Shànghǎi Work & study

Work

It’s not too difficult to find work in Shànghǎi, though technically you will need a work visa. You should arrive in Shànghǎi with enough funds to keep you going for at least a few weeks until a job opens up. Examine the classified pages of the expat magazines for job opportunities. Modelling and acting can be quite lucrative – especially if you find a decent agent – and teaching is perennially popular. Bear in mind that most big companies tend to recruit from home, offering comfortable expat packages.

Business

As its fanfare coverage in the world media reaches a frenzied crescendo, the Shànghǎi gold rush shows little sign of flagging. If ever there was a time to do business with China, it is now.

The sheer size of the Chinese market, however, generates a fascination that has led many foreign businesses onto the rocks. Vigilance and commonsense caution can go to the wind as companies rush to grab a slice of the pie. Seemingly watertight business plans can be holed by misunderstanding the market and China’s highly idiosyncratic business culture.

As with all emerging markets, it is essential to consider a few basic pointers before rushing in. Ascertaining the risks and identifying chief threats, examining the market carefully and working out what your business requirements will be are sound strategies for making a balanced assessment. There is no substitute for knowing how your industry performs in China.

Big slip-ups can lurk at the very outset. Brand-name blunders can be fatal for a product launch. Pepsi originally stumbled into the China market with a name ‘Qishang’ for its 7-Up carbonated drink, which unfortunately forms the first two syllables of a Chinese chéngyǔ (idiom) meaning ‘to be agitated’. The soft drink was belatedly renamed ‘Qixi’ (Seven Happiness) – the name used today. Pepsi famously did it again with the hip line ‘Come alive with the Pepsi generation’ which mutated into Chinese as ‘Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave’. China has big problems with brand naming as well: SOD cleansing milk – heavily marketed in Shànghǎi and throughout China – is a dead duck if it ever goes West without re-branding.

Products that sell well overseas may not sell well in Shànghǎi or China. The 2.6 billion armpits scenario – all joyfully awaiting deodorisation – is a case in point (deodorant sales in China are small as the Chinese have minimal BO). For a horrifying personal account of how to lose a lot of money in China, pick up a copy of Tom Clissold’s Mr China: A Memoir.

If doing business in China, it is important to develop a strong understanding of Chinese culture, have patience, a sense of humour, cultural adaptability and a tolerance for smoky rooms. Sound business deals can founder on the simplest of cultural misunderstandings.

Steer well clear of political discussions. The Chinese businessman you are chatting to may agree that the CCP is a bunch of good-for-nothings, but they won’t want to share that publicly.

It’s also a good idea to get karaoke-friendly. The Chinese business set falls over itself to grasp the golden microphone and fully unwind, so learn a few notes and join in.

Last but not least, don’t assume that cultural blunders – food shooting from your chopsticks, nonsense Mandarin issuing from your mouth – will scupper a business deal. The Chinese are used to foreigners getting snagged and tend to find mistakes less as improprieties than as opportunities for amusement.