An opinion article carried in the Shanghai Star on July 29 described the author's unhappy experience here in China during a business venture with a Chinese partner. The message he seemed to want to communicate to the readers was: what a casual and reckless, or even absurd, approach his Chinese partner displayed in dealing with a business contract, as it was signed only "after the umpteenth ganbei" of Maotai in a private room in a posh restaurant, when under alcohol's spell "there is indeed not a single problem that needs to be discussed and everybody is in a mood to sign the contract". As to the minutes of meeting, the official records of noteworthy events in the course of the contract's execution, he argued that they were either "avoided like the plague" or "remained unsigned by the Chinese party for obscure reasons".

It is only natural that a "contract" and its working documents emerging in such a context will breed "snakes in the grass" which won't present themselves until the job actually gets started. In that case, the author continued, "there is little to be done apart from gnashing one's teeth and running a risk of having a violent fallout with the partner". The author also went to great lengths recounting his tough-break with a landlady after renting a house.

In a word, his Chinese partner looked upon an official contract with a Westerner as a mere trifle. Those involved in the contract-related operations lacked the least sense of responsibility. And the owner of the property was no doubt a scallywag, trying to defraud the lessee of his money, and threatening to "throw [his] things on the street". The author then came to the conclusion that the trouble is they (the Chinese) don't think as we (Westerners) do. And it is called "the culture gap".

The ill-luck the author ran into is indeed disheartening. But I cannot agree with him on the conclusion he drew from the case.

I personally have been involved in a number of industrial projects jointly executed with overseas engineering companies over the past decades. Never in the whole course of my career as a project manager have I ever witnessed or heard of such practices as described by the author in dealing with a contract with a foreign partner, at least not within my business circle.

To the best of my knowledge, at the very start of any contract negotiations, a survey or inspection has to be conducted by both sides to make sure the prospective partner is qualified for successful co-operation in terms of credibility and capability. Contract negotiation is one of the most time-and-energy consuming job for the two sides. Chinese crews have long earned themselves a reputation of delving into every detail and being meticulous about wording, lest they be "taken in by the foreign devils".

So it is a great surprise for me to learn from the author that: "Deals are discussed in the broadest of terms and no one appears to be particularly interested in the details".

Once the contract comes into effect, there are a variety of mechanisms and means of monitoring and supervising the whole process to ensure that every part of the job is performed in strict accordance with the stipulations, and each party abides by the terms of the contract. Minutes of meetings, therefore, are indispensable documents to record the four W's (who, where, when, what) and one H (how) for major activities taken and main documents transferred.

They serve as written evidence that follows the tracks of implementation of the contract from beginning to end. It is unimaginable what effect the document would have without signatures. In that case it is null and void.

As to accommodation, hotel rooms are usually arranged for foreigners either by the host unit here in China, or via a trading company, or by the local department concerned. Out of hygiene and security considerations, in most cases they are not to stay in local residential quarters, let alone looking for a house all by themselves. Maybe the author should not have tried to rent a house without proper guidance in the first place.

What the author told us in the article may be based only on his personal experience. However, according to his narration, most probably he had not carried out necessary investigation into the credentials of his business partner prior to entering into partnership. And then, since he did not insist on signing the protocol, there was "nothing much (agreed) in writing" to ensure that every move, every action, every step proceed in the right direction towards a successful co-operation.

I do not know how the author came to join hands with his Chinese partner. Neither do I have any idea as to the nature of his trade, the size of the project or the magnitude of investment. So I am not in a position to make any comments on his deal. But there is one thing I am certain of, that is, the author's account of his business adventure is definitely not representative of the general scenario of business relations between Chinese and overseas co-operative partners.

Note: This article is a response to the one entitled, "Friendly Chinese and 'the culture gap'", carried in the Shanghai Star on July 29.

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