Sourcing & Import from China Tips and Guide

I like to think that courtesy is more about your attitude than what you know. Even if you don?t get all the nuances exactly right, or make mistakes, a kind spirit and willingness to try something new will always serve you well as a gracious guest during any business dinner in China.

For many westerners, it is hard to slow down for the longer style of customer entertainment in China. The notion of a ?power breakfast? or ?working lunch? is not common here. Dinner is a place where business is discussed, but it is typically secondary to the enjoyment of the meal and getting to know each other better.

I have found these meals have a way of slowing things down and helping to decompress from a busy day of work in the factory. A dinner with the factory management can often distill what really happened that day, as well as what needs to happen later in your relationship. A lot of times, you may learn business details at dinner that you never find out in the factory office.

It?s a place where you can measure each other in a different way. Often, for example, you may meet new people who are friends of the factory or relatives running other factories that are an important part of your local area?s production network of suppliers who can help you later on.

Remember your hosts are probably just as worried as you are about doing something discourteous. If you are at ease during dinner, it will go long way to helping your host become more comfortable too.

Whether you are just getting acquainted, working to together on a production run or celebrating an achievement, building a deeper personal bond at dinner will always benefit you and your business associates.

Depending on what region of the country you are in, and how formal the dinner arrangements are, you will find considerable variety in what to do at dinner. Still, you can expect to find a few common formalities and courtesies that are commonly observed.

When going to the restaurant, you will often find yourself in a private dining room and you will not be seated in the general serving area. This is a show of respect for you as a guest.

As a guest, you may be asked to sit prominently at the table in the so-called ?honor seat.? Usually, this seat is facing the door of the dining room. Your back will be to the wall or window of the room as a show of courtesy and respect.

Sometimes, you might note that one of the napkins is folded differently than the others; this designates who is paying for the dinner. Napkins will typically be placed beneath your plate and then draped onto your lap from the table.

Generally, the courses are: cold dishes, followed by the hot soups, vegetables, meat and fish dishes, followed by rice or noodles if more food is desired. Finally, a fruit selection might be served at the end of the meal. At the start of each course, as the guest, everyone will be waiting for you to taste something before others begin, so don?t be shy.

It is more polite to try a little bit of everything, even in small portions. If you find something you do not like, just leave it on your plate and move on to what you do like. You get extra points for using your more adventurous tastes when dining out, and, typically, there are more good surprises than bad.

Toasting with drinks can be a random free-for-all, or it can be a very formal circle of toasting where the guest will toast those at the table working alternately from right to left. Toasting may also move around the table where you are toasted by your host and then shortly after you will toast that person back before moving on to the next person.

After the toast, especially if you have finished your drink in the toast, you may see your host gesturing back toward you holding the empty glass with both hands; you should do the same back as a way of ending the toast.

Group toasting is often done by simple clinking your glass on the table, and then raising it with both hands in a toasting gesture.

Regardless of where you find yourself in China, dinner should be fun and a chance to relax for a few minutes from the cares of the day. More often than not, it is one of the best places to build the foundations for your relationship with your factory.

Shanghai - When Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue hit the newsstands last week in mainland China for the first time, with the sexy singer Beyonce on the cover, the competition was fierce.

Readers here had already seen the February issue of For Him Magazine, which features a Chinese singer, A Duo, on its cover wearing a white V-neck leotard that reveals every other inch of her rather substantial figure.

Inside, A Duo poses like a dominatrix, clutching her breasts, wrapping her naked body in celluloid and bending, sweat-drenched, over a submissive man.

The racy For Him Magazine also offers tips on “how to do it in five minutes” (because a “sex break is the same as a coffee break”) and features stories with titles like “The Dangerous Sex Journey of QiQi.”

The images and text would hardly be shocking to North American or European readers. And the magazine’s photographs are tame compared with what appears in magazines in Japan and other parts of Asia, including the rest of China ¡X Hong Kong and Macao.

But in mainland China, where sex is still a taboo subject and pornography is outlawed by the ruling Communist Party, the images are not only highly provocative, but also perhaps the latest sign that sex and sexuality are infiltrating the mainstream media.

And this powerful burst of sexual energy seems both a symbol of how rapidly the transformation of China is unfolding and, to some, a harbinger of the troubles ahead for a nation that will inevitably struggle to absorb its newfound freedoms. “There is a fine line between the open mind and sexual indulgence,” said Xie Xialing, a professor of sociology at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Even five years ago, mainland books and magazines were banned from showing pictures of scantily clad models or publishing content that was deemed offensive or morally corrupt. The only sexual content to be found was in sex education pamphlets or books of nude Chinese women sold as “art works” at big city airports.

Today, however, with the Chinese economy booming and the government loosening its hold on the personal lives of everyday citizens, magazines are beginning to publish soft-core pornographic photographs, sexual fantasies and even clues about where to pick up call girls.

Popular mainland Web sites are going further, posting erotic videos and creating forums for women eager to market their sex appeal and post their photographs on the Internet: images of traveling with friends, undressing at home, even striking erotic poses.

“This is a kind of grass-roots sexual revolution,” said Annie Wang, author of “The People’s Republic of Desire,” a satirical novel about the mad race to modernization.

The government announces periodic crackdowns on pornography and often censors sexual content in magazines and on the Web. But since about 2000, the censors have started to look the other way. Political activism is still a no-no in New China. Entertainment is a different matter. Even the Web site of Xinhua, the official press agency, offers slide shows of the “10 Hottest Babes of 2006″ and “Rarely Seen Photos of Sexy Men.”

Many say the trend is being driven by the market, and by entrepreneurs eager to cash in on the freer lifestyles on the mainland.

“The market is the No. 1 driving force behind the boom of such magazines,” said Pan Suiming, a professor of sociology at Renmin University in Beijing. Western luxury brands entering the mainland market want to advertise in popular magazines and on Web sites that draw consumers. And on the mainland right now, pictures of sex kittens draw.

For Him Magazine is one of the success stories of this genre, with a circulation of about 480,000. It probably helps that the magazine is published by a government agency, the National Tourism Administration, an indication of official interest in investing in the phenomenon.

Jacky Jin, the magazine’s editor in chief, said he wanted to affirm a new kind of lifestyle for readers that he calls the new mainland metrosexuals, guys who love cars, gadgets and girls.

“We’re opening a new window for Chinese men,” he said, noting that he has been criticized by government censors on several occasions.

A decade ago, the private lives of people on the mainland were still quite restricted. Whom you married, where you lived and what was considered permissible were tightly controlled or closely monitored by the government, employers and other authorities.

But urbanization, greater mobility and the power of the World Wide Web have challenged all that.

Now, experts say, the mainland is going through a period of enormous personal and sexual freedom. Young people ¡X most of whom grew up without siblings under the one-child policy ¡X are wearing more hip and provocative clothing. And they’re growing addicted to entertainment online, where they can also search for love and indulge their lust.

Pan said he thought one reason for the cultural change was a change in women’s attitudes.

“Women, especially young women in the cities, no longer think it’s a bad thing to expose their bodies,” he said. “Five or six years ago, when some women started to wear clothes that exposed their midriff, most people couldn’t understand why belly buttons should be regarded as beautiful and deserve public exposure. Today, young women think it is natural to bare their midriff.”

Zha Jianying, a Beijing writer and author of “China Pop,” said the growing openness was actually a good thing.

“This trend of being more open about sex is definitely healthy, coming after all those years of puritanism and Maoist suppression,” Zha said. “Now, maybe we’re seeing the pendulum swing in the other direction.”

But Xie at Fudan University said things had gone too far.

“In certain periods in history, such as the decadent Ming dynasty, sex was not a taboo and even intellectuals would talk about their sex skills casually over tea,” he said. “Today’s society is still better than that. But I do find that people care less about dignity.”

He went on to call for limits on how much skin can be shown publicly, and said: “Human beings should have a sense of shame.”

Other critics say the new freedoms have brought degeneracy, a boom in prostitution, and what Wang, the author, called “the concubine mentality.”

Hard-core pornography remains under assault by the government, which can exact heavy fines on trespassers. One pornography kingpin was recently sentenced to life in prison.

And the censors are wary of influences from the West, like the TV show “Sex and the City,” which has a huge following here, mostly on pirated DVDs.

Even “The Vagina Monologues” theater play was canceled in Shanghai recently, apparently because of the title.

But in a country that also happens to be the largest manufacturer of sex toys, being naughty is catching on.

In November a man in Shanghai was selling condoms in packages bearing the likeness of Chairman Mao.

His shop was closed for selling condoms in “inappropriate packages.”

I think sometime lot of friends do not really know that in China, you have to be extra careful but not too friendly to everyone. I just like to share a story on what happened to my friend as the following.

When we got out of the east train station we were hijaked by lots of people that asked us for taxi. We said yes, they took or bags and went for a car. These men were nicely dressed. Then before we left, i asked them for the price, and they said 350 RMB. I said no, and took my bygs with me. Then the bargaining started, and they asked us “what hotel?” i said wich, and he asked me for the number, i shoved it to him, and he pretended to type that into his phone. Problem for him was that i am tall. So i saw what was happening. He were only ***ting us. Then he said 330 RMB, i said no. And walked away. After excactely 5 meters, some other guys came, and the process started over again. But now we got it down to 80 RMB, still way to much, since the papers we recived from the hotel said about 40 RMB. But then i just wanted to get to the hotel. We got in the car, wich now was a real taxi. But as soon as we got in, they looked the doors,and wanted the money then. Of course i said now, and after an short argument he realised that he did not get anyway and started driving. We got to the hotel safe and sound, but it was not a good start on the stay in the city. If this was like this because of the trade fair, or it is normal, i don’t know anything about. But we took a lot of taxi the rest of the stay, and it was cheap and mostly good service from the rest. But beware at the train station.

TAXI from airport to hotel took one and a half hour and cost 230RMB. the driver may not know the way.
from hotel to airport took 45mins but cost 240RMB. the second driver may have adjusted his meter to run at higher cost.

Selecting a talented import agent can be the key in helping a company advance its import operation. Companies most often have two options when importing products. First, hire an import agent (indirect channel). Or, second, import directly from the supplier or producer of the product (direct channel). For most companies, especially small ones option number one is the most preferred.

In an era where we have numerous suppliers and producers for a single product, the service offered by an import agent becomes invaluable. An import agent will not only provide your company access to several suppliers or producers, but it will also help your company during price negotiation, as well as arrange transportation and insurance, logistics support and help to handle the return of damaged and rejected goods. Some import agents also attend trade shows on a company’s behalf that can save a company time and other resources. Many import agents also have established foreign offices that are familiar with local cultures and business practices, including a program in place to ensure quality products are delivered to the importer.

To help your company select the best import agent, consider the following:

• Track record and reputation of the import agent in the specific market your company proposes to import.
• Size of the firm. Most import agents are small.Some small import agent companies are as good as their bigger counterparts, and they are very flexible. A larger company will give you the networking opportunities to expand more rapidly.
• Competing products and the number of importers the company is representing.
• Financial strength and needs of the agent, particularly commission. This will depend on the level of effort expected.
• Degree of know how on your product and the entire industry.
• Exclusivity. Let the agent perform first. Do not rush to give the agent exclusivity.
• Request at least three references the company has done business with before.

One of the major concerns for import agents is that the buyer may try to bypass the agent on future transactions, and this is a legitimate concern. Your company must unconditionally assure that the import agent will be compensated for the value that the agent adds to the transaction. If trust and a strong relationship is established that fear will not be justified.

Assuming that you have identified a knowledgeable import agent to help you find the right product, and a supplier that will supply your company with a quality product at the right price, the next step is to identify a customs house broker (CHB) who will be responsible to help your company clear customs. CHB are individuals or private companies that are regulated by customs to assist importers and exporters to clear goods through customs. The CHB must be knowledgeable in clearing goods for the type of product and the country or region that you are prepared to import from.

Some CHB’s specialize on specific industry or region. Others assist importers clear customs in variety of industries. To facilitate and reduce customs clearance time from days to hours, CHBs use Customs Automated Commercial System (ACS) or Automated Broker Interface (ABI). ACS or ABI are designed to receive and process entry documents and provides cargo disposition information. Services offered by CHB include filing and complying with the following major customs requirements.

Entry: The process of filing customs documents at the port of entry to get the good released from customs.

Admissibility: Process of complying with other Federal Government agencies (example: Department of Agriculture) and including whether the shipment contains products or articles that are prohibited and that the invoice presented is correct that no shortage or overage exists.

Classification. Using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) which is a system adopted by most commercial countries of the world. HTS is classification of manufactured products that are sold in the world according to an agreed-upon numerical system.

Valuation: The appraisal of the value of imported goods by customs officials for purposes of determining the amount of duty payable in the importing country.

Rate of Duty: The determining factor that is used to assess duties rate. Duty rate could be calculated on ad-valorem , or specific or compound duty. Ad-valorem is a method when a percentage of transaction value is used. Specific duty is based on per unit or item. Compound duty is hybrid of ad-valorem and specific duty.

In addition to Customs clearance some CHB’s also provide the following services: Carrier and routing informationgovernment licensing and import quota information, warehouse and distribution services, customs bonds, insurance assistance and hazardous materials compliance.

Whether you work with a competent agent and/or CHB, make sure that you are actively involved in every detail of the transaction to avoid surprises, after all, you will be ultimately responsible for any legal and financial issues that might arise.

This is the 4th part of the story of someone’s experience as a 22-year old Importer/Exporter of wholesale goods from India to retailers. In danger of losing $25k investment, barely made Macy’s deadline by an hour, broke even, and vowed never to do Import/Export again. I consider this my “near-death” experience it was that bad…but if I had to do it all over again, I would, find out why!

Beijing - China, where homosexuality is still considered taboo, has opened a hotline for lesbians offering them psychological help and support.

The free hotline launched in Shanghai this week is staffed by trained counsellors who are also lesbians, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We hire lesbians to operate the hotline because they have a better understanding of their pressures and stresses,” said Chung To, the head of Hong Kong-based Chi Heng foundation, which sponsors the hotline.

Many lesbians in China end up marrying men under social pressure, the report said. China has no official statistics on homosexuality but according to the latest available estimate from the health ministry, there were five to 10 million gay men in the country. Some experts put the number at at least 30 million.

Homosexuality was once considered a mental illness in China and a social taboo linked to loose morality.