Chinese customer-supplier relationships are understood as ongoing partnerships, not discrete transactions. When you do business for the first time, you’re not just making a purchase—you’re establishing a relationship that both parties expect to continue.
This means your counterparts are evaluating not just this transaction but whether you’re someone they want to do business with over time. It also means they’ll invest in the relationship beyond what this single transaction justifies, expecting to recover that investment through ongoing partnership. Don’t treat each interaction as a fresh negotiation; treat it as an episode in an ongoing relationship. Problems aren’t necessarily reasons to switch; they’re tests of relationship commitment.
How you handle difficulties signals whether you’re a relationship partner or merely a transaction counterpart. Building genuine partnerships takes time but creates relationship value that new suppliers cannot immediately provide.
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