China, the economic and technological leader, is also one of the countries with the most lucrative businesses. A businessman seeking to expand his business globally is sure to get good support if he decides to start with China. However, doing business in China is quite different from doing business in Europe or the United States. This, perhaps, is owing to the traditions and customs which are unlike any other in the world.

Similarly, searching for a business partner in China also requires a different approach. A local partner who is aware of the ins and outs of the business practices in China will be helpful in making this task possible, but he needs to have ample knowledge of the legal processes and rules in China. On top of that, a businessperson or any Chinese corporation based on a good contact of the state will surely be helpful.

In a study carried out by Australian companies, it was observed that using video conferencing or Skype instead of telephone calls has aided them in building up trust with Chinese business partners and contacts. However, like all business partnerships, trust and reliance need to be built up before finalizing anything as these are essential ingredients of a successful business venture.

Chinese businesspersons are becoming progressively more confident and self-reliant with the passage of time. Most of them feel that they don’t require any foreign partnership, especially when it comes to dealing with the fast-growing local market. Those who performed well during the last Asian business crisis can be chiefly demanding with regards to negotiations. For global industries, these modifications can mean that the Chinese establishments generally are much more reluctant to enter a partnership or are interested in higher value and higher-priced deals. The locals are reluctant as well, for giving up large share and majority control of upcoming profits when they have a feeling that their private business product or offerings are equally good, if not better than those of their external investors.

Following are the top eight things that person should focus on choosing a business partner in China;

• Derive a Marketing Strategy:

Before looking for a business partner in China, businesspersons should set up an operative and confident marketing strategy. It is suggested to search for a business partner, but many companies have decided to work independently on their own in China. It’s a good initiative, but it is quite a time taking. Meanwhile, you may also need assistance from professional Chinese Translation Services.

• Review Chinese Business Opportunity:

For ensuring the reliability of a probable Chinese business partner, it is important to operate a business review of it. For instance, a press journalist who collects speeches from consumers, previous workers, and every probable entity that is connected with the company will be helpful in developing the correct picture, thus avoiding any case of fabricated legal filings and financials.

• Understand the Market:

Doing market research earlier will assist a person in defining the additional value that can be provided and the scope of the opportunity. Awareness regarding the market and its capability will become the base for determining one’s requirement, specifically while looking for a business partner in China.

• Search for an Innovative Solution:

Purchasing a firm in an identical field may become a very difficult task sometimes, owing to the very small size of the market or of the opportunity in China. Going for neighboring markets or complementary goods, making a list of fresh options for one’s market strategy in China will most of the time aid him in finding innovative solutions in searching for a business partner.

• Filter to find a partner:

After creating a list of potential firms, it is very essential to efficiently filter against the particular criteria in order to discover a suitable company: A company that has an appreciable market share, brand strength, partner interest, local contracts, distribution capabilities, etc. Such a partner will not only help in making business possible in China, but it would also open ways for other companies to join the competition.

• Target the Chinese Consumer:

While following the intended marketing policy, it would be really wise to focus on the low priority groups or commodity players, if an interested person is looking for a cheaper source or is in search of marketing heads and niche players.  In short, a businessman should concentrate on the point where he is interested in hitting the Chinese market. Once again, it will be regarding recognizing the chief requirements that will open the doors for any businessman searching for a business partner in China.

• Assess your Company Size:

A perfect partner in China is an enterprise that is of the same size as the interested firm. Larger companies will out-leverage other companies, but minor firms may not have a network large enough to get things done in China. This is the reason you should properly assess the size of your firm as well as the size of the target firm in the Chinese market.

• Secure a Chinese lawyer:

 Before entering the Chinese market don’t ever forget to retain a Chinese lawyer. Without a doubt your business partner will aid you, but as the rules and paperwork are everything one must be careful and try to keep things transparent. After successfully discovering a perfect business partner in China, it’s suggested to a businessperson to go deeply into his primary interests, motives, and decisions; for creating an effective and long-term partnership.

• Do your Homework:

This is also one of the most important steps after entering the Chinese market. To ensure a business partnership is set up successfully, a businessman needs to do the proper homework—recruiting and hiring local Chinese people who understand the Chinese customers and are willing to work for the company. Other than that, proper project management and customer care also need to be in place so that a businessman can make it big in a lucrative market like China.

The Last Word

Setting up a business partnership in China is easier than it seems, simply because the basic rules are the same everywhere. To step into any market, it is first imperative to search and set up an appropriate target. An on-ground team with professional advisors and agents will definitely help to make the whole process faster. Combined with that, ample knowledge of the Chinese business culture and etiquettes are the keys to making sure a business is set up successfully in China. 

China is the largest country in the world in terms of territory. It has a diversified culture that makes the civilization of China unique and worth mentioning. It has developed as the second-largest economy in the world. Let us explore the fun facts about China that could go on and on and on from the distinct nature to strange values and customs. The more you know about their culture, traditions, and values, the better you can localize your content for making your mark in the Chinese market.

Geographical Diversity

• China covers 9.6 million square kilometres that make China the third-largest country in the world by territory. It has a north-west extent of 5,000 km and a north-south extent of 3900 km. The region of China includes 33% mountains, 19% basins and deserts, 10% hills, 12% plains region, and 26% high plateaus.
• Some people think China is the largest country in the world, but it is not true. China comes at 4^th number after Canada, Russia, and the United States. Russia is 2 times bigger than China.
• China has the highest mountain ranges in the world. Two important of them are Mount Everest and the Turpan Depression.
• It has the most international neighboring borders in the world with 14 countries like Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Russia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea, and India.
• China enjoys different weather conditions. The Northside has cold and drier weather as compared to the South. West has drier weather than the east.
• The weather in Northeast China can reach -40 degrees centigrade in winters while the weather in South reaches 40 centigrade in summer. Rainfall occurs with few millimeters every year in the Taklamakan Desert, and 3 meters of rain occurs in the Southeast.

China’s Population

• China is the most populated country in the world with around 1.5 billion people in 2020.
• The population of China is 4 times bigger than the population of the US.
• Out of every 5 humans, one is Chinese.
• Chinese is the most spoken language in the world.
• It is spoken by 14% of people in the world.

China has the Fastest Growing Economy

• China is the world’s fastest-growing economy. It grows with an average of 10% every year.
• It is considered as the world’s second-largest economy.
• According to the Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations, the GDP of China will reach 14000.00 USD billion in 2020.
• China is known as the factory of the world. The largest production of fertilizer, concrete, Steel, fertilizer, clothing, and toys take place in China.

Silk Road is the World’s Oldest and Longest Trade Route

• The Silk Road is in China’s territory, and it is 2,485 miles long and extends across the entire area of China.
• It starts from Beijing and connects to East and Southeast and West Asia and Southern Europe.
• Silk Road is a funny name, but it does not depict that only the Silk trade is done from this road. Its name was designated by German Geographer and historian Ferdinand Von Richthofen when he tried to explain its journey.
• Products like animals, porcelain, precious stones, silver, gold, teas, carpets are traded from East to West from Silk road.
• Silk Road exists today, but it is not used for trading. It helps the top-tourists in China to explore and experience ancient China.

Long Nails and White Skin Tone as Symbol of Wealth

• In every part of the world, long nails are considered a symbol of beauty, but in the case of a Chinese businesswoman, you are mistaken. It sounds funny. They considered long nails as a symbol of wealth.
• The strange thing about China is that men also don’t cut nails to show that they are well off.
• Nails should be short only if you are a white corner worker.
• If you have white skin color, you are considered rich because people who have white color usually work indoors.

Growth of Cities and Improvement in Transportation

• In China, people have moved to cities from villages for the last 3 decades. This trend is projected to be followed for the next 30 years.
• Transportation in Chinese cities has improved a lot.
• They enjoy traveling on intercity high-speed trains and metros of the city.
• Beijing Capital International Airport is the busiest airport in the world and busiest in Asia. China has some large seaports that are Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Shanghai.

Controlling Traffic Jam Problem

• China is the most populated country in the world so they have traffic jam problems.
• If you are stuck in the market, then the amazing thing is that two guys will come to you on a motorbike. One person will take you to the place where you want to go and the other person will handle your car.

56 Ethnic Groups Living in China

• 56 Ethnic groups are residing in China.
• The largest ethnic group is the Han, which comprises 91% of the whole population.
• In other minority groups Hui, Manchu Miao, and Zhuang have a large number of population.

Highest Number of UNESCO Sites in the World

• China has the highest number of UNESCO sites in the world.
• The number of sites in Italy and China is 55.
• These are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

People of Beijing Eat Scorpios

• Another funniest thing about Chinese people is that Scorpios are sold live in Beijing streets.
• They are boiled in the oil for a few seconds and they are pierced on the stick.
• Other insects like mollusks, tasty sea things and other insects are seen on sale on Beijing streets.

Wrapping Up

Every country has distinct features that differentiate it from other nations. These fun facts about China depict its cultural values and norms. To know more about China, you need to know its native language. If you can’t understand the Chinese, then no problem Chinese Translation Services is here for you. It provides you impeccable translation services in all the dialects of the Chinese language.

What does a writer want? If a written book is appreciated by the readers, discussed in the book clubs, and that it is translated into multi-languages. You’d be surprised to learn writers from the western side of the world find Chinese text impeccably curious. Especially the Americans, who like to read and learn Chinese are often seen trying to translate Chinese novels. Jeremy Stevenson is one of those Americans who showed a keen interest in Chinese literature. He tried translating Liu Cixin’s work “The Three Body Problem” into English. Since then, the book has sold over 110,000 copies! 

However, was it easy for him to translate the Chinese book? To achieve this milestone, Stevenson had to face certain complications that any translator usually faces during translation from Chinese into any other target language. 

The Chinese language comprises pictograms (strokes), not letters, which makes the translation process harder and time taking. 

What Stevenson felt was that contemporary Chinese fiction is rather fascinating, but these aren’t easily available in the market. If any of them is available, it is sold off at Amazon, or available in poor quality. This is one of the standard issues with the Chinese context. 

Why Do Translators Face Challenges in Chinese Content?

The reason why most of the Chinese work goes unnoticed is because of language origin. Languages that are written with the help of letters follow the basic structure despite the differences like German, Italian, or English. 

The literary translators need a strong understanding of language to translate Mandarin Chinese to English. So as you can expect, literature conveys information in a particular way. Translators with a Mandarin Chinese background tend to produce a good quality translation of Chinese literacy. 

What Makes a Literary Translator Great?

The ability to overcome the challenges of a language.

Remember that Mandarin is divided into two main categories; Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. Besides these two prime categories, there are other regional dialects as well. Keeping these in mind, we have compiled a list of a few primary aspects that make Chinese translation difficult. 

• Unrelated grammar rules 

What is the major difference between English and Chinese? The grammar rules applicable in English are not applicable to Chinese (either simplified or traditional version) language. Mandarin Chinese is specifically alien to English grammar. The fundamental rules of verb conjugations simply don’t exist in Chinese grammar. 

It adds to the complication of the accuracy of content from Chinese to English. So a message needs to be conveyed differently. 

• Topic prominence 

A topic-prominent language requires a translator’s focus. You need to listen or read the sentence to understand what is being said in the context. Because the standard grammar does not apply to Mandarin Chinese, it is important to read and reread the content carefully before translating Mandarin. 

This isn’t only time taking, but also puts the translator into a heavy workload. A reader needs to comprehend the literature context even after the translation process ends. Proofreading subtracts major chunks, which is why you need to make sure that subject prominent languages like Chinese or English or even French are thoroughly interpreted. 

• Characters and meanings

What is the average number of Chinese characters that a reader has to read in a Chinese newspaper?

Usually, an average of 2000 to 3000 Chinese characters are in a Chinese newspaper. If you are reading a book, the numbers can exceed more than 50,000 Chinese characters. Chinese characters are comprised of logograms rather than phonemes. 

Chinese characters indicate unique meanings if combined with different characters. This also affects the pronunciations, making the pronunciations somewhat similar. To differentiate the tones and meanings means to place the characters in the sentence that makes sense around the context. 

• Writing script 

As mentioned earlier, there are two major houses for the Chinese language–Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. The complexity of strokes is different in both dialects. Simplified Chinese (as the name suggests) has lesser strokes than Traditional Chinese. 

To summarize this, the script complicates the literacy work. The simplified version is easy to translate comparatively to the Traditional Chinese. Usually, the major literary works like Chinese poetry, historical and cultural references are often available in Traditional Chinese, which makes the translation difficult. 

• Difference in expressions 

To be a creative translator, he/she must have the right understanding of the Chinese characters. The Chinese lexicon comprises unique references from history and culture, which is why a non-native speaker faces a hard time understanding it. 

The use of idioms, metaphors, and sayings is extremely common in Chinese literature. A translator cannot ignore them in translation or simplify it either because each metaphor, idiom, and saying consists of creative expression. This is another reason a translator must have deep knowledge and understanding of the Chinese culture and literature before he can even begin the translation. 

How a Literal Translator Can Improve?

Literary translators specifically have the skillset in literary works. They do know the basics, but with time, they need to update their skills too. What makes a great literary translator is their level of understanding of the Chinese characters and overall content’s essence. 

It’s the job of a translator to interpret the source context and to translate it into the target language in a way that rightfully conveys the meaning. 

Moreover, Shanghai Translation Grants were established in 2015, to overcome the translation problem and to improve the translation quality of the Chinese literature. It drastically improved the readership of native Chinese books that were translated into English, Vietnamese, Serbian, and Japanese. According to the respective policies, the grant was eligible for the published or non-published translated books in the following categories. 

• Literature 
• Art
• History 
• Children’s books

If such steps are taken by the government, they can promote their native culture and language from a literal point of view. This will improve one’s perception of culture and language. Also, this will encourage foreign translators to dwell deeper into Chinese literature and expand their knowledge. 

Popular Chinese books are breaking the overseas barriers, let’s see how long it further takes to develop a strong foothold in the market.  

China – emerging as the business world’s superpower is something to marvel at. With more than 1.5 billion people living in China, millions speak Mandarin Chinese, traditional, or simplified. Millions of Chinese natives are spread around the world too. However, foreign businesses want a layout of the Chinese market, which is not possible without a proper Chinese translation. 

It is an overpopulated country with the highest speakers being of Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin is the official language of China and is used professionally too. Chinese are very particular about their cultural values and language. So, this doesn’t come as a surprise when foreign businesses have to translate and localize their content in the Chinese.

Chinese is good for Communication 

For a foreign business, translating content into Chinese can become one of their greatest assets.   In the business world, doing business transactions in Chinese is fruitful for a lot of reasons. Globalization plays a vital role in translation and localization services. Companies looking to tie a knot with Chinese partners can learn exclusively meanwhile  expanding geographically in China’s market. 

Chinese is usually classified into two major categories; Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. Although it does depend on which region you choose to establish roots. In mainland China, Simplified Mandarin is actively spoken but the farther your move away from the main hub the denser the dialect will become. Learning a local dialect (which will be in Chinese) is a tough nut to crack, you need to understand the vocabulary and most importantly learn about the writing system too. 

Why Chinese is an important language for foreign businesses?

Learning a new language is not an easy feat. For professionals, the best opportunity to communicate is by hiring Chinese translation services that can communicate on behalf of your company. Foreign companies when entering the Chinese market have to;

• Use mandarin Chinese as the official language for communication and official documents
• Adapt the business strategies according to the Chinese culture, so that your products, services, and brand looks local. 
• You will have to deal with legal matters as well. Every piece is written in Chinese. So, being the official language of China, Mandarin is one language you need to work around with. 

So if it’s a “yes” for your interest in the Chinese market, then the following factors point out more than the obvious significance of the Chinese translation services. 

Chinese Etiquette

Growing business in China is not only about translation. Even if you do not have a regional office in China, you could still provide products to Chinese consumers. But the sale at that point will be low. 

It’s about learning Chinese etiquette. The business culture in China is unique and has different practices than the States. It’s easy to offend a Chinese supplier, client, or customer if you lack the cultural understanding. You cannot solely focus the product or service without gaining the trust of consumers and local partners. 

For instance, a solid handshake is a welcomed gesture in Chinese culture, while in the US, a casual handshake (with an easy-grip) is preferred.

Do you feel the difference yet? It’s not only the business practices but also the social practices you need to follow to build trust. 

Largest E-commerce market 

Coming in as the second-largest economy (after the United States), China still is ranked at the largest E-commerce market. An economical giant like China has webbed out in every possible industry to ever exist. It not only hosts the world’s largest internet users but also has the largest e-commerce net worth in billions!

The e-commerce market in China is progressively active. There are more mobile users in China than anywhere else in the world. Being a fast-changing market, it’s a tough job to keep up with the trends. SEO practices become irrelevant because of the Google ban, so you have to localize not only your content but advertising and marketing too. 

It is a popular language 

Do people often ask why to learn Chinese? It’s not only for personal reasons but for professional reasons too. There’s a lot of difference between Mandarin and Chinese language. You need to understand Mandarin is a “variation” of the Chinese language, besides other forms of Chinese dialects, including Cantonese, Hakka, and Fuzhou, and so on. 

Comparatively to other versions, Mandarin is the most popular of all. Did you know currently 840 million people speak Mandarin? Yes, that’s right. This is another reason why Chinese translation services become a necessary step in conducting your business in China. 

In the commercial world of China, Mandarin is the quickest way to reach the consumer. So needless to say you’ll need translation, localize the content according to the region. 

Tough Competition 

Rise and shine? It’s more like you need translation and localization to be at the top for the neck to neck competition. A raging economy indicates the companies should invest in the country in good times with the help of government support. 

To build a strong base in China, hiring professional translation agencies is just one of the many crucial steps you need to take. From document translation to website localization, it’s like bringing in the big guns for the local consumer. But do ensure that the translation is error-free, unbiased, and engages the audience the desired way. Otherwise, it could;

• Damage the brand’s goodwill
• Limit the sales 
• Create financial problems (backing up the investors)
• Legal complications, etc.

The website is the public portfolio

The internet knows no boundary. Chinese advertising tactics are mostly commenced on WeChat, QR codes, etc. However, handling the website is another matter. International brands translate their websites in multiple languages including Chinese to indicate that they do care for the Chinese consumer too. 

Concaving with the local Chinese festivals (or any other native festival) proposes the idea of brand intimacy for the local audience. It removes the language barrier, which is why hiring Chinese translation services is as crucial as ever. 

Conclusion 

The significance doesn’t just end there, but within our limited time, we do keep sharing the knowledge that helps you to have a better understanding of why your Chinese translation is important. Choosing the right linguistic is important, it doesn’t matter which industry you cover, a Chinese language partner will follow you till the end.