Business Culture

China/Taiwan

Taiwanese negotiation tactics

1.      Controlling the schedule and locations. As usually negotiation are held in Taiwan, they are aware of the time and money cost for you to come to Taiwan, and your eagerness to win the business. Therefore, the Taiwanese may play the schedule and appear the indifference to the success or failure of the meeting; even through they are also eager to have the business. 

2.      Threatening to do business with your competitors. “Knowing your enemy and knowing yourself” is a war rule widely read by every Chinese. Undoubtedly Taiwanese are good in playing off your competitors. They may tell you that they can easily do business with others.

3.      Using friendship as a way of gaining concessions. Taiwanese who have established relations with foreigners may remind them that if you are a true friend you would put in 100 percent effort to forge an agreement of maximum mutual benefits.

4.      Patient. Taiwanese negotiators are patient. First of all, they want to construct a friendship, know more about you and show their patient. Therefore, they will appear not in a hurry to jump into the topic. Commonly, they will invite you excessive entertaining in the evening and your performance will also be taken account.

5.      Inflating prices and hiding the real bottom line. Taiwanese may appear to give in to your demand for lower prices, but their original stated price may have been abnormally high.

Tips for the first meeting

1.      Seek an intermediary person known by both party and company to the meeting.

2.      Shaking hands is the accepted form of salutation.

3.      Exchanging business cards are as important as elsewhere. Remember taking the business cards with both hands, because t shows the fully respective.

4.      Spend some time pretending carefully read the business card to show the respect to the person.

5.      Your business card should be bilingual, stating your title and department. Further, your name can be translated into Chinese, but you must seek the advice from a knowledgeable person to help you choose the better Chinese characters. If you have a Chinese name on your card, it will have some positive and amazing effects.

6.      Let your intermediary to propose a dining invitation.