China has enormous potential. But when we try to work with this five-thousand-year-old culture, we quickly come up against certain barriers.

Here are a few of the most commonly mentioned challenges:

• • The use of English as a common working language
  • A different conversational and discussion culture
  • How can misunderstandings be avoided from the outset?
  • Complex networks of relationships, bureaucracies and hierarchies
  • How does one establish the crucial relationship levels that facilitate effective collaboration?
  • Differing ideas of time/project and quality management
  • What has actually been said or agreed?
  • How can we learn to read between the lines?