REVIEW--Myths about doing Business in China; Chee and West

I was quite excited to find a book about doing business in China written by a Chinese for foreigners. But I was soon disappointed. Mr. Chee’s explanation of “Westerners” doing business in China is an apt description of his own book—- culturally arrogant and simplistic.This book was a total waste of money unless the unstated goal of Mr. Chee was to use this book to convince “Westerners” (whoever they are) that “the Chinese” (again, whoever they are) are all culturally duplicitous and base all their stereotypical opinions on undocumented personal experiences. On the other hand, if this is an example of Mr. Chee’s stated goal of teaching Westerners “what to really expect in China’ then there is some value—it’s taught me that Chinese “academia” is not quite to the level of the West yet. No matter what the goal, it wasn’t worth the $35 or the time it took to read it.While I admit that I shared some of the same cultural experiences, the author’s lack of research, sweeping generalizations of both “Chinese” and “Westerners,” double standards for analysis and constant willingness to defend questionable Chinese cultural practices with “I’ve seen this in the West too” invalidates any truths that might be found.The most blatant example of double standards is Chee’s discussion on honesty. On page 55 he claims that Chinese tell “white lies” to preserve harmony and that this is not only acceptable, but seen as honorable to all Chinese (all 1.3 billion of them?). Yet, just 50 pages later he bemoans the fact that Westerners see the Chinese as dishonest. Later in Chapter 9 he justifies the wholesale theft of IP with the excuse “it happens in other countries too,” specifically, and I’m not making this up, in the “Chinese countries” of Taiwan and Hong Kong.Lack of real research is equally troubling. For a 150 page “academic” or “professional” work the bibliography is woefully small; only 29 sources total—20 of which are from the same Western experts that he chastises for being “arrogant and ignorant.” Basically that’s one dubious and self-discredited reference for every 3 pages.Sweeping generalizations and stereotypes of Westerners and Chinese with no documentation is also glaringly pompous. Examples include:• Women coming to China “need not fear…" "You will be treated with respect and find that China is a safe country to travel in (p.47);” No stats or attempts to measure respect or quantify safety.• “Chinese families are more extended than Western ones (p.);” First, how is this even possible?! Second, with no stats, how do we even know? Third, personally I have 84 first cousins, 16 aunts and uncles and can document at least four different households with 4 generations living together in America.• “All Chinese people are justifiably proud of their long history…” (p.71); Sounds suspiciously like the Chinese government’s famous “All Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan straight…”• “Americans, I am sad to say, are often the worst offenders here.” (p.75); Stat? Studies? Examples? Anything more than one biased, limited opinion?• “The Chinese perception of this was… (p.76); As if there is only one perception for all 1.3 billion people—a common assumption made my Mr. Chee and the Chinese Govt.• Mr. Chee claims that any Chinese giving background information rather than answering a question directly is always doing so from innate Chinese altruism and a desire “to ensure that all points of view are taken into account." (p.87); Again, how is this even possible that “all Chinese” are this aware of the source of their opinions and social environment let alone this generous, this educated or this unconcerned about the time it takes to explain all this history?! I have a simpler answer "all Chinese have trouble saying "no."• “The Chinese are certainly among the toughest negotiators in the world. (p.94); Maybe so, but how about some proof?• “There are, or course, occasions when Chinese can be aggressive and rude. This is uncommon…” (p.101); How could he possible know the frequency of aggressive or rude behavior? How would he measure it? Any support studies? Who decides if the Chinese are rude or aggressive? The Chinese themselves? The foreigners? How about the new laws in Shanghai this month (Feb 2007) that attempt to crack down on the frequency of cursing and uncooth language to curb aggressive behavior and stop fights before they start?• “The Chinese may not look sophisticated or slick when compared to their Armani-suited Western counterparts. But let me assure you they know your company and Western practices much better than you know China and its ways of doing things.” (p.98); I don’t know about the rest of “you” (all 3+ billion non-Chinese) but personally, I’ve never met Mr. Chee. And I work in an industry that is relatively new to China and in which most if not all of my factory associations are first time participants. Not only that, but I’ve been in Asia for 11 years—not much by “Chinese” standards I know, but I’ve done a bit of study, more than my factory sales reps, I dare say. Further, the only “Armani Suited” people I’ve ever worked with are the Chinese trying to put on Western aires—unfortunately with white socks, labels still on the sleeves and more cigarettes than money in their pockets.Finally he extrapolates his own experiences to all the other 1.3 billion Chinese with no other research or qualifications. For example he uses his own personal observations of the decreasing number of times he had been offered an illegal DVD in Shanghai as proof that piracy is decreasing—could it be that marketing has just gotten better, enforcement more lax and/or that previously underground street vendors now have their own stores and don’t need to street contact any more? My personal experience with street CD/DVD vendors in Shenzen is that there are hundreds of times more today than in when I was in Shenzhen in 1995.His extrapolations reach the ridiculous when he concludes his 3 page justification of Chinese IP theft with these three comments (page 106):• “There is a genuine sense that IP is really no big deal.” How/when did he take a “general” survey of 1.3 billion people?! I doubt that Haier, Lenovo, and other Chinese multinationals would agree. Maybe an alternative explanation could be that the education and government enforcement is so poor in China that people don’t know what a big deal it really is.• “A large proportion of Chinese behavior (IP theft) can be described as driven by expediency, by the need to get by in an often harsh world.” The obvious extension being that the country with the most poverty is allowed the most IP violations. Yet China leads the world in piracy, not Bangladesh, Lao or even North Korea.• “And, of course, faking goods happens in the West too.” I don’t recall “you do it too” ever being an acceptable professional, academic or legal justification for anything—in China or in the West.The book is not academic, professional, well researched or well written. While Mr. Chee’s experience is certainly extensive his analysis and supporting research is not. His cultural understanding may actually be spot on, but how much of this book is “real” verses exaggerated? How much is written out of defense against the foreign “China bashers?” How much is derived from a noticeable sense of wounded national pride? How much is just off the cuff stories strung together to meet a publishing date? There are simply too many stereotypes and generalizations and not enough research to recommend this book to anyone. There is a reason why the best anthropology is done by outsiders looking in and not people looking at themselves.