China Business Culture and Etiquette 5 - gifts

Last time we talked about the courtesy of addressing people in China, this time, we will cover the custom of giving and recieving gift in a Chinese business setting.

Gift giving is an important part of Chinese culture; nevertheless, nowadays, official policy for government officials forbids giving gifts; this gesture is considered bribery and your gift may be declined. In many business organizations, however, attitudes surrounding gifts are much looser. In any case, you will have to approach giving gifts with discretion. If you wish to give a gift to an individual, do it privately in the context of friendship, not business.

Chinese decline a gift three times before finally accepting (looking elsewhere, shaking their heads and waving their hands are the usual gesture), so as not to appear greedy. You will have to continue to insist. Once the gift is accepted, express gratitude. Go through the same routine if you are offered a gift or else you would be considered impolite.

Never present a valuable gift to a person in the presence of other people. Given the strict rules against bribery in Chinese business and political culture, this can cause problems for the recipient. Instead, do it privately. Do not take any photograph of any gift giving unless it is a symbolic gift presented to the organization as a whole.

Giving a gift to the entire company, rather than an individual, is acceptable in Chinese business culture as long as you adhere to the following rules:

-Gifts are exchanged AFTER all business negotiations are concluded .
-Specify that the gift is from the company you represent. If you can, explain the meaning of the gift to the receiver.
-Present the gift to the leader of the Chinese negotiating team.
-Do not get anything that is obviously expensive, so that the company will not feel obliged to reciprocate.
-Make sure that the gifts given to people of the same level of importance are equitable or of similar price. You do not want to cause any jealousy or other more complicated issues.

Do not wrap a gift before arriving in China, as it may be unwrapped in Customs.
If possible, have your gifts wrapped in red paper, which is considered a lucky colour. Plain red paper is one of the few “safe” choices since a variety of meanings, many of which are negative, are attributed to colours in Chinese culture.

Pink and gold and silver are also acceptable colours for gift wrap. Wrapping in yellow paper with black writing is a gift given only to the passed away.

Because colours have so many different meanings in this culture in different regions, your safest option is to entrust the task of gift-wrapping to a store or hotel that offers this service.

What NOT to give:
-Scissors, knives, or other sharp objects can be interpreted as the severing of a friendship or other bond.
The following items are to be avoided as they are associated with funerals:
-Straw sandals
-clocks
-handkerchiefs
-four of any item (the Cantonese word for “four” sounds exactly the same as the word “death”)
-gifts or wrapping paper in white, black, or blue

Next time on China Business Opportunities, we will talk about negiotating in Chinese terms.