Silas Deane, 42-year-old president of Baden Bath, a $1 million provider of luxury showers, tubs, sinks, vanities and the like, found himself in China for the same reason every company seems to find itself in the world's most populous country: manufacturing. China is the world's second largest economy and one of the leading destinations for direct foreign investment. But just because China is the global go-to country doesn't mean that making it work for you is a piece of cake. Indeed, overcoming cultural differences can still be as formidable as scaling the Great Wall.

    The Chinese want to do business with individuals--not companies--so cultivating friendships is crucial. Rather than cutting to the chase, the Chinese prefer a courtship filled with get-to-know-you banter and big banquets full of mysterious delicacies. Thus, like other Americans, Deane had to rein in his "get the deal done and move on to the next one" philosophy. To drive home the point, instead of talking turkey, the Nashville, Tennessee, entrepreneur once found himself getting a two-hour foot massage with one of his hosts so that they could chew the fat. And nearly every time he visits his manufacturers in Foshan, they insist on taking him on long drives in the countryside to build camaraderie, often recovering ground he's admired on previous trips. "They want to spend time with you," Deane explains. "They want to get to know you."

    As a formula for success, Barry Tomalin, director of cultural training at International House, recommends you get a Chinese agent and treat your partners to "very nice meals in very expensive places . . . doing this for six months to a year." Chinese society rests on a foundation of guanxi, your network of relationships that is supported by the favors you do and accrue. Deane, for instance, will be helping one of his manufacturers--who doesn't speak English--attend an upcoming trade show in Chicago and hopefully win new business. In return, he's giving Deane the samples he's shipping over from China and offering to bring new products just for Baden Bath's benefit.

    But despite the relationship building, Mike Saxon, author of An American's Guide to Doing Business in China, warns that a seemingly solid rapport can still be trumped by yuan. "People who go over to China think it's the China of centuries ago: Confucius, everybody's honorable and whatever--and it's not! It's a different culture today," explains Saxon, who adds that the 36 Stratagems, a collection of Chinese proverbs, is part of the basic Chinese gestalt. Indeed, Saxon says that it's not uncommon for Chinese companies to keep four sets of accounting books.

    Saxon also says that the Chinese take a long-term view and aren't risk-takers. The society is less individualistic than America's, so the Chinese aren't big on confrontation. To this end, Tomalin highlights the Chinese belief in the "middle way," a nuanced form of compromise, which means they may insist on working out an agreement rather than taking no for an answer. For an American, this translates into fostering respect, including stifling open criticism.

    The challenges can be as big as China, but Deane says his relationship with the Chinese has been a valuable asset. "I would consider a lot of our manufacturing partners over there more than just business partners; they're friends," he says. "They advise me a lot. They're interested in seeing us succeed, too."

    西拉斯迪恩，42歲的巴登衛浴總裁，一個擁有數百萬美元的豪華衛浴，浴缸，水槽，面盆等的供應商，在中國發現同樣的現象，似乎每家公司在世界上人口最多的國家都找到了適合本公司發展的行業--制造業。中國是世界第二大經濟體，是外國直接投資的主要目的地之一。雖然中國是可以讓你大展鴻圖的國家，并不意味著你的工作是小菜一碟。事實上，克服文化差異的艱巨決不比攀登長城要困難。

    中國人喜歡與個人，而不是公司做生意。所以在中國培養友誼是至關重要的。中國人不喜歡直奔主題，更喜歡在談笑風生和充滿神秘佳肴的大宴會中相互結識。因此，和其他美國人一樣，迪恩必須改變他的"讓交易成功，轉移到下一個目標"的理念。為了闡明自己的觀點，迪恩說："他們不是談論主題，在田納西州，納什維爾的企業家發現自己與客戶花費了兩個小時足部按摩，這樣他們可以無所事事地交談。幾乎每一次他訪問佛山的制造商，他們都堅持以長途駕車去農村的方式來建立情誼，而且經常重復到他以前欽佩的地方。 "他們是在花時間了解你。"迪恩說。

    作為一種成功的方案，巴里托瑪林，國際交流的文化培訓主任，建議你請中國代理人和合伙人到昂貴的地方吃大餐，這樣的交往要持續6個月到一年。"中國社交界是建立在關系的基礎上，你的關系網有利于實現你的目的。迪恩說："例如，這將會幫助他的一個不會說英語的制造商，在出席芝加哥即將舉行的貿易展上有望得到新的業務。作為回報，他給迪恩航運來自中國的樣本，并提供有利于巴登衛浴的新產品。"

    邁克撒克遜，《一個美國人對在中國經商的指南》的作者警告說："盡管建立關系，一個看似堅實的交往仍然得通過人民幣才能靠得住。" "過去人們認為中國還是幾個世紀前的中國：孔子思想，每個人都是正直的-事實上并不是這樣的！現代中國的文化已經有所不同。"他為此書添加了36條策略，是一個中國諺語的收集者，被認為是中國基本格式塔的一部分。事實上，中國企業保持4套會計賬簿是很正常的，撒克遜說。

    撒克遜也表示，中國人有遠見，不冒險。比起美國社會少些個人主義，所以中國人不太在行與人對抗。為此，托瑪林突出了中國人對"中庸思想"的妥協微妙的形式，這意味著他們可能會堅持執行一項協議，而不是采取一個否定的答案。而對于美國人來說，這是在培養尊重，包括令人窒息的公開批評。

    這種挑戰大如中國，迪恩說，他與中國人的關系一直是寶貴的財富。 "我會考慮在那里結交更多制造業合作伙伴而不僅僅是商業伙伴，他們是我的朋友，"他說， "他們會給我提供很多建義，也希望看到我們取得成功。"