For many a foreign multi-national, setting up shop in China is an exciting event.

MBA courses everywhere teach that the first thing you do when entering this burgeoning market of no less than 1.3 billion souls is to fully adapt to local conditions and, most importantly, that includes the Chinese language. It is therefore no surprise that many foreign multi-nationals try at all cost to be more Chinese than the Chinese and write everything on the package and the product in Chinese as well as the directions for use and the handbook.

Sure, those 1.3 billion prospective customers beckon. Unfortunately a lot of them are still poor and many are unlikely to buy that cosmetic or food product at 50 yuan anytime soon as. For some, this would constitute about 10 per cent of their annual income.

I am told that there are more than 1 million foreigners working in China, and they could constitute about 5 per cent of the people who are potential candidates for purchasing locally-made foreign products, a not inconsiderable fraction. Besides, as those foreign friends are likely to have more brand allegiance, they would be even more likely buyers than a local. Possibly doubling or trebling that percentage quoted.

Unfortunately, most of those foreign friends have not yet learned to read Chinese comprehensively, and that includes me.

It is here that major problems might occur.

Winters in the capital city of Beijing are not only much colder than in Shanghai, the air is also much drier. So dry in fact that electro-static electricity builds up when walking across carpets. This highly charged trotting often makes handshaking and kissing a shocking experience when sparks fly over from one shaker and kisser to the recipient.

The dry Beijing air also causes white and delicate skin, such as yours truly happens to be wearing, to fissure and crack. Applying a moisturizing lotion daily, therefore, becomes mandatory, lest one is prepared to suffer agonizing itching.

And so it came to pass that I waltzed into the local Carrefour, and bought what I thought was a famous international moisturizing baby lotion and liberally applied this for three days on arms and legs until I nearly died of an insufferable itch. What was in the bottle? Baby SHAMPOO!

So what is to be done? Well, I would recommend that all manufacturers who also wish to attract the foreign segment of the Chinese market at least print the generic name of the product in English and the area of application. Those who want to go the extra mile could also assist by writing down the ingredients in English.

And for manufacturers who are not so concerned, write some essential English on the package anyway as a courtesy to their faithful customers of yesteryear albeit on another continent.

The same suggestions apply to Chinese manufacturers and food packers. The reason why I bought a Japanese DVD player recently is that marks on the machine and the remote control units was in English. Many foreigners, and they compose a sizable segment of the consumer market in China, would be inclined to do the same.

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