How to Make Your Business Succeed in China | 如何叩开中国的财富大门

“Everything is possible in China, but nothing is easy.”

As a result of China’s rise, there is a myth perceived by most of foreign entrepreneurs that:“Everything is possible in China, but nothing is easy.” According to the article on Forbes—— To Succeed In China, Start By Busting This Myth written by Michael C.Wenderoth released on Apr 20, 2018, this fortune cookie wisdom does western executives a huge disservice since there are not silver bullets to do business in China and the success of Apple is unduplicated. However, the good news is that understanding a few key principles can lead to a surprisingly robust ability to navigate the China market.

Here are 8 principles given by Michael C. Wenderoth, the professor at IE Business School and Senior Advisor with InterChina Consulting and translated by Zhao Yusheng, editor of Global Times.

1. 深入中国市场，细分消费类别

    Dig deeper and segment

企业经营者必须获取具体消费门类增长率和利润率等关键数据。对中国企业失败经营案例的研究将助你更具洞察力。

Get base rates on growth, profitability, and “success” in specific sectors. A robust study of failure of Chinese firms would not only be insightful, but surely reveal that failures are shockingly higher than most believe.

2. 了解消费者的兴趣并且与政府同频共振

Know where interests coincide or clash with the government’s

你要知道政府在企业经营中的角色是什么。要知道在中国一切皆有可能，但不是所有的企业家都擅长于此。“中国制造2025”计划就是帮助国外企业了解中国政府对经济运行方向指引的最佳指南。

What is the role of the national, provincial or local government in the sector? Everything is possible in China, but not many executives would willingly play a hand when they have very little odds at winning. The Made in China 2025 Directiveis the single most useful way to understand where the Chinese government’s interests lie.

3. 要懂得获取建议与咨询

Court multiple sources of advice, at the same time

拥有一名以上的专业咨询顾问至关重要。中国地大物博，没有谁敢说自己对中国的每一块土地都了如指掌。所以广聚众人智慧而非将鸡蛋放在一个篮子里将助你事半功倍。

Whether entering the market, scaling or turning around a losing operation, court more than one consultant, at the same time. China is vast, and no consultant or distributor has experience everywhere, so drawing from the wisdom of the crowd can be more effective than putting all eggs in one basket.

4. 多花时间研究中国。

Spend more time in China to get texture

那些不屑于走上中国街头与普通中国消费者互动的企业高管们注定做不好生意。深入市场将帮助企业家洞悉有关风险，让他们了解中国消费者的消费行为差异性。

The failure of top level Western executives to walk the streets and visit customers in China is usually the first sign things will go wrong. Market visits highlight risks related to IP, day to day challenges on the ground, and differences in Chinese consumer behavior and business practice.

5. 拓宽选择渠道。

 Widen options

在中国建立合资企业乃至独资企业是很复杂的，西方品牌可以发掘中国人赴外旅游带来的境外结算和跨境贸易增长，实现在中国之外赚中国人的钱。

Benefitting from China’s rise doesn’t necessarily mean “we must be there” in China.Establishing a joint venture (JV) or wholly-owned venture (WFOE) in China is complex, time consuming and comes with a long tail of cost and maintenance. Western brands can play in China without being in China: Chinese outbound tourism is on the rise, and a chunk of spending from the upper, even middle, class occurs outside China or through cross-border trade.

6. 学会观察和学习。

Observe and learn

在某些消费品领域，比如手机，中国是非常具有竞争力的。手机产品的更新换代速度远远超过你的想象。所以不要放过转瞬即逝的投资机会。学习或改编中国成功的商业模型是在本国市场取得成功的捷径。

In many sectors, from mobile to logistics, China is very competitive, changing rapidly and innovating at a breathtaking pace. Don’t speculate about the future when it can be observe in action. Coping or tweaking a successful business model in China can be a short-cut to winning back in home market.

7. 不要目光短浅

Be wary of short-term thinking:

西方企业家在关注中国市场时总是目光短浅，很多西方企业家与中国伙伴合作时总是过于追求短期回报，要知道，聪明的中国生意人都是具有长远眼光的。

Western executives view China in the short-term and their Chinese counterparts know that.

8. 要态度坚定具有耐心。

Take a hard stand: 

在中国做生意势必会面对政策改变和贸易环境改变带来的冲击，此时处变不惊态度坚定将十分重要。

Some Western companies are waking up. Many German companies, while well poised to profit, have threatened to retreat from China, pointing to restrictions on producing locally and sharing technology.

Words Learning

tónɡ pín ɡònɡ zhèn 

同   频  共   振  :

①Same frequency of vibration as the natural frequency of the resonating system；

② Develop mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people.

e.g 遇到同频共振的朋友特别难。

It is hard to find a friend who has similar personality and interest to you.

mù ɡuānɡ duǎn qiǎn 

目   光   短   浅  : short-sighted

e.g. 这个目光短浅的政策导致了致命的后果。

This short-sighted policy led to fatal results.

Souce: Global Times 

 Forbes

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