Conducting business in China is different, if not difficult. It differs in culture, language, legal environment, political system, and economic development. For example, China is basically a "planning" political economy. What does this mean to you? It means the government's role can and will always be part of your business. Government support is more important in China than in Western countries.


◇ Differences can mean uncertainty. So how should you prepare yourself in order to conduct a successful business in China? The following are some tips:
◇ Be culturally sensitive. Be aware of the special customs and traditions. In Chinese culture, for example, saving face is considered important. You should not criticize the Chinese practices merely if they are different from your standards.
◇ Communicate respect. When interacting with Chinese, consider how to demonstrate respect--positive regard, encouragement and sincere interest--for them.
◇ Be nonjudgmental. Meaning to avoid moralistic, value-laden, evaluative statements, and listen in such a way that others can fully explain themselves.
◇ Realize that perceptions are personal. There is no such thing of "one and only way" in cross-cultural communication. You should realize that your own perceptions are not necessarily valid for the rest of the world.
◇ Show empathy. To understand others from their own point of view and how they feel about the matter under consideration--"put yourself in Chinese shoes".
◇ Tolerate ambiguity. This is the ability to cope with cultural differences, acceptable degree of frustration, deal with changed circumstances and people, with little visible discomfort or irritation.
◇ Be positive. Cultural difference does not mean bad, but diverse. In fact, human nature is culturally attractive. So always be positive and expected to learn new things.
◇ Be humorous. Humor is important in dealing with uncertainties. A warning, though, political issues are highly sensitive. So avoid talking politics publicly.

Money and Banking in Shenzhen[/b]
Understand Chinese Money

Chinese Renminbi is made up of both paper money and coins, which is formally called Yuan , more often known as Kuai (used in spoken Chinese). It breaks down into units of ten Mao or Jiao , and one hundred Fen . The bills available are: RMB 100, RMB 50, RMB 20, RMB 10, RMB 5, RMB 2 and RMB 1. Coins are usually use for small change you find coins of 1 kuai, 1 Jiao, 2 Jiao and 5 Jiao. Rarely used anymore, but still there are the Fen coins.
Be aware that at present China is suffering from a rash of counterfeiting . Fake notes are usually produced with color photocopiers and are easy to tell as the paper feels different. A few years ago you were only likely to see fake RMB 100 notes, but these days there are even fake RMB 5 notes in circulation.
Major Banks in Shenzhen[/b]
ABN AMRO Bank [/b]
http://www.abnamro.com/
荷兰银行
Bank of China
http://www.bank-of-china.com/
中国银行
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) [/b]
http://www.icbc.com.cn/
中国工商银行
Agricultural Bank of China [/b]
http://www.95599.sh.cn/
中国农业银行
China Construction Bank Shenzhen Branch
http://www.ccb.cn/portal/
中国建设银行深圳分行
The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Shenzhen Branch

http://www.hsbc.com/
香港汇丰银行
Citibank


http://www.citibank.com.cn/
花旗银行
Standard Chartered
http://www.standardchartered.com.cn/
渣打银行