Sweet and sour source
13 September 2012
Sourcing products in China can work brilliantly – but it can also go badly wrong. David Kennedy, who sourced goods there for a UK company, explains the cultural differences you need to consider when trading with Chinese firms
China’s economic reforms in the 1990s opened up vast new markets to western companies. Reduced government involvement and policies encouraging private enterprise have meant that businesses function along broadly western lines.
But while business in China now feels more like it does at home, there are still important differences, which I observed at close...