Tag Archives: Chinese

COMMUNICATION TIPS, VIDEOS ON CHINA, WORK IN CHINA

3 Sacrifices Expats Make By Not Learning Chinese

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Over the last few years, professionals living and working in China have borne witness to an ongoing debate – whether or not foreign expatriates need to learn the Chinese language in order to not just work effectively in China, but to also understand the country, people, and culture.

To a certain extent, it’s quite reasonable for expatriates to ask whether or not they need to learn the Chinese language. While learning Chinese will undoubtedly aid in communication throughout one’s life and career in China, it certainly doesn’t come easy.

It’s also worth noting that in addition to the difficulties of the language, especially when transitioning from other languages such as English, there is also a significant time commitment involved.

When it comes to the basics, which can include difficult tones and rote character memorization, progress can be slow when it comes to developing a solid foundation. So, in the midst of all these potential difficulties, why would expatriates want to sink so much of their time into the Chinese language?

One key reason is that the China we know today is vastly different from the China that existed at the turn of the century. There are fewer expatriate positions available due to the ongoing development of the Chinese economy, which has resulted in an increase in the number of Chinese talent with experience in international markets and the ability to communicate fluently in other languages, especially English.  

Based on my own experience, foreign expatriates wanting to work in China can no longer expect to pick and choose their assignments. Instead, they must be willing to compete for a decreasing number of potential positions, which may also being them into competition with local Chinese talent. This then increases the need for expatriates to adapt and improve their communication skills.

I recently discussed this issue in my latest vlog on China, specifically what I’ve learned from my own experience working in China and with Chinese companies for over ten years. While I don’t feel it is any way a mandatory requirement to learn Chinese in order to work in China, I feel that would-be-expatriates will be making key sacrifices by not being able to communicate in Chinese, namely control, efficiency, and career development. Take a look at the below video to find out more.

All in all, there are many reasons why a foreign expatriate might consider studying the Chinese language. In addition to supporting one’s own work and career, the language can open new doors of possibilities to understanding China, its culture, and its people.

In the end, in an era where the competition, as well as team members, are speaking multiple languages and sporting comparable skills and experiences, not speaking Chinese, not to mention reading and writing, makes one stand out, and not in a good way.

I won’t pretend that the growing need to learn Chinese will effect all fields and professionals equally, but it seems likely that the Chinese language will become an increasingly important consideration for expatriates looking to make or continue their careers and lives in China.

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LIFE IN CHINA, TECH IN CHINA, VIDEOS ON CHINA

All About Xiaomi: Smart Homes and Cool Tech

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Chinese culture and society have long been one of my interests, and it’s been fascinating to observe how the country has developed over the past 20 plus years. I’ve also been working in the Chinese high-tech sector for several years, and it’s been extremely enlightening to be on the ground in China, and watch how continued technological innovations have impacted the Chinese people and their society.

When it comes to the important technologies that Chinese companies are working on right now, we can see a number of industries that Westerners may have assumed were being solely led by their own countries. But things like solar power, artificial intelligence, electric cars, and phones have all seen impressive developments from Chinese firms. Which leads me to the subject of today’s post, a Chinese company called Xiaomi, which has been making exciting advances in the smart home and Internet of Things spaces.

I previously started using Xiaomi products a few years ago following a recommendation by a friend. Since then, I have become both a fan of their affordable products as well as their connected ecosystem, which in my experience far surpasses in scope that of their closest overseas competitors. In the below video I share the founding story of Xiaomi, the type of products they offer, and how they are doing more to bring their company to overseas markets.

I hope you’ll take the time to watch for a few minutes and learn about this exciting Chinese company and everything they are doing to further connect consumers’ lives.

Thanks for watching!

Do you have any additional questions about the Chinese tech industry or smart home products by Xiaomi? Have you ever used smart home technology or products before? How do you feel they might influence human society in the future? Please feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section. You can also send a send a message directly to the author on social media.

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CHINESE WISDOM

Three People Can Create a Tiger – Social Media in China

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三人成虎The Chinese idiom “it takes only three people to create a tiger”  tells the story of a young but inexperienced Chinese emperor in ancient times. At court the emperor was surrounded by councilors who were only concerned with increasing their own standing through flattery and the spreading of rumors.

One of the emperor’s few loyal councilors thought long and hard on how to educate his emperor, and in doing so protect him from the greedy and pernicious advisers. After a time, he approached the emperor and said “Your highness, a person has come to the palace and said that there are tigers in the streets. Do you believe it?” The emperor immediately replied that he did not. The next day the loyal councilor approached the emperor again and said “your highness, another person has come to the palace and said there are tigers in the streets. Do you believe it?” Although the emperor felt slightly apprehensive, he again replied that he did not believe that there were tigers in the streets. On the third day, the loyal councilor approached the emperor and told him a third person had come forward claiming there were tigers in the streets. This time however, the emperor felt very afraid and immediately rushed to the outer wall of the palace to look out over the city. To his surprise, there nothing was out of the ordinary. There were in fact no tigers anywhere in sight.

At this point the loyal councilor, who had accompanied the emperor, turned to him and said “Your highness, now can you see the dangers of rumors? Even you believed there were tigers in the street when only three strangers had said it was so.” At these words the emperor realized his past foolishness in tolerating the false councilors and afterwards he have no credence to rumors without first investigating them fully.

This Idiom in Chinese: 三人成虎, Sān Rén Chéng Hǔ

A key lesson implied by this idiom is that not only can rumors and bad news spread very quickly, but also that people are likely to believe them. This is very true in China, especially with the recent proliferation of cell phones and social media. And while Western companies can indeed take advantage of the “viral” aspect of the Chinese internet to sell products, all too often they are faced with bad PR and the ire of Chinese citizens. Below are three examples of how social media and the internet can turned against foreign businesses in China:

Nationalism Gone Viral

The advent of Chinese social media has allowed Chinese citizens to be more open in their self expression (within the purview of government censors), and this has had a significant influence on Chinese nationalism, both at home and abroad. And while Chinese nationalistic agendas come from both the government and grass-roots, they are alike in their ability to transform into fierce, if transitory, prejudices against businesses from specific countries. Japan in particular has repeatedly come into conflict with the Chinese government and Chinese people. One of these more recent spats has been over the ownership of the Diaoyu islands, a small group of islands in the East China Sea which China and Japan both claim  as their own sovereign territory. 

This conflict, and others like it, have sparked numerous anti-Japanese protests in China, as well as the boycott of Japanese products and goods. This has included attacks on Japanese restaurants in China (often owned by Chinese citizens), as well as decreased sales (up to 40% in some cases) for Japanese branded automobiles in 2012. Despite the cooling of tensions and protests in recent months,  it is unlikely that Japanese and Western businesses will be able to completely avoid international policy decisions impacting their operations in China. 

Poor Customer Service

Chinese blogger destroys faulty Siemens refrigerator

Foreign companies selling products in China can also get into trouble for quality issues and poor customer service, as German multinational Siemens found out the hard way. After influential Chinese blogger, Luo Yonghao, decided that he was not satisfied with how Siemens customer service in China had responded to a complaint about his Siemens refrigerator,  he posted his complaint online. Following the posting, thousands of Chinese bloggers echoed his comments regarding Siemens’ product quality issues and poor customer service.

Throughout the following social media fallout, Siemens remained silent on the matter, which resulted in the situation going from bad to worse. Finally, with no satisfactory response to his complaints, Luo Yonghao and supporters gathered in front of Siemens’ China offices, and proceeded to destroy Siemens branded refrigerators with sledgehammers. Siemens’ president in China finally responded to public criticism with an official apology, but the damage had already been done, with Siemens receiving a significant amount of negative PR. 

Targeting Foreign Multinationals 

The Chinese government has traditionally made use of its extensive control over the Chinese media and broadcasting industry as an extremely effective propaganda tool, both to shift attention away from problem areas at home and promote important domestic issues and policies. In recent years it has used this power to target high profile Western multinationals that “take advantage of Chinese consumers.”

In March of 2013, state-owned broadcasting network CCTV put the spotlight on Apple for discriminating against Chinese consumers in its China after sales service policy. The report prompted widespread discussion on Chinese social media, and resulted in a public apology by Apple’s CEO Tim Cook. Later, in October of 2013, CCTV target international coffee-chain Starbucks for overcharging Chinese consumers.

However, in this case, many Chinese bloggers defended Starbucks, commenting that state-owned broadcasters should be directing attention at more important issues. The fact that many Chinese consumers see Starbucks’ products as a luxury item (and thus worthy of a high price) also likely prevented a large social media fallout. The fact of the matter here is that foreign multinationals present a tempting target for state-owned media reports, and the smallest misstep can open the doorway to a slew of bad press.

Final Thoughts

As shown in the above examples, news spreads fast in China after ideas or rumors appear, and there is little Western companies can do to directly control or influence what they may evolve into. When Western businesses correctly manage their operations in China, the result can be great product launch or a successful marketing campaign. Chinese consumers will happily share information on their favorite products and videos, no matter the country of origin. However, when things are done the wrong way, when problems are ignored or simply overlooked, businesses and products can be derailed in very short order. Like the idiom presented at the beginning of this article, once someone starts talking about tigers in the street, it won’t be long until many more people are doing likewise. Sometimes it doesn’t matter whether the tigers are real or not, once Chinese consumers (and state-owned media) believe the tigers exist, it may already be too late. 

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any additional thoughts or questions on the negative effects of Social Media in China? Do you know any other useful Chinese idioms that are similar to the one above? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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