Lets continue. 

You need to get into the mindset that the friendlier you appear, the more chances are there for you to get a better price. And not only price, but better terms of business. 

You want your life to be easy in china, and this starts from embracing their way of thinking and doing. 

For the chinese, eating time is sacred. Like for a muslim , at least once in his lifetime he needs to go to Mecca, for the chinese eating time is sacred. 

They eat like kings and they love it. And they love to see you eating and appreciating food like them. That means you knowing how to eat with chopsticks as well as knowing how to drink beer with them. 

A famous word you cannot go without in china is, CAMPEI. Remember, campei, campei, campei campei ( pronounced CAM-PE-I ). Its like Cheers but with a meaning. It means that you are drinking like a friend. And it is very important that you campei with them since it is a question of honor for them and friendship.  

If you don’t drink beer that’s fine, they wont get offended and youll have to do campei with anything else.But it is wise that you know what they mean when they lift their glass in your direction and say campei to you.  Apart from you enjoying a good glass of cold beer, it will show that you are experienced. 

Hope that helps. 

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Ok, so now you know what are the type of documents and how to pay. Now lets talk about some action. 

You need to know certain golden points in order to give the impression of a professional buyer. 

The first is, leave your ego behind in your office. What they know to be true is true, just agree. You have to remember that the majority of suppliers you will meet are 30 year olds who have had a very socialist / communist , closed eduation. What they have learnt when they were young is true to them.  

To illustrate my point. I remember about 7yrs ago, I was in china during the christmas season, more concretely I was in the sunglasses / lighters city of china, Wenzhou. We got into a discussion with some supplier friends of mine, that was astonishing to me. According to them the new year was on the 30^th of december and not the 31^st of december. 

No matter how many times I would tell them , they would not beliee the fact that it is the 31^st when the new year was to come. And funnily enough, my insistence on the fact was actually infuriating them and they were feeling insulted. It is only natural, if all yoour life they have told you that the world is square, and suddently it is round, you are going to feel quite angry about it, to say the least. 

My point is, just accept what they believe. You are not going to win a prize for being right or wrong, but on the other hand you may become friendlier to your supplier, which means, there are more chances to win on the negotiating table.    

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