Marketing into China

Looking for China ecommerce/marketing resources?
Everyone seems to be talking about China these days as being the next big market for Western businesses. In fact, it appears it will be the other way around. I'm starting to believe that China will be the equivalent of Japan in the 70's and early 80's.

I don't profess to know a lot about making inroads into China, the only advice I can give is what my Chinese accountant passed on to me - it's *all* about Guanxi (connections) and an etiquette that is vastly different to ours. It's vitally important that before you approach Chinese companies, you learn about their general and business culture. For example, a response of "no" in a business meeting is considered quite rude - "perhaps" or "maybe" are more accepted as a negative response.

I have noticed over the past year that Chinese merchants and producers are really reaching out to Western markets for partnerships. I get at least a couple of emails each day from Chinese manufacturers wanting to establish ties. While the English isn't great (but waaaaay better than my Chinese), they are always incredibly polite in their approach.

Anyway, if you're interested in doing business in China, the following are a few resources you may find useful. Bear in mind when dealing with the Chinese that when it comes to the web, it's still a relatively new concept, so online business is still handled in much the same way as traditional business. The Chinese are by no means fully Westernized as yet; and quite honestly, I don't think that's a bad thing.

Also, don't judge the company by the look of their web site. I've seen some really dreadful and amateurish sites that are the online representations of multi-million dollar companies.

Analysys Research - Ecommerce/marketing and technology trends and research in China.

Business Etiquette in China - Business etiquette and China business culture, customs and protocol

Guanxi - a term relating to the most powerful tool when doing business in China - connections and relationships.

Ministry of Commerce - information from the People's Republic of China commerce ministry.

I'd like to do some further research and gather some more useful resources on this very interesting topic, so stay tuned for a more in-depth look at commerce, particularly ecommerce, in China.