Chinese negotiation favors indirection over explicit demands and confrontational tactics. Rather than stating positions baldly, work through implication and signaling. Rather than direct pressure, use intermediaries and patient positioning.
This indirection preserves face—positions not explicitly stated can be adjusted without loss of dignity. It maintains relationship by avoiding confrontation that damages harmony. It provides flexibility by keeping options open that explicit commitment would foreclose. Direct approaches—ultimatums, aggressive demands, public pressure—often backfire by triggering defensive resistance and damaging the relationship that makes agreement possible.
Learn to communicate and receive messages indirectly. What isn’t said often matters more than what is. Proposals floated as hypotheticals, concerns expressed through questions, positions communicated through intermediaries—these indirect approaches achieve what direct confrontation cannot.
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