The Clash Between Polish and Chinese Business Etiquette Trends. The Differences, Similarities and Misunderstandings

Abstract

Is handing a business card appropriately towards the other, quite often international, business partner a key to a successful business meeting? Various countries follow individual approaches in terms of business and social interaction. To some, those approaches may seem absolutely incomprehensible or even shocking. The aim of the following article is the analysis of the differences and similarities in terms of Polish and Chinese versions of business meetings and their arrangement with some remarks on the appropriateness of certain acts and culture-based issues of two Chinese phenomena called: ‘you mianzi’—‘losing face’ and ‘you guanxi’—‘having contacts/influential relationships’. Also, the author will provide a set of tips on how to prepare for a business meeting with Chinese entrepreneurs and how to improve business relationship with Chinese counterparts.

Full text

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 1
The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends.
The differences, similarities and misunderstandings.
dr Katarzyna Bańka-Orłowska
e-mail: kate.the.teacher@gmail.com
University of Silesia
Abstract
Is handing a business card appropriately towards the other, quite often international,
business partner a key to a successful business meeting? Various countries follow individual
approaches in terms of business and social interaction. To some, those approaches may seem
absolutely incomprehensible or even shocking. The aim of the following article is the analysis
of the differences and similarities in terms of Polish and Chinese versions of business meetings
and their arrangement with some remarks on the appropriateness of certain acts and culture-
based issues of two Chinese phenomena called: 'you mianzi’ – ‘losing face' and ‘you guanxi’
– ‘having contacts/ influential relationships’. Also, the author will provide a set of tips on how
to prepare for a business meeting with Chinese entrepreneurs and how to improve business
relationship with Chinese counterparts.
Key words: Chinese business etiquette loose face you mianzi Chinese culture
you guanxi
1. Introduction
The following article aims at verification of the specificity of conducting business in
Poland and in China with emphasis on the different dimensions of business etiquette in both
countries in question. At first, the author describes the most important changes in terms of
Polish - Chinese economical and political areas, emphasizing the tightening of the relationship
between the two countries in question.
The following part of the article describes the aim of the research and research questions
that are going to be investigated in the analytical part of this paper. The author also introduces

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 2
the research subjects and enumerates tools and methods used for the purposes of the further
analysis. Then, the author explains the importance of China as a strategic partner for Polish
entrepreneurs with a brief explanation of the necessity of acknowledging the complexity of the
traditional Chinese culture (Chinese ‘you mianzi’ and ‘you guanxi’ phenomena) and the
distinctness of the traditional Polish culture (post-communist society strongly influenced by
Polish history) emphasizing the differences occurring in terms of the way of conducting
business, communication and business etiquette in Poland and China
In the later part of the article, the importance of business hierarchy, social and business
status in Poland and China are examined as an introduction to the further analysis of the
business meeting conduct in both Poland and China, focusing on the issues, such as: arranging
a business meeting, the course of events during such an event and the later culture based
elements occurring after the meeting, such as, e.g. business card handling or gift giving
ceremony.
The final part of the article is devoted to conclusions and final remarks. The author also
provides a set of tips for Polish businessmen willing to do business with Chinese entrepreneurs,
so that one could avoid ‘loosing face’ in China.
1. Polish-Chinese political and business relationship
Due to the fact, that China has become a major player in global investments. China
started to look for new strategic partners to cooperate with. It could be one of the reasons that
we can witness a tightening of Polish- Chinese relationship in recent years. In 2011 the Polish-
Chinese cooperation received a status of a ‘strategic cooperation’ implicating the significance
of both countries’ business relationship (based on: internet source 2).
There were numerous important projects launched in the recent years establishing the Polish-
Chinese business relations and setting firm foundation for the future business cooperation
initiatives, e.g. founding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2014 (Poland
became one of its founding members in 2015 (based on: internet source 3,4)). Such step
improved Polish balance of trade and helped Polish economy gain financial security. A vast
majority of projects and business initiatives are and will be co-sponsored by AIIB. This
initiative also creates a steady ground for gaining an easier access to the Chinese market by
Polish entrepreneurs now and in the nearest future.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 3
The following crucial date in history was Andrzej Duda’s (Polish president) trip to PRC
in 2015. This meeting helped to establish the political and economic cooperation between the
new Polish government and the government of China, not only by meeting Chinese president
Xi Jinping and the Prime Minister Li Keqiang, but also by attending Polish-Chinese
Economic Forum (this event’s importance for Polish- Chinese co-operation was strongly
emphasized by the Polish Investment & Trade Agency PFR Group) and 20 the “16+1” initiative
summit that took place in Suzhou (based on internet source 5). All these elements contributed
to providing a chance for Polish entrepreneurs to establish trade cooperation with Chinese
counterparts.
1.1. China: a strategic trade partner for Polish entrepreneurs
According to Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Beijing, nowadays, Poland has
become PRC’s biggest and the most strategic trade partner in Central and Eastern Europe. Also,
China’s significance for Polish trade situation have increased, making China Poland’s most
important trade partner in Asia. Additionally, it is second-biggest exporter of goods to Poland
(11,6% of all imports to Poland) (based on: internet source 6).
In recent years, we can witness an increasing amount of Polish entrepreneurs trying to
establish business relationship and business cooperation with Chinese counterparts. However,
trading, negotiating, arranging a meeting, and meeting the demands of the Chinese businessmen
tend to be tricky. Doing business with Chinese counterparts is a very difficult and time
consuming process. The way of business communication and etiquette in Poland and China are
very distinctive, thus it is believed that this comparative analysis will provide a
clarified view on how to prepare and perform an appropriate business meeting with Chinese
counterparts, as each country has got its specific characteristics, which may deeply affect
various aspects of business relationship, business conduct and communication between Polish
and Chinese entrepreneurs.
2. Issues and challenges
The following paragraph is devoted to the description of the study conducted for the
purposes of this article. The author enlists the research questions the she intends to answer.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 4
Also, the importance of the study is emphasized. Finally, the research subjects, methods and
tools are explained.
2.1. Research questions
The article intends to answer the following questions:
▪ What are the similarities and differences in terms of Polish and Chinese versions of
business meetings and their arrangement?
▪ How to behave properly in Chinese environment?
▪ How to ease the process of doing business with Chinese?
2.2. The importance of the study
Although the issue of Western-Chinese business relations has been examined in details
(e.g. Blackman, 1997; Chen, 1993; MacDougall, 1980), it is still considered to be a new field
of research when investigated from the perspective of a Polish businessman. It is believed, that
this paper endeavours to provide basic guidelines for effective business meeting arrangements
and negotiations with Chinese counterparts. Also, the presented material may be helpful in
terms of performing further, more detailed analysis of the given subject set in Polish-Chinese
business circumstances.
2.3. Research subjects, methodology and tools: empirical base
The empirical base for this article is author’s investigation of Polish-Chinese business
relationship of five large Polish companies employing at least 100 workers, five smaller
companies employing 10-50 workers and also some individual businessmen, family run small
companies and one-person economic activities. All the companies and businessmen mentioned
above requested to remain anonymous. The branches the research subjects may be associated
with are connected with: electrical equipment, sports equipment, automotive, manufacture such
as: clothing manufacture, toys production, etc.
Additionally, the author based her research on her working experience as a translator
throughout the years, collecting empirical data enabling her establishing certain patterns and
conclusions in terms of Chinese-Polish business negotiation process, especially from the
vantage point of the difference between Chinese and Western business culture.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 5
The corpus data was collected by means of numerous tools and instruments, namely, a
series of interviews conducted with the above mentioned subjects. Sometimes the discussion
focused on a group interview (FGI), however sometimes it was an individual in-depth interview
(IDI).
Some other qualitative research methods were business meetings’ observation (during
the author’s work as a translator- active participation), field notes, and the analysis of
individually prepared written and audiovisual materials of Polish and Chinese companies used
during business meetings. The quantitative research methods was mainly administering the
questionnaires conducted on the above mentioned workers and entrepreneurs verifying their
acknowledgement of the differences between Chinese and Polish business negotiation process
and the culture-oriented issues concerning business meetings and challenges they encountered
in their Polish-Chinese working relationships.
3. Business and Culture
‘Culture is not a separate system alongside economics or politics; it constitutes (in the
sense of both representing and composing) the social order.’ (Lipartito, K. 2005: 604). All the
characteristics of culture in business are communicated through language which is an integral
part of culture.
It is necessary to understand the values and other symbolic systems that are specific for
a particular society in order to succeed in any form of a business relationship (Kroeber and
Kluckhohn, 1952). Hofstede (2003) claims that the culture is a kind of software embedded
inside one’s mind programming us to behave in a certain way through our personal experience
with members of our society, history, past experience and everything that surrounds us. Culture,
language and business are so much interrelated that without proper understanding of cultural
setting and social behaviour of a language use and culture-oriented elements, it may lead to
misinterpretation and breakdown in communication. Thus, the misunderstandings are bound to
happen when two such distant groups of people (Polish and Chinese) decide to conduct business
together.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 6
3.1. The complexity of the traditional Chinese culture, Chinese entrepreneurs and
business etiquette
Due to a great influence of Confucianism (儒家 - rújiā) on Chinese people, the Chinese
companies (contrary to Polish business reality) tend to be both hierarchical and group‐oriented.
They tend to resemble families in their structure and emphasis of value for searching the group
harmony (‘yin yang’) and loyalty. Also, Chinese deeply consider and emphasize their respect
towards the most senior members of the company (and not only). In such a way, Chinese
companies may resemble a very traditional, patriarchal scheme of a highly socially structured
organism (Seligman, 1999).
Before moving to a deeper analysis of an actual business meeting arrangement with Chinese
counterparts, it is necessary to acknowledge and understand three distinctive cultural factors
influencing the overall relationship with Chinese counterparts, namely:
• contacts - ‘you guanxi’ concept
• face - ‘you mianzi’ concept
• hierarchy – social and business status
3.1.1. Contacts - ‘you guanxi’ concept
Although a lot has changed over the years, there are still some factors, cultural traits that
influence Chinese people’s decision-making process. ‘Guanxi’ means in Chinese: ‘connections’
and ‘relationships’, however none of those translations describe the essence of this quite
complex concept. It plays a fundamental role within the Confucian doctrine and it could be best
defined as ‘reciprocal favours’ or assistance that two people can provide for each other. It
defines the fundamental dynamic in personalized social networks of power (Yeung, 2007).
It is worth mentioning that Western expatriates who want to expand their business in
China or simply expand their careers in China often miss this fundamental point making their
progress less efficient and definitely more time-consuming. However, the importance of
‘guanxi’ is quite relative and may sometimes depend on the geopolitical situation worldwide,
industry or the nature of the business itself. Nevertheless, business and societal relationships in
China are still heavily influenced by networks of trust and mutual obligations rather than by
strong, codified laws (Ostrowski & Penner, 2009). Seligman claims that: ‘the key to getting

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 7
anything important accomplished in China lies not in the formal order, but rather in who you
know, and in how that person views his or her obligations to you’ (Seligman, 1999:180).
Building a good ‘guanxi’ may be a long and difficult process, however, after
establishing trust, all the other steps leading to a successful business cooperation with Chinese
counterparts seem easy. Polish businessmen often see Chinese ‘guanxi’ concept as tit-for-tat
relationship between two people or business entities. Naturally, when necessary, Chinese
companies turn to their ‘guanxi’ network seeking help, thus it is crucial to work hard on
cultivating close relationships in high or strategic places. Chinese people also assume that all
the rest of the world works on similar rules and principles, thus they sometimes ‘view foreign
friends as windows to benefits in the world outside China’, however it is hard for them to
differentiate between the personal and organizational sphere, thus it may sometimes end up
being awkward for foreigners when a personal Chinese friend asks for an organizational favour,
and vice versa (Seligman,1999:195). Chinese believe that having ‘guanxi’ is a key to
‘diminishing the danger of problems, and makes solving them much easier when they do arise’
(Seligman,1999:196).
To some entrepreneurs, it may seem mildly like corruption or insider dealings, but in
China, it is the natural way of doing things. Everything is done through connections. Certain
issues we would consider unacceptable are sort of standard operating procedures over there.
Some Polish businessmen even compared this system to Polish PRL style of doing business.
3.1.2. Face - ‘you mianzi’ concept
A renowned Chinese writer and linguist Lin Yutang (1935:199) once said that: ‘Face
cannot be translated or defined’. In some sense he was right, because the concept of Chinese
‘losing’ and ‘saving face’ differs from the Western concepts acknowledged worldwide. In
China this phenomenon deals not with the word ‘脸’ (‘liǎn’) meaning literally ‘face’ as a body
part, but with the word ‘面子’ (‘miànzi’). Chinese-English dictionaries translate this particular
word mainly as: ‘outer surface / outside / honor / reputation / feelings or even (medicinal)
powder, and of course as: face (as in "losing face") / self-respect (www.mdbg.net). Thus ‘you
mianzi’ (‘to have face’) is a concept of Chinese social psychology emphasizing the importance
of personal esteem, appearance, respect and sense of shame (Jakubowska, 2010). Simply
speaking, to Chinese ‘you mianzi’ means avoiding disgrace or humiliation by any means

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 8
possible. Hu Hsien-chin (1944) claims that: ‘it is built up through initial high position, wealth,
power, ability, through cleverly establishing social ties to a number of prominent people, as
well as through avoidance of acts that would cause unfavourable comment’. Seligman
(1999:209) emphasizes that although ‘mianzi’ is an abstract concept, it is a deadly serious issue
for Chinese people and that ‘mianzi, money and power are the three key motivators in China
today’ (ibid.:209).
It is one of the most significant concepts of living life in harmony with one another in
China. Knowing and understanding its depth enables us to comprehend numerous situations
and Chinese people’s behaviour which may later help in addressing certain business situations
without making anybody ‘lose their face’.
3.1.3. Hierarchy – social and business status
As stated above, there is a strong influence of Confucius teaching on Chinese people’s
everyday life. Chinese people emphasize hierarchical relationships and each person shows
certain respect for others, depending on their position in the hierarchy. There is a specified
social order. Confucius spoke of Five Constant Relationships ‐ between parent and child, elder
sibling and younger sibling, husband and wife, elder friend and junior friend, and ruler and
subject. Depending on one’s place in the hierarchy s/he is expected to behave in a certain way
and is being treated in correspondence to his/her social status (Seligman,1999; Yu, 2005;
Kaplan, 2015).
Contrary to Western business hierarchy, Chinese Business hierarchy can be called
‘a triangular set with a genre of top-down pattern’ what can be seen in the picture below based
on the webpage: www.hierarchystructure.com (pic.1)

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 9
Pic.1. Chinese Business Hierarchy. (based on: https://www.hierarchystructure.com/chinese-business-
hierarchy/ )
As we can see above, the leaders (Higher level management) are responsible for the
organization’s direction making. They are in charge of the middle level management’s work
and set goals that are later carried out by the lower level management on command of the middle
level management. All in all, there is a strict business and administration level hierarchy in most
Chinese companies. Sometimes, even the simplest issue must first be examined by each
member of a particular group of management, before being processed to the next stage of
execution. The progression of a particular goal strictly depends on the verification by all the
experts and cannot be outrun. Hierarchical structure of Chinese business management is sacred,
even though it takes twice as much time to execute things than in Western companies. Such
system would be unacceptable in Poland firstly because of the fact, that the companies usually
do not employ so many workers, and secondly, because Polish people cherish quick conduct
and fast reaction more than careful and time-consuming double verification of each process.
What is more, it was emphasized by numerous of my research subjects during our group
and individual discussion that, contrary to Western promotion standards, in Chinese companies
promotions are based on age and length of employment rather than abilities and working results,
although younger workers are often more talented than the older workers. Additionally, the
younger workers must show more respect towards their elder colleagues than the other way

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 10
around. In terms of Polish business area, the seniority is taken into consideration usually in
nationally run companies, such as Police Department, Fire Department, etc. In family run
companies or Western companies, the promotion depends on the overall results of a particular
employee and progression of his/her work. It was considered much more efficient by the
research subjects I have discussed this issue with.
3.2. The distinctness of the traditional Polish culture, Polish entrepreneurs and business
etiquette
In order to understand the issues and challenges Polish entrepreneurs undergo during
the business meetings with Chinese counterparts, one has to understand the uniqueness of Polish
people’s way of thinking and behaviour mechanisms which will be explained in the following
chapter.
Poland underwent a variety of historical events shaping its today image. Due to hundreds
of years of wars, disappearing from the map of the world and numerous, political engagements,
defeat and deception, Poles have a strong memory of humiliation affecting their perception of
themselves and, most importantly, others (Sztompka, 2002).
In 1989, as a post-communist society of Central and Eastern Europe, Poland economy
has transformed from a centrally planned to the free market economy. Sztompka (2002) claims
that aside from the change of the political and economic system in Poland, such economic shift
was also responsible for Poles’ perception of values, norms, sense of self and their identity. She
even called this new social, economic and political style of living being a cultural
trauma for Poles. The transition period lasted until 2004, when Poland joined the EU (Klimczuk,
2010).
Höhmann (2002) claims that people living in countries with transition economies, such
as Poland, belong to ‘low-trust’ societies. Contrary to China, social trust in Poland is on a very
low level. More and more Poles declare lack of trust in legislative and executive powers (over
60%) creating a general lack of trust leading to a consistent lack of cooperation what would be
unacceptable in China.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 11
The way in which we function within society, how we perform daily chores and preserve
business relationships strongly depends on our religious beliefs. Aside from the historical
factors affecting Poles’ way of living and perception of reality, Catholicism is also one of the
key elements to understanding Polish people. Contrary to Confucianism, Catholicism is not
promoting the entrepreneurial attitude, equality and harmony. It influences the power distance
and emphasizes the social and economical inequality (Sztompka, 1996). Although, taking into
consideration the power distance issue, it may seem similar to the Chinese business hierarchy,
however, the Chinese structure is more stabilized, the power distance results from the level of
seniority and working position rather than from economical inequality.
Due to Pole’s strong attachment to the Polish history (especially the 19-20th Century)
and the influence of the Catholic church, Polish people are very patriotic and have a strong
sense of the national spirit and pride. However, it’s been verified that over 51% of Poles see
themselves as pessimist and admit taking pleasure in complaining about their underachievement
what is at odds with Chinese ‘you mianzi’ concept, where pride and pessimism are seen as ‘loss
of face’. (Rabczuk&Kuś, 2015). On the other hand, pessimism does not dim Polish people’s
strong need to strive for success, trying to be the best at everything. They often become
unhealthy ambitious and hard-working, leading to depression and overwork, what can be also
seen in terms of Chinese people.
Contrary to Chinese entrepreneurs, Polish businessmen like to see the results of their
actions quickly. They prefer shortcuts and situations leading to a quicker success, even if it
means a short-term success. Whereas, as stated above, Chinese businessmen carefully consider
all the possible implications of a particular decision, they are always taking their time in
considering most favourable option in order to avoid ‘losing face’ in the process. ‘Chinese
spend far more time thinking about ‘face’, and see its relevance in far more situations, than
foreigners do (Seligman, 1999:210).
Although Polish economy has grown impressively over the last two decades and that
Polish living standards (GDP per capita) have doubled (European Commission 2017), Poles
still fear for their working and living conditions, wages and overall well-being, thus they are
reluctant to share knowledge, believing that by doing so they create potential competition. Also,
Polish managers’ short-term orientation, high expectations and demand of quick results do not

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 12
enhance business relations. It may lead to the end of a partnership at any time. All the above
factors alter Polish way of conducting business.
3.2.2. Hierarchy – social and business status in Poland
It is very difficult to introduce one unified vision of Polish business interaction and
conduct. All in all, contrary to Chinese preference of establishing large companies employing
more than 200 workers, Polish entrepreneurs prefer, as stated above, a ‘family run’ businesses
or small enterprises. There are over 1,8 million of such active companies in Poland employing
less than 9 workers (Lewenstein, 2006). The smaller the company, the less trust issues it brings
to the Polish owner or manager.
In Poland, we can also witness a form of ‘guanxi’ relationship between business entities.
As stated above, Polish businessmen also see foreign cooperation as a window to benefits. Such
business relationship with foreign entrepreneurs is often strengthened by having well
established connections or contacts in ‘high places’. Additionally, Polish entrepreneurs also
prefer handing over small gifts to their business partners. They believe that by doing so they
tighten the relationship with one another and it is not treated as corruption. However, building
up the relationship and business partnership never takes as much time as in the case of Chinese
businessmen (Sztompka, 2002).
Above, I have mentioned four main cultural and social aspects influencing Chinese style
of doing business. Also, I have introduced most important, distinctive features of Polish people
in general emphasizing their influence on certain aspects of conducting business by Polish
entrepreneurs. Having such knowledge enables the comprehension of the following material
concerning the analysis of the arrangement of business meetings in China by Polish
businessmen. Lack of such knowledge leads foreign businessmen to confusion and
misunderstanding which later often leads to business failure on Chinese market.
4. Research
Both, Polish and Chinese perspectives of conducting business vary a great deal from
one another. The following paragraph is devoted to a comparative analysis of a business

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 13
meeting proceedings in Poland and China, enumerating the most prominent differences
occurring in the entire process.
4.1. Business meeting: Chinese vs. Polish perspective: comparative analysis
Business meetings in China and Poland are proceeded in an entirely different way. It is
necessary to emphasize that due to two various dimensions in which Polish and Chinese
entrepreneurs were bought up, and various cultural backgrounds the lived in, the arrangement
and proceedings of business meetings both in Poland and China differ immensely. The
following paragraphs are devoted to the comparative analysis of the above mentioned issues
with the emphasis of the cultural oriented background influencing the process of doing business
in Poland and China.
4.1.1. Arranging a business meeting : Chinese vs. Polish procedures
In the table below, there are presented all the necessary actions that need to be arranged
or need to take place in both China and Poland respectively before setting a date of a business
meeting (Table.1.). However, the data introduced in the following part of the article cannot and
shouldn’t be treated as the only way in which business is proceeded in both Poland and China
respectively. The following data is only a summary of the results I have gathered during my
research conducted for the purposes of this article.
Arranging a business meeting
Chinese perspective
Polish perspective
- telephone/fax/email/wechat contact
- verification of the potential business partner (recommendations, reference,
past working experience) – ‘guanxi’ verification
- introduction of the reasons for the meeting
- justification of the meeting’s necessity and verification of potential
advantages to the Chinese company
- if all the points are accepted – Issuing a date of the meeting
- preparation of the team of the Chinese experts needed for the purposes of the
meeting (Chinese business hierarchy) and difficulty of setting a fixed date, due
to experts’ time limitations often arranged after the foreign delegation arrives to
China)
- preparation of counterarguments for the meeting and negotiations
- written form of every single document
- telephone/fax/email contact
- introduction of the reasons
for the meeting
- Issuing a date of the meeting
- written form of every single
document
Table 1. Arranging a business meeting: Chinese vs. Polish procedures

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 14
The analysis of the empirical data of my research enabled me to create the above
mentioned table (Table. 1.) and led me to conclusions that arranging business meeting with
Chinese counterparts is a tiresome, confusing and time-consuming activity. Arrangement of
a business meeting in Poland is limited to only three general actions: contacting the company
one wants to make an appointment with, during which the introduction of the reason of the
meeting is explained. Next, if the addressed company is interested in the potential cooperation,
both sides issue a date of the meeting during which everything else will be discussed in details.
Each decision and procedure must be presented in a written form (just like in China), however,
in Poland e-mails often tend to be sufficient enough, however in China all the documents must
usually be prepared in a form of paper documents with signatures and stamps on them, and even
these documents are often being not taken under consideration by the Chinese party as
sufficient enough. All in all, written agreements have priority over verbal agreements.
In addition, due to the strong influence of ‘guanxi’ on Chinese business conduct,
Chinese counterparts need to verify their potential business partners, searching for
recommendations and past experience a particular company had with others. Thus, it is wise to
be prepared in advance, and have such documents ready for the ‘needy Chinese’. This stage of
verification is being processed by lower class management which decides if the offer is
attractive enough to be presented to the higher level management or company officials
(‘Chinese business hierarchy’). This process takes time, all the pro and cons have to be analyzed
in details, and only then will the date be issued. The delegation of Polish businessmen is usually
limited to only two or three company members (usually because of financial reasons and time
away from the office), the Chinese side will never limit themselves to two or three people, no
matter if the business meetings takes place in China or abroad. There are always at least 4-5
expert members aside from the CEO or a direct manager participating in the meeting. Arranging
one fixed date suitable for everyone is often a very demanding task. After gathering all the
experts and scheduling the date of the meeting, Chinese side also needs some additional time
to prepare themselves for the negotiations, so that they would ‘not lose their face’ by being
surprised with a question they did not expect.
Another issue is that although more and more Chinese speak fluent English, the
company officials still know it quite poorly or not at all, thus each document must be translated
either by the Polish company beforehand or by the Chinese party into English. This part, yet

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 15
again takes additional time. Thus, as illustrated above, business meetings with Chinese seems
to be a daunting task before they even start.
4.1.2.Business meeting in China. The course of events
When it comes to face-to-face business meeting and communication, both Polish and
Chinese businessmen share some similar features. Both parties are considered to be formal,
moderately quiet and likely to be reserved especially when a particular meeting is the first one
without prior cooperation and past experience. Additionally, in both countries jokes are rather
not welcomed and are not well perceived during first contacts. They are usually reserved for
more social occasions, rather than at important business meetings.
However, sometimes in China, the host company arranges a lunch or dinner often served
with alcohol prior to the business meeting in order to get familiarized with one another. Such
meetings tend to be an ‘incognito’ examination of the potential business partner’s behaviour,
especially when it comes to the traditional style of drinking a considerate amount of alcohol
‘ganbei’ style - bottoms up. Only 5 out of all my research subjects were invited to the dinner
prior to the business meeting, thus it cannot be considered being an organizational rule.
The data collected for the purposes of this research helped me enumerate the most
important issues which are necessary to be considered in the process of the business meeting.
The course of a business meeting
Chinese perspective
Polish perspective
- punctuality
- special conference room
- greeting style
- special sitting arrangement
- introduction of each party member
- business card handing tradition
- waiting for the guest businessmen to start the conversation/ negotiation
- polite discussion of potential disagreements ( ‘you mianzi’)
- introduction of the host’s demands
- English-Chinese translator (always necessary)
- revision of the meeting process
- documents signing
- picture time
- flexibility
- Rather free sitting
arrangement
- Standard welcoming
- Host starts presenting the
company
- start with the relevant
issues of the meeting

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 16
- gift giving ceremony
- end of the meeting
- dinner or lunch together (a meal often organized before the meeting to get
familiarized with the potential business partner)
Table 2. The course of a business meeting: Chinese vs. Polish perspective
As can be seen above (Table.2.), there are much more stages occurring during a business
meeting in China. Chinese people value punctuality. It is rude to come to a business meeting
too early because it may stress the host that they did not prepare themselves for such
circumstance. However, it is even worse to come late to the meeting. Although Chinese people
are rather self-contained and avoid physical contact with strangers, Chinese hosts who had prior
experience with foreigners usually prefer a handshake as a first physical contact with the
Western Company representatives welcoming them in the hosts’ company.
Usually Polish company members know English at least on a communicative level, thus
they rarely arrange translators or interpreters to travel with them around China. However, as
I emphasized in the previous chapters, Chinese hosts (high level management members) quite
often have problems communicating in English, thus the English-Chinese translator’s presence
is always necessary during the meeting.
When a Chinese company is a host of the meeting, there are usually special conference
rooms, provided for the meetings. Also, there are certain sitting arrangements that need to be
followed. They are best represented by the two pictures that can be seen below (pic.2. and
pic.3.). It is necessary to mention, that depending on the rank of a particular worker, Chinese
usually enter the room in a fixed order, first the boss enters with the guests, then the other
company members enter the room in the order of their experience and qualification level.
Picture 2 introduces a conference room in which there are three sitting spaces, one or
two sofas and chairs on both sides of the sofa. The principal guest is always seated at the
principal host’s right side on a sofa opposite the door, so that they would always see people
coming in and out of the room. Other high-ranking guests are seated in the immediate vicinity.
Chinese workers are seated in a certain order depending on their working status and company
hierarchy status, only the translator must be seated next to the host of the meeting regardless of
his/her business status.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 17
Pic.2. Sitting arrangement during business meetings in China. 1. (based on:
Seligman,1999:94)
In the following picture of the conference room sitting arrangement (pic.3), there is a
big table in the middle of the room. In this configuration, the individuals are seated around this
table in such a way, so that the principal guest would be seated opposite the principal host.
Additionally, the principal host should be seated back to the door, so that any message from the
offices outside the conference room could be quickly provided to the host without interruption
of the meeting. It is also influenced by ‘feng shui’, however, due to the space limitations of this
article, I will not go into more details. As can be seen in picture 3, the interpreters are, yet again,
seated in the immediate vicinity of the principal host and guest. Sometimes, in this table
arrangement, the name cards placed around the table ease the seating arrangement issue.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 18
Pic.3. Sitting arrangement during business meetings in China. 2. (based on:
Seligman,1999:95)
After the seating arrangement is finally fixed, each party members introduces
themselves. Afterwards, business card handling occurs. It is followed by a set of rules. In
China, one may disrespect a Chinese businessman when handing a business card using
inappropriate manners. It is worth mentioning that business cards are sometimes being handed
right after the primary introduction, sometimes however, they are exchanged after the entire
meeting. Nevertheless, it is necessary to hand a business card to a Chinese businessman with
both hands, with the name directed towards the Chinese partner. While handing the business
card, one should slightly bow towards the recipient of the card, but not too much. Contrary to
Japanese businessmen’s bow, the slight bow towards Chinese counterparts is rather delicate
and limited to a head nod rather than a full upper body movement. After the Western guest
receives the Chinese party’s business card (also with both hands), one should take a moment to
take a look at it, acknowledging the whole process and hide it either inside a business card case
or a pocket of the upper part of the suit closer to your heart, never inside the trousers’ pocket,
because that would be treated as a disrespectful act (‘you mianzi’).

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 19
After the acknowledgement of a business card, the Chinese host is waiting for the guest
businessmen to start the conversation and negotiations. Due to the previously discussed ‘you
mianzi’ concept, Chinese lead a rather formal and polite discussion. Poles, contrary to Chinese,
are considered to be rather self-confident and decisive when it comes to business. They prefer
maintaining direct eye contact, get straight to the point and say what they think (Table. 2.).
Whereas Chinese businessmen rarely maintain direct eye contact and in order to prevent
‘loosing face’ they rarely directly issue statements which are contrary to the other party’s goals,
arrangements or ideas. They prefer ‘going around the subject’ what can often be seen by Polish
people as suspicious.
After the negotiation process and reaching some kind of an understanding, Chinese
business partners tend to prepare a written summary of all discussed matters so that everyone
would make sure they understood the other party correctly. Afterwards, the document signing
is being held with a commemorative photo.
In the end of the meeting, right before the closing dinner, the gift giving ceremony
occurs. Chinese people are very superstitious, thus there is a potential risk of handing the wrong
type of present to Chinese hosts what may result in hurting their feelings ( and ‘losing their
face’). Thus, one should take a closer consideration towards this issue. The gifts, similarly to
name cards, should be handed both hands and should not be too expensive or in the amount of
four, because this number is treated as unlucky, due to the fact that it sounds similarly to the
word ‘death’. One should avoid giving watches, umbrellas, knives and scissors as presents to
Chinese people, because they are all connected with negative emotions and will be treated as
highly offensive gifts. It is best to choose something rather symbolic, connected with one’s
company or country of origin, a small souvenir, like sweets or some local symbolic souvenirs.
After receiving a gift, it is important not to open it immediately, unless the person who gives it
to you requests that you open it right away.
Before going to China, it is important to think about all the above mentioned tips so that
no one would feel disappointed or disrespected. 100% of my research subjects stated that before
going to China they had no prior knowledge about the above mentioned rules upon gift-giving
tradition, thus most of them were prone to commit faux pas.

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 20
After the gift giving ceremony, everybody gathers around and goes for a meal together
(if there wasn’t one prior to the meeting), however due to the space limitations I will not go into
details, because it is yet another very complicated topic.
5. Conclusions
The article introduced and analyzed the differences in terms of Polish and Chinese
versions of business meetings and their arrangement with detailed analysis of the subject. The
data was based on numerous empirical materials collected over the years of working with Polish
and Chinese businessmen both in Poland and in China.
Despite the differences, Chinese also bare certain similar traits in terms of social
interaction, such as keeping distance with the interlocutor. Both, Polish and Chinese
businessmen tend to be more formal than for instance American businessmen, and they rarely
joke during the official part of the meeting, establishing a rather professional contact with one
another (Table 3).
Polish perspective
Chinese perspective
Economy and social attitude
Low trust economy
High trust economy
Low social trust
High social trust
People
High self-esteem
Modest (‘you mianzi’)
self-confident, decisive
Indecisive, never refusing anything and polite (‘you
mianzi’)
Pride, patriotism and a strong national spirit
Modest (‘you mianzi’)
A resemblance of ‘you guanxi’ in Polish business
conduct
‘you guanxi’ concept
Pessimism
Positive, rarely complaining (‘you mianzi’)
Constant fear for one’s welfare
-
Trust issues towards potential business partners
-
Religion
Catholicism – mild influence
Confucianism – strong influence
Business conduct
No unified business hierarchy
Fixed Chinese Business Hierarchy
(triangle shaped business structure)

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 21
Promotion depending on working progress and results
Promotion by seniority
Quick response to any issue
Time -consuming response to any issue
Noticeable importance of ‘guanxi’
Significant (strong) importance of ‘guanxi’
Formal interaction
Formal interaction
Distance between the interlocutors
Distance between the interlocutors
Small amount of jokes (if any)
Small amount of jokes (if any)
Quick relationship development
Cultivation of the relationship
Small gift giving
Large gift giving ceremony
Table 3. Similarities and differences between Polish and Chinese entrepreneurs and business conduct.
Polish entrepreneurs, the author have investigated, also emphasized the fact that Chinese
cherish the cultivations of the relationship and that Chinese companies spend heavily to
establish and maintain relationships with influential people. However, sometimes all it takes to
establish that connection is a conversation, a meal, or a favour. Thus, there could be found
certain similarities in terms of ‘guanxi’ in Poland and China, due to the fact that Poland as one
of post-communist country is included into collectivist, particularistic and moderately oriented
to relationships culture (Gesteland, 2012; Glińska-Neweś et al., 2016).
However, there are definitely more diversities concerning the specificity of Chinese
business conduct, namely: the specificity of the triangle shaped business hierarchy, the
specificity and lengthy performance of each task being overanalyzed by each layer of the
management structure, the significant influence of ‘you guanxi’ on the effectiveness of projects’
performance, the concept of the seniority over talent in terms of promotion, Polish and Chinese
character trait diversity, and of course the culture-based differences (Table 3).
Polish businessmen must learn a significant amount of patience towards their Chinese
business counterparts, because the ‘you mianzi’ and ‘you guanxi’ concepts may cause
numerous misunderstandings, especially when rather self-confident and decisive Polish
businessmen expect results immediately, whereas Chinese businessmen must analyse
everything with every business member (Table 3).
In the following, and last part of the article, the author provides a summarized set of tips
on how to ease the process of doing business with Chinese, which was also analyzed and
described in details, in the previous chapters of the article. The author also explains how to
behave properly in Chinese environment in order to avoid misunderstandings. Fortunately,

The Clash between Polish and Chinese business etiquette trends. 22
nowadays, Chinese businessmen, especially the younger generation, are accustomed to Western
style of ‘doing business’ thus they are more understanding and respectful towards cultural
differences. They don`t expect foreigners to be entirely accustomed to Chinese traditions.
However, knowing basic Chinese words, addressative forms and having a basic grasp of
Chinese business etiquette and culture will not only impress future Chinese partners and clients,
but will also enable building stronger foundation towards closer and more stable working
relationships without misunderstandings and gaps in communication.
6. Final remarks
Conducting business in China may give a company a chance to expand and grow rapidly.
However, one has to take into consideration the cultural differences which were analyzed in
details in the following article. Below, I have enlisted a set of 10 helpful tips which would
enable Western businessmen to succeed when discussing business matters with Chinese.
Tips for Polish businessmen willing to conduct business with Chinese entrepreneurs
1. Perform a solid market assessment in order to find a business area which would be
attractive for both parties to collaborate
2. Collaborate with long-term goals in mind.
3. Be prepared. Prepare your company’s reference, especially from some actual business
partners or the one’s from the past.
4. Make good quality materials, best in both English and Chinese (if possible).
5. Be patient when arranging a meeting with Chinese counterparts.
6. Be punctual.
7. Conduct in formal introductions.
8. Consider the big cultural differences, so that you’d know how to behave properly in
Chinese environment.
9. Learn how to address Chinese business partners.
10. Learn some basic words in Chinese in order to impress the Chinese business partners.
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