Abstract: After entering into the World Trade Organization, China has established many economic relations with other nations, meanwhile, business contacts among nations get increasingly close, which has brought more and more opportunities to do business. US, serve as the biggest economic country, is our main trade partner. However, the huge cultural differences between the two countries may give rise to potential cultural conflicts and unnecessary misunderstandings. Thus, in order to negotiate effectively, negotiators should have a good understanding of culture and cultural differences. More importantly, they should know how negotiation is affected by culture. In doing so, negotiators can predict the process and adjust strategies in order to reach a satisfactory agreement. The thesis presents an in-depth analysis of the cultural difference in the process of business negotiation. It then put forward some tentative suggestions and strategies for successful negotiations.
Key Words: cultural differences; Sino-US business negotiations; influence
1. Culture and Business Negotiations 5
1.1 Culture 5
1.2 Business Negotiations. 6
2. Core Values of Chinese Culture 7
2.1 High Context 7
2.2 Collectivism 7
3. Core Values of US culture 8
3.1 Low Context 8
3.2 Individualism 8
4. The Influence of Cultural Difference on Sino-US Negotiations 9
4.1 The member of Negotiation Team 9
4.2 Forms of Agreement 10
4.3 Pace of Negotiation Process 12
5. How to reach a desired agreement? 13
5.1 Awareness of cultural difference 13
5.2 Try to be well prepared 14
5.3 Improving communication competence 14
5.4 Be patient 16
6. Conclusion 17
Bibliography 20