Business Culture in Beijing
Beijing is China's political capital, and many Chinese say that Beijingers are pure "political animals." Beijingers from all social strata and professions share this political zeal. Politics is the salt in Beijing life, goes a common saying: Without this salt, Beijing life is tasteless. Most Beijingers are up to date on the latest political news; people joke that in the streets of Beijing, random passers-by will know more about politics than many politicians outside Beijing.
Related to this love of politics is an emphasis on family status, background and social position. Thus, Beijing businesspeople may automatically treat seriously and with great respect someone whose business card displays the title of board chair or president, especially of a big corporation. And big companies, large business groups, and well-known brands tend to have a much easier time breaking into the Beijing market. On the negative side, Beijingers' preoccupation with politics has been criticized as resulting in a weaker market consciousness and slower reaction to market changes. Thus, Beijingers' business behavior often changes with official policy shifts, responding more to the needs of government than the market.
Also related to Beijingers' love of politics is their love of kandashan, literally "hacking the big mountains" but meaning "eloquently talking about a wide variety of unrelated topics," such as the Great Wall, Mars exploration, former US President Bill Clinton's sex scandals, Iraq prisoner abuse, and the Taiwan elections. Foreign businesspeople may discover one manifestation of this tendency when negotiating across from a Beijing company: often they may find a "talking grandfather" (kanye) in the room to sing the praises of the foreign partners to create an atmosphere conducive to negotiation.
Beijingers are also especially sensitive to face, thus they pay special attention to formalities. Nevertheless, Beijingers are well known for their love of humor, often used to lighten up otherwise formal proceedings.
Given these characteristics, foreign businesspeople conducting business in the PRC capital should be prepared to kandashan and play "political cards" by cultivating connections with leading politicians. Companies with good political skills and connections are regarded as more desirable business partners in the capital.