk about something all overseas executive teams should be taking even more seriously: the risk China Speed poses to overseas companies in their own home markets, and why operational change needs to become the new benchmark for survival.

Despite China’s incredible developmental speed, we have not yet seen a huge number of companies and industries clearly affected by it, which may explain the apparent lack of recognition of the danger for overseas markets. But there are already examples where China Speed has proven to be a deciding factor in overseas markets, including industries like fast fashion, batteries, and robot vacuums.

Today we’ll be going through several examples to explain why China Speed is most likely coming to your home market, if it’s not there already, and why your company needs to start changing now.

China Speed: A Refresher

Before we begin, I’d like to briefly reintroduce what China Speed is, rather than what it’s often assumed to be. It is not 996 overtime, recklessness, the creation of waste/inefficiencies, or a cultural trait. Below is a three-tiered model I use to describe China Speed to overseas companies and executives.

Infrastructure (Can’t Be Copied: China has built up structural advantages that a competitor can’t simply decide to replicate, because they took decades to build. Manufacturing hubs are linked together geographically, so a company can move from design to production without the delays of working across separate suppliers and regions. Government policy support is built to move at commercial speed rather than bureaucratic speed. And real-world deployment isn’t the finish line for R&D in China; it’s the starting point, with products launched and improved based on what happens in the market.

Market Pressure (Forced Speed): The China market is subject to rapid, cutthroat competition, based on several factors. First, the huge number of companies in the market, all trying to build new wealth and take advantage of new opportunities, creates a pressure all its own. That is combined with involution, a vicious cycle of continuous price cutting, which the government can’t completely rein in. Lastly, since the rise of social commerce, companies in China have been able to make use of near-instantaneous access to consumer purchases, feedback, and competitor actions.

Organizational Behavior (Can Be Learned From): Companies in China react to the very real market pressures, using the infrastructure in place, and make rational choices to survive. They find ways to move faster by concentrating authority closer to the customer, creating parallel teams to create internal pressure, killing unnecessary projects quickly, and settling for good enough.

There are three key takeaways from the above: first, the pressures from the China market are affecting overseas markets as more Chinese companies expand overseas to escape crushing competition at home. Second, the infrastructure China has developed over decades provides clear advantages in quality, speed, and price. And third, operational choices made by Chinese companies are usually very rational, and overseas companies may want to begin considering rational choices of their own.

Overseas Markets: When Companies React to China Speed Too Late

We’ve already seen clear examples of Chinese companies winning in the American, European, and other overseas markets. iRobot, the company that created the robot vacuum category, filed for bankruptcy in December 2025 as five Chinese firms captured roughly 70% of global shipments.

Northvolt, Sweden’s battery champion, collapsed after BMW canceled a $2 billion contract, the result of a gap so wide that Chinese competitors reached 96% production yield in four months while Northvolt took four years to reach 70%.

Forever 21 filed for its second bankruptcy in March 2025, closing all 354 remaining U.S. stores after years of significant losses. In its own bankruptcy filing, the company pointed to Shein and Temu’s ability to undercut on price as a key reason it lost its core customer base, the same price-and-speed combination that’s outpaced slower incumbents in other categories too.

I see the problem as three-fold:

  • Overseas brands were not paying enough attention to what Chinese brands were doing in China and how this could affect them in their home markets.
  • Overseas brands were not willing or able to make substantive changes to their operations outside of China.
  • Even when overseas brands tried to adapt, they could not do it in time, as Chinese companies were moving on a much faster timeline.

It is also worth noting that China Speed does create trouble for Chinese companies expanding abroad, in the form of legal issues and public opinion backlash. But this alone shouldn’t make overseas companies feel safe. An overseas market leader could face multiple Chinese competitors producing better products at lower prices and faster speeds than it can match. And it only takes one Chinese competitor to get it right.

The Fix Isn’t Culture. It’s Operational Change.

From the above, the competitive threat posed by China Speed and Chinese companies should be clear. And it’s not a problem that can be solved by tariffs or bans, especially for global brands competing in multiple international markets.

That doesn’t mean copying these moves one for one. Overseas companies operate under different constraints, answer to different stakeholders, and carry more global exposure than most local Chinese competitors do. The point isn’t to run the exact plays above; it’s to build your own version of the same underlying logic, one that fits constraints Chinese competitors don’t have to deal with.

Here’s my list of key changes overseas executive teams should be considering now:

Start Changing Now: One of the biggest mistakes overseas companies can make is waiting until the China threat is obvious before acting, since by then it’s usually too late. Moving beyond a sole focus on short-term results is the first, and perhaps most important, step for overseas executive teams to take.

Create Early Warning Systems: Too much happens in the China market without overseas companies being aware of it, taking it seriously, or having its significance survive the handoff from the China team to HQ. Overseas companies therefore need to create systems and teams to ensure they always get the real picture about what’s happening in China, no matter how uncomfortable it is.

Go on Offense: Too many overseas companies have been confident in their standing in their home markets and have only played defense against Chinese companies. But static defenses don’t work well against fast-moving Chinese companies, and overseas companies need a much more active, aggressive approach to survive.

Simplify Bureaucracy & Processes: This is a big one. Overseas companies simply move too slowly compared to Chinese companies, especially those with the capital and momentum to seriously challenge them in their home markets. Overseas companies need to find ways to simplify their structures and processes to move at least twice as fast as they normally would.

More Inter-office Exchanges: Lastly, inter-office exchanges between China team members and HQ team members, at the mid-senior level, could play an important role. Not only can they increase empathy among overseas HQ personnel toward the Chinese market and professionals, but they can give senior HQ leaders an important point of view they didn’t have before.

None of this, however necessary, will be easy. Internal change always creates resistance and dissension, and flies in the face of existing internal networks, priorities, and incentives. That being said, companies that don’t begin changing at least one to two years before a Chinese competitor becomes a serious threat likely won’t be around long enough to worry about it.

If you’re interested in thoughtful perspectives on China, cross-border work, and how culture, incentives, and organizations shape real outcomes, you’re welcome to subscribe to China Culture Corner and receive future posts by email.

I also share related ideas and longer-form video commentary on LinkedIn and YouTube, and post updates across the channels linked above.

If you or your organization is navigating China execution or cross-border alignment challenges, I work with teams on an embedded and remote basis. Reach out directly: Sean@SageSightConsulting.com

BUSINESS IN CHINA

LV Under Assault in China: When Companies Ignore Public Sentiment

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European luxury giant Louis Vuitton (LV) is losing a David vs. Goliath battle in a China trademark case, where the company already won its case in court but is losing public support after the case verdict went viral among China’s netizens.

The case revolves around Molly Tea, a local beverage brand founded in Shenzhen in 2021, built around jasmine milk tea and marketed as an aspirational brand centered on traditional Chinese cultural imagery. In just a few short years, the company has become a genuine success story, with 2,300+ stores in China and international locations across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

The problems with LV began when Molly Tea applied for trademark protection on its four-petal flower design, part of a broader brand identity built around simplifying Chinese cultural elements into geometric shapes.

China’s trademark office (CNIPA) rejected the applications. Following the rejection, Molly Tea still chose to use the design in its public marketing and advertising anyway. This led to the lawsuit, which was decided in LV’s favor: Molly Tea was fined $1.5 million (USD), ordered to stop using the contested design, and ordered to issue a public apology across all official channels.

But the real trouble for LV began only after they won in court.

What Really Got LV in Trouble in China

In the past six weeks since the Chinese court’s verdict was handed down, the case has gone viral on Chinese social media, with LV losing public support in China for several key reasons:

Cultural ownership: While LV’s brand story attributes the designs in question to Gothic and Japanese influences, many Chinese consumers instead traced those same designs back to Tang Dynasty art, part of China’s cultural heritage. This led to the image of a foreign luxury brand claiming exclusive commercial rights to aspects of the Chinese people’s shared cultural heritage, enough to leave a bad taste in many consumers’ mouths.

Power imbalance: LV vs Molly Tea was not a story of a Chinese company making inroads against LV in the luxury industry. To many Chinese netizens, it felt like a powerful European luxury conglomerate suing a smaller company that sold milk teas for $2.20.

A pattern of behavior: Over the past five years, LV has filed more than 1,700 trademark actions in China, largely against small shops, workshops, and local brands. In Chinese consumers’ minds, this made the story grow from one case against Molly Tea to the image of a global brand systematically attacking China’s street-level businesses.

Public humiliation: The final nail in the coffin for LV in the battle for public sentiment was the required public apology, which most sources agree must have been asked for by LV. For many in China, this went beyond a mere legal resolution into downright public humiliation, which is never a good look for an overseas brand in China given the country’s history with foreign powers from the mid-19th through the mid-20th century, a period still referenced today as the “century of humiliation.”

The thread that connects all these points is that LV had the law fully on its side in the Molly Tea case. Officially, they did nothing wrong. But they’re still losing where it counts.

The Problem Companies Make With Public Sentiment

The mistake many companies make is assuming everything can be resolved in the legal arena: Win a legal case? Great. Lose a case? Pay the fine and move on. But as we can see from the LV case, it’s rarely that simple.

I’ve seen this pattern time and again from inside the room where these decisions get made: companies focus on what works or makes sense legally and file legal cases without factoring in how consumers, media, partners, and other local stakeholders will react, and what biases they may develop.

The problem with legal first and public sentiment second, as we can see in the LV vs. Molly Tea case, is that while protecting IP can be very important to maintaining a strong brand in a new market, none of it matters if the consumers turn against you. No consumer trust equals no one to buy the brand you spent so much time and effort protecting.

If you’re interested in thoughtful perspectives on China, cross-border work, and how culture, incentives, and organizations shape real outcomes, you’re welcome to subscribe to China Culture Corner and receive future posts by email.

I also share related ideas and longer-form video commentary on LinkedIn and YouTube, and post updates across the channels linked above.

If you or your organization is navigating China execution or cross-border alignment challenges, I work with teams on an embedded and remote basis. Reach out directly: Sean@SageSightConsulting.com

BUSINESS IN CHINA, WORK IN CHINA

Hiring for China in 2026: A Reality-Based Checklist `

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As we move into 2026, China remains a difficult market for many overseas brands, and this trend looks set to continue in the new year.

On one hand, overseas and especially Western brands are coming face-to-face with a decline of their global brand capital. What once was an easy sell (global brands = savvy and trustworthy) is much harder as Chinese consumers become more discerning and demanding.

On the other hand, more Chinese competitors are entering the market, not simply offering high-quality products at an affordable price. They are also much closer to Chinese consumer mindsets and trends, and can pivot faster, and more effectively in some cases, than overseas competitors.

It’s also worth noting that in response to these pressures, many overseas firms that largely made the switch from expatriate placements to local managers and leaders have not always seen this type of direct hiring localization strategy bear fruit.

I do not subscribe to the arguments in certain overseas business circles that the Chinese market is simply “too hard“ and there’s no way to win. I believe there are indeed different approaches to success, but I feel that in 2026, the answer is global talent. By global talent, I mean people who can operate inside China’s pace and realities while still aligning with overseas HQ expectations.

Global talent (foreign or Chinese), as introduced in the short video below, focuses on talent, managers, and leaders who can live and operate in both Chinese and overseas business and social contexts. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t hire locals in China (you definitely should), but too many problems result from insisting on a China-only or HQ-only approach.

Personal Note: I am not a recruiter. These insights come from my many years of working in China, seeing how cultural misunderstadnings impact businesss outcomes and how the right hiring choices are vital to aligning overseas HQ expectations and China market realities.

The checklist below reflects global talent as a third hiring path for overseas HQs looking to hire talent and consultants in China in 2026 and beyond. Some items on the checklist focus more on what to consider before hiring foreign nationals, but many can also be applied to Chinese nationals, too.

After all, nationality isn’t a good hiring strategy. When recruiting key leaders and bridge-builders to connect with the China market, it shouldn’t matter where they’re from. Actual skills, experience, and cross-cultural capabilities are what really make the difference.

Talent That is Already In-Country

First and foremost, unless it can’t be avoided, it’s always best to hire someone who is already based in China, for several reasons.

The most practical reason is due to how long the visa and onboarding process can take. Add that to the longer HQ hiring process, closing out current roles, and relocation, and your local competitors could have easily launched a new product (or more) before you got your new leader on the ground in China.

This is something I’ve seen multiple times throughout my own career when acting as a hiring manager at Chinese tech firms. In an ideal scenario, I might consider bringing in a strong foreign candidate, even one with a background working in China. However, I usually declined overseas hires due to how long it would take and the potential negative impact on ongoing projects.

Another related factor is that someone based in and working in China is much more likely to be in tune with Chinese business culture and society. Aside from language fluency and cultural knowledge, China changes so quickly that being away for a few years can easily put one at a disadvantage.

Talent That Speaks Chinese (Mandarin)

Language is a key requirement I often raise for global talent that will bridge the gap between China and global HQs. While it’s natural to assume that local Chinese talent should be able to communicate in English or the HQ language, it’s just as important for foreign hires and consultants in China to possess solid skills in Chinese.

Think of a game of telephone, where the message gets more garbled and more distorted the more middlemen it goes through. And in China, it’s not just about communication meaning drift, it’s also about how stakeholders protect their own interests.

Local suppliers and partners speak indirectly, or even say yes when no is perceived as inconvenient. Translators and interpreters soften their meaning to avoid perceived insults and protect harmony. Local employees might protect their own interests or only tell their boss or the HQ what they think they want to hear. This muddies the water and prevents the overseas HQ from forming a clear picture and making informed decisions.

This is not about assigning blame, but rather helping overseas HQs and leaders understand the practical realities of language and translation in the China market. By ensuring your bridge between the HQ and China not only speaks Chinese fluently but is also willing to give you the plain truth/translation, you can avoid many more troubles down the road.

Talent That Has Worked Inside Chinese Companies

One of the most overlooked advantages for foreign companies in China is hiring talent (especially foreign talent) that has worked inside Chinese companies.

Foreign companies might initially think it strange to hear that they might want to work with someone who has worked inside Chinese companies. After all, they aren’t Chinese. Shouldn’t they hire someone with experience in foreign companies in China? But this isn’t about familiarity or ideology, it’s about ensuring your key hires understand China’s operating logic.

For foreign businesses in China, most, if not all, of the key competitors will be Chinese. It’s useful to have someone with insight on how competitors operate, which areas can be improved, and who can communicate this clearly to the overseas HQ.

Foreign HQs have no issues operating like a foreign business, but they could very well have potential issues operating like a Chinese one in the domestic China market. Talent with past experience in Chinese competitors can bring many benefits and advantages to foreign firms in China, assuming they are willing and able to make the adjustment to working in a foreign organization and reporting to an overseas HQ.

Talent That Understands Chinese Business Culture

A deeper understanding of Chinese business culture is necessary to manage operations between local Chinese teams and overseas HQs. And they take years to learn and can’t simply be picked up on the job.

Things like making decisions with incomplete information, comfort with ambiguity and rapid pivots, and understanding when rules are flexible versus non-negotiable.

First of all, the speed the Chinese market operates is no joke. Chinese companies simply move faster, with planning cycles measured in days or weeks, not quarters. Companies change direction quickly without formal processes, and teams expect managers to decide, not deliberate. Overseas managers who are not familiar with this operating speed often default to overseas control mechanisms like approval gates, reporting layers, or alignment meetings. But this just slows teams down and erodes local trust.

Second, understanding how to manage local Chinese teams is vital. In many Chinese teams, authority comes from clarity and decisiveness, not from building a consensus. Teams expect direction, not facilitation. Chinese team members rarely give direct feedback, but their dissatisfaction will still lead to negative business results. Overseas managers who don’t understand these intricacies may see their Chinese team members’ work quality drop, or see them leave for Chinese competitors that offer better cultural alignment, as well as better compensation.

Lastly, understanding how to manage relationships with local suppliers and partners is vital. Global talent in China is needed that can help the overseas HQ to prioritize long-term cooperation over transactional contracts, accept frequent renegotiation as conditions change, and undertake relationship management outside of formal meetings.

Talent That Has Experience Outside Expat Centers (e.g., Shanghai)

On LinkedIn and in WeChat groups, I see constant updates from foreigners moving to Shanghai and looking for work there. From one viewpoint, Shanghai is a great opportunity for foreign talent. But the point I would like to raise here is that talent, especially foreign talent that has only worked in Shanghai and other top-tier cities, presents a real risk to foreign companies in the China market – it’s simply too safe.

In China, a common phrase is to “eat bitterness” (吃苦; chī kǔ), which refers to one’s ability to bear hardships. To succeed in China, and to help foreign companies succeed, talent and leaders need to be able to move fast, get things done, and deal with enormous pressures. And it’s a real possibility that the Shanghai and other first-tier city environments might not provide the necessary foundation.

Shanghai is the only city in China where English can come close to functioning as a real working language; the city is much more international, and there is much more legacy expat infrastructure. This means there is much less need or incentive for foreign talent to adapt to the realities that rule the rest of China.

For foreign companies struggling and/or looking to improve in the China market, foreign (or any) talent with Shanghai-only experience should be a red flag, especially if they can’t check off other important items on this list. The China market is difficult, and foreign companies in China need someone who can rise to the challenge.

Talent That Will Challenge Your Assumptions

Lastly, one thing that foreign HQs really need is someone who will not simply make them feel comfortable, will avoid conflicts, and simply focus on getting their paychecks during their tenure.

And to be honest, I’ve seen this happen with both foreign and Chinese talent and leaders. If foreign HQs want to understand why their businesses are not doing better in the Chinese market, they should focus on global talent and leaders who will call out issues and work to make improvements.

But at the same time, even the best talent and leaders will find it hard to drive change if overseas HQs do not provide the required support or pursue needed changes on their own end. After all, in China you need to move fast, and moving fast often requires the overseas HQ to move faster too.

Closing Thoughts

Overseas brands are now facing challenges in China that in some ways mirror those encountered by Chinese companies expanding overseas. Both are discovering that the same old approach to talent isn’t working.

First, both tried sending their own people to the new market or managing things from their HQ. Then, after a more local approach was tried, it was found in many cases to create too large a disconnect between HQ expectations and local execution.

This article aims to present a new path, framed in terms of mutual understanding, support, and alignment. The above checklist is in no way meant to substitute for professional and functional qualifications, nor personal fit for specific leadership roles.

That being said, in light of the complexities of connecting and aligning teams in China and overseas HQs, especially in an area of ever-increasing competitiveness from domestic Chinese companies, the old way is no longer working.

Companies that hope to survive and thrive in the increasingly competitive China market need a new approach to talent – not expat talent, not local talent, but global talent – to connect them to China.

If you’re interested in thoughtful perspectives on China, cross-border work, and how culture, incentives, and organizations shape real outcomes, you’re welcome to subscribe to China Culture Corner and receive future posts by email.

I also share related ideas and longer-form video commentary on LinkedIn and YouTube, and post updates across the channels linked above.

If you or your organization is navigating China execution or cross-border alignment challenges, I work with teams on an embedded and remote basis. Reach out directly: Sean@SageSightConsulting.com