Americans Doing Business in China – Part 4/16

February 24, 2012

Note from Blog host — another example of East meets West through business and trade: On October 22, 2004, according to the Associated Press, “The beer is flowing, John Fogerty is singing on the stereo and six scantily clad young Chinese women are doing the hokey-pokey. Hooters in Shanghai is open for business.”

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Guest Post by Bob Grant — publisher/editor for Speak Without Interruption, an international online magazine.

I have been traveling to China since 1998. I would not consider myself a seasoned traveler to that country—making around twenty-five visits total. When I traveled there, I usually stayed between one and two weeks. Never during any of my visits did I ever see or meet a “Red” Chinese person. I saw no one wearing an “I am a Communist” sweatshirt, ball cap, t-shirt, sunglasses, button or anything else physically labeling them a Communist. I saw no street banners, bumper stickers, storefront displays, mass gatherings or any other public notice that I was among Communists. What I was among were just people—regular people.

All of my visits were for business purposes. I met with business people only and traveled to see their factories or offices. I did not take much time to “sightsee” which was a mistake in retrospect.

With my business, I tended to visit locations where I was the “only” non-Chinese person within miles. I never felt threatened or out of place. No one ever stared at me or pointed—“Look at that non-Communist person.”

I found “most” of the people with whom I came in contact during both business meetings and other activities to be very pleasant, warm, humble, honorable, respectful and charming. I will have to admit that I did have some dealings with business people who were other than honest; however, China does not hold a monopoly on those types of business people. As a rule, I found the Chinese people with whom I had my dealings to be extremely hard working, dedicated and honest.

I had no fear going out on my own in any part of China that I visited day or night. I was never threatened or accosted in any manner.

One day I was walking around a city on a Sunday afternoon—alone. I felt a tug on my shirtsleeve and turned to find two young girls at my side. One asked me if they could speak with me—in good English. I did not suspect their reasons for talking with me to be anything other than honorable, so I said, “Sure.”

The girls were students at the university and their English professor had given them an assignment to stop, interview and take a photo with any “Westerner”. They said they had been looking for hours and I was the only “Westerner” they had seen. I was happy to answer their questions—one of the girls took my photo with the other girl. They thanked me, and went on their way. These were just two young students with an assignment, and I felt honored that I was able to help them complete it.

Perhaps I am being a bit naive—I was obviously around Communists during my visits to China, but I never felt that I had really “met” one. I had been fortunate enough to meet people from another country and culture, and they had accepted me at face value. I enjoyed each one of my visits to China and care a great deal for China and its people.

I truly believe if people could meet and work with other people around the world that many of the world’s problems would be solved. Perhaps this is a bit Pollyanna of me but this is how I see things from my myopic point of view and experiences, with China and its people, and I will stand by them.

Note from Blog host – If you plan to do business in China, I recommend visiting the China Law Blog first.

Continued February 25, 2012 in Americans doing Business in China – Part 5 (a guest post) or return to Part 3

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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Note: This guest post first appeared on February 17, 2010

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Americans doing Business in China – Part 3/16

February 23, 2012

Note from Blog host — another example of East meets West through business and trade: According to Slate,, “The first Chinese eateries in America, known as ‘chow chows’, arrived in California in the mid-19th century to serve Cantonese laborers.”  In addition, NPR.org says, “There are about 40,000 Chinese restaurants in the US (today) — more than the number of McDonald’s and Taco Bells combined.”

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Guest Post by Bob Grant — publisher/editor for Speak Without Interruption, an international online magazine.

How can you embrace an enemy of the USA?  More important–why would you?  If these questions have not been outright asked of me–they have been implied.  Why I chose to speak highly of China, and its people, is something that I do willingly and with pride.

I am not the Manchurian Candidate. I was never brainwashed during my visits there. I was not tortured or forced into my feelings in any way. Subliminal messages were not piped into my hotel room at night. I did not have bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails. I was not drugged or impaired in any way unless it was done willingly by drinking too much of that fine Chinese beer.

Within my small circle of business contacts, experiences, and associations I would say it is Western business people who are trying to brain wash the Chinese. As I developed my business relationships, I have read of those that experienced failures mainly because Western companies tried to “Westernize” their Chinese business partners rather than adapting to their Chinese partners way of doing business.

Maybe it has been different for others who have done business within China but for me, personally, my successes came from letting the Chinese conduct business in “their way”, and I tried to educate my customers in their methods and ways. I won’t say it was not frustrating at times—in fact, it was frustrating most of the time.

However, in the end, it was what worked best for me while others failed. Honor and “saving face” are very important to the Chinese—I tried not to put any of my associates in a position that threatened either.

Again, just from my experience, I have to say that people from any part of the world can work together to achieve a common goal if all parties can be flexible and understanding. From my perspective, this is the true receipt for success among the world’s population.

Note from Blog host – If you plan to do business in China, I recommend visiting the China Law Blog first.

Continued February 24, 2012 in Americans doing Business in China – Part 4 (a guest post) or return to Part 2

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

Subscribe to “iLook China”
Sign up for an E-mail Subscription at the top of this page.

About iLook China

Note: This guest post first appeared on February 14, 2010

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Americans doing Business in China – Part 2/16

February 22, 2012

Note from Blog host — an example of East meets West through business and trade: General Motors and Ford captured four spots among China’s best-selling passenger cars in 2011, with the Buick Excelle commanding top spot with sales of 253,514 units. Source: Inside Line.com

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Guest Post by Bob Grant — publisher/editor for Speak Without Interruption, an international online magazine.

I have been traveling to China since 1998 and had a business and personal relationship there since 2003. I have a business that is based on these relationships built up over the years—they continue today.

I am not a young man—but even at 64, I know that the relationships I have made there are once in a lifetime treasures. I have found China and its people to be nothing like they are portrayed in the media.

I will—as best I can recall — write about specific experiences and places, I have visited. Unfortunately, the original computer that I had when I started my China business fried its hard drive, and although I was warned, I never backed up my material so I have lost many excellent photos. However, I have enough remaining pictures to tell a story or two.

One of our US government officials reportedly made a comment with the word “retarded” in it.  There was also an attempt to make a joke using “Special Olympics” on a TV show in the past.  Why do people say the things they do?  Why have I said some of things I have said?  When I have made comments at the expense of others, I thought either it was funny or it made me feel important in some perverse way.  As I have gotten older, experience has taught me to think before I speak—at least a little more than I did in my younger years.  What someone says as a casual statement—or an attempt to make a joke—can offend others on a multitude of levels.

There are a little over 1.3 billion people in China from the figures I have seen.  I have had people say to me, “With that many people, how do you tell them apart?  They all look alike.”

After having an association with specific Chinese people since 1998, I take great offense when someone says something like this to my face or within earshot.  To me, they do not all look alike.  They may all have similar physical features but I see each person I have met in my business dealings as a singular and unique individual just as I would feel about anyone I met throughout the world.  As you meet people—speak with them—get to know them, I think everyone has personal features, mannerisms, personalities that make them different from other people in the world.

In terms of my feelings for China, and its people, it is only based on those who I have met personally.  As I view it, there are values that I have found all Chinese possess—the reverence of  family and respect for their elders.  I wish these values were more evident in the US.

With 1.3 billion people milling around China, how can they have these values when there are so many of them?  I once worked with a product that was to replace the toxic cleaner Nitric Acid.  In most instances, the shipping tanks in the ocean liners have to be cleaned out after they are emptied.

They send “Chinese People” into these tanks to spray them out.  One contact actually said, “There are so many Chinese that when one dies from being exposed to the Nitric Acid there are a million more to take their place.”  It was all I could do to keep my hands from going around his neck or punching his lights out — being older at the time, I felt he was not worth the hassle.

I believe the respect for family—and elders—in China is not something just confined to my small group of acquaintances there.  I think this is something that is countrywide, and I feel this is a virtue beyond description.  During one of my visits, my friend and primary associate invited me to a party to honor his new young son.

We held this event in a large, private room within a very nice restaurant.  There were many people there, and as I have written regarding other situations, I was again the only non-Chinese in the room.  I felt completely at ease and extremely honored he would invite me to such an important “family event”.  The photo above shows me with my associate, his wife, his mother, and his new young son. I did, and still do, feel like part of their family.  To me they remain friends, family and associates, and they “certainly” do not all look alike to me!

Note from Blog host – If you plan to do business in China, I recommend visiting the China Law Blog first.

Continued February 23, 2012 in Americans doing Business in China – Part 3 (a guest post) or return to Part 1

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

Subscribe to “iLook China”
Sign up for an E-mail Subscription at the top of this page.

About iLook China

 Note: This guest post first appeared on February 12, 2010

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

David – (Discovering that The World is a Global Market)

September 30, 2010

Guest post by Bob Grant
First published at Speak Without Interruption on September 22, 2010. Republished here with permission.

 The world is a global market – those businesses that don’t believe this, or embrace it, will go by the wayside.

In 2002, I was an independent manufacturer’s rep and one of my customers said that I should look at branching out – representing products “outside” of the U.S.

I thought this was good advice, so I first started looking in Europe.  For many reasons – after trying many companies and products – I decided that Europe was not for me. 

I then looked and visited Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. 

I settled on China because I felt that was a country that could best provide me with the products I needed to succeed. 

Once I settled on a product category, I then knew that I needed one key person inside China to make it all come together and become successful. 

It took me a year to find that person and his name is David.  Without David, I would not be where I am today and I am forever indebted to this young man.

Bob Grant with David’s family in China.

David and I had some very productive years together. 

Then like most things that are successful – there was a down turn.  This was due to the world economy and actions taken by both the Chinese and U.S. Governments. 

Through no fault of our own our business died. However, David has stuck with me and I with him.  We are now working on new projects that we both hope – and feel – will get us back some of the volume we have had in the past.

I never had a son and David became that son to me.  He and his family have also adopted me as part of their own. 

It saddens me when I read statements about China and its people that just are not true.  I can only testify to my own experiences and connections inside China but I would not trade the relationships I have made for anything. 

David and his family are a key part of my life and forever will be – regardless of what the governments of our respective countries might say and do.

See more of Bob Grant’s guest posts – start with Not All Factories in China are Sweat Shops

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Understanding How to do China Business

April 27, 2010

There’s a reason my wife warned me to never do business in China; then she went and lost money doing business there herself—and she’s Chinese. However, being Chinese in China is the same as being American in America—there is no guarantee that anyone is going to be a success and fill buckets with money.

If you want to read the nightmare side of doing business the wrong way in China, see Showdown at Changsha by John Alley. “Western companies felt they had to be players in the China market, and dozens of the world’s largest corporations fell over themselves losing money in abortive China joint ventures.” Source: Asia Review of Books

Walmart in China

Google appears to have failed because they did not learn that doing business in other cultures means changing the way you think and present yourself. On the other hand, Bob Grant’s guest posts on iLook China are examples that there are success stories in China. Recent news shows that GM is making profits in China—more than in the US. McDonald’s announced recently they are opening hundreds more fast food outlets in China this year.

Anyone wanting to do business in China should consider going back to school. I checked one of America’s top universities, Stanford, and found a course taught by an expert. There’s even a Doing Business in China for Dummies book.

Learn more about Doing Business in China

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar. 

3 Comments | America, American culture, business, China, Chinese Culture, education | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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