How does the betting agent get his money， if HuXie has lost， how does HuXie get his money if his bet has won？ It’s simple： After the World Cup both will set up a balance sheet， both have taken notes， and the difference in one direction or another will be settled in cash at the next opportunity when they meet again. Neither will ever think of not paying， no matter how much it is.
HuXie’s friend the betting agent is betting himself， too. In the summer fairytale World Cup 2006 in Germany， he won more than 20，000 RMB. In the subsequent European Championship， he lost almost as much.…
I often wonder why， why I cannot or not as pronounced observe many of the things that I could read in China guidebooks.
Of course， “saving face” and “giving face” (the latter being your active part in helping somebody to save his face) is playing an important role in my business and personal environment， but somehow I have come to believe that it really is not all that different than， say， in my own case， I also wish all the time to save my face， not to be exposed， and it is difficult to admit a mistake in public. Honestly， I never realised why Chinese should have more right to protect their face than I or other westerners.
Of course， Confucianism is determining the culture here in China – but the quest for harmony is hardly noticeable in the rough everyday business. “Suppliers” are not treated in China in a different way than in any other country： in case of doubt they are the doormats or mangy dogs that can be beaten with sticks or kicked with boots. Whenever our Chinese customers have any problem， they always try first to unload it on us. This often takes place with by no means friendly methods， that can be applied very rudely and even be connected with screaming and trickery.
German and American companies do the same， but I’m tempted to say， Chinese people are world champion in that respect， and when comparing the three different areas of origin (mainland China， Taiwan， HongKong) the Taiwanese lead my secret ranking of rudeness unchallenged， followed by mainland Chinese (those from the north and east score higher than those from the south and west)， while the HongKong Chinese occupy the third and internally last place – meaning in reverse： The HongKong Chinese whom I met in business are still most pronouncedly interested in harmony， Taiwanese least (this is of course a non-objective perception， and the exception proves the rule).
One thing however has also become clear： The more I got to know certain managers， the more often we met， the better the Chinese learned to know me in turn， the less unfair practices have been applied on me. My conclusion is： In the beginning I was not part of the network， I was one of many foreigners who would briefly breeze in， drop important-sounding phrases， only never to be seen again.
In such a foreigner， especially as a supplier， you will not develop trust. You can scream at him or put him unfairly under pressure at times. You cannot test the horse on the short track properly， and it probably would not hold out on the longer track.
But to the extent they more and more realise that I am a regular here and reliable， the voice will become more moderate. I am gradually accepted， because I “eat the bitter stuff， and withstand hard work”， and because I am competent in technology， because my predictions and analyses are correct， this German horse shows surprising endurance on the long track.
As a foreigner， you will not be taken serious if you appear only rarely， this way you cannot become part of the network. How will you be recognised by the Chinese as equal partners if you， the foreigner， show up for a visit once a year or every other year？
Or even if some managers move for a year or two to China with their family but rent an accommodation in a residential area that is mostly or even exclusively inhabited by foreigners？ If even the furniture they bring from home by ship， to eventually live as they did at home and to vanish again after two years？ And if many foreigners， as I am noticing again and again， in the evenings and on weekends only stay among themselves， Italians with other Italians， Americans with other Americans？ How do you suppose to get to know China and Chinese people this way， how shall confidence develop either way？
Perhaps they will also have Chinese acquaintances， but no real friends， they will not be included in any network.
Chinese are networked together in a way I have experienced in no other country. They have saved hundreds of phone numbers in their mobile phones and are linked with dozens of people on MSN and Skype， and with dozens of others at the same time via QQ (the Chinese MSN or Skype). I use only one， Skype， Chinese use three different channels. Often simultaneously.
They also have “KaiXin” (开心网， the “Facebook” of the Chinese)， chat rooms， blogs and everything else the modern Chinese needs to live. Each individual is participant of a number of different networks that may overlap， but do not need to. In the networks are found school friends from the middle and high school years， fellow students， current and former colleagues in the profession， staff of customers， suppliers， business partners， as long as people have come closer over time.
Chatting is casual. You need not answer if addressed， but only if you happen to have time and inclination (and aren’t at the phone right now). It is different when you get asked a serious question， then the one who was asked will respond in any case. This can be done with a concise “I’ll have to think about it，” or， “I don’t know， I cannot help here”， or， “I don’t know about that myself， but I know someone who knows， I will ask， he will help you.”
Thus， within minutes during the day， but especially in the evening， a chain reaction is started which produces a useful answer.
