Check references, making sure they're all in the same industry. Make the call to confirm. Be a detective, with an interpreter if necessary. Ask about track record. Did they meet deadlines? Did they understand the meaning of a completed job? In any environment of economic development, expect incompetence to be common, and search for the competent ones. Incompetence and inexperience are just as much trouble as dishonesty. Avoid firms dealing with westerners for the first time – they'll be out to establish their cleverness by taking you for a ride. Your best bet is a western-invested company with western executives at the highest levels. Check out everything.

4. Seek Clarity

A good western negotiator, with any sense of strategy, will not offer his opponent a clear picture of his ultimate goals or what compromises he will accept. Chinese intermediaries have an even greater incentive to disguise their specific objectives and, in fact, to keep shifting them as the negotiation proceeds. They don't feel obligated to adhere to their proposals from session to session, since they're not the deciders. They don't think it's beneficial for either party if they stick rigidly to some "deal" they made with you yesterday. That would be viewed as irresponsible, since only the higher authority is entitled to make final decisions. They don't delegate authority as readily as we do. Don't expect to sign off some clause and then move on to the next, secure that the clause has been finalized, as you would back home. It doesn't work that way. Intermediate deals are flexible, and can be sacrificed unilaterally in the end game. Since everything is tentative until the final act, they may be quite evasive in the early stages. Or they may overstate a verbal agreement due to difficulties in understanding our language and our culture. So during these intermediate stages, you may have to fight tooth and nail for clarity.

But don't just treat it as fighting the culture, or trying to educate them in the straightforward ways of the west. The Chinese are indirect and group-oriented in ways that serve them well, even in business. They are rooted in a pre-market family-oriented culture, in which social harmony is maintained through a gentle style of communication – where individuals are not assaulted too directly with brutal facts. It's a communication style that comes into sharp conflict with our blunt and unfeeling western directness. The Chinese view their communication style as the essence of civilization, as distinct from us barbarians, and they will not abandon it easily. So don't just dismiss them – "The Chinese don't do clarity". Learn the language of indirect communication, and you will elicit much greater cooperation in finding what you need to know. Learn the trick of assertive indirectness.

5. Bargain Strategically

To begin with, get control of the agenda. They may use their position as host to load you down with meetings and banquets, especially if they are old school – though in the modern centres they're more inclined to get straight down to business. Still, if you're spending the money, you're in charge. Determine if the meeting or banquet is important, if the officials you're meeting are really relevant to the discussion, or whether they are just window dressing to show off their connections and keep you tied to their agenda. You have to find a balance between receiving their hospitality graciously and getting down to business. Overall it's a polite power struggle right from the start, and you need to make it clear you want to negotiate the agenda. At the same time, remember that they want to deal with you and keep you away from their competitors, so leave the exit door open a little in case they're too inflexible. If you come in wide-eyed about making a China deal, you'll end up playing their game. Have a Plan B – an alternate source of supply will boost your confidence enormously.

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