Content area
Full Text
A RECENT ADDITION TO THE Conway community can provide sage-like wisdom to Arkansas companies looking to do business in China.
The Confucius Institute opened at the University of Central Arkansas on Sept. 19 to offer cultural and language training. Spearheaded by Executive Director Hui Wu, who is also an associate professor at UCA, the institute is one of only about 40 in the United States.
While the Confucius Institute is new, doing business with China is old hat to some members of the Arkansas business community. Wu said Arkansas could rival if not trounce any other state in terms of volume of business in China, mostly because of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
But the global behemoth from Bentonville is not the only Arkansas business already diversified in China. Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale makes good use of the cultural differences in cuisine.
"Tyson actually exports all chicken feet to China, and wings and necks," Wu said. "These are the things Chinese people eat, but no other people eat. But they like chicken feet."
Acxiom Corp. of Little Rock also anticipates some expansion of its China venture. Acxiom acquired a data services company called China-Loop in 2004.
However, the cultural chasm between China and the United States is vast, unpredictable and not to be taken lightly, which is where the Confucius Institute comes in.
Getting Oriented
Unfortunately, cross-cultural business relations can't be simplified to a list of dos and don'ts, which is why the Confucius Institute provides a training process.
Wu, who grew up in Nanchang City in China's Jiangxi Province, highlighted a few cultural differences between the two countries.
For example, a handshake in China is rarely firm. However, unlike Americans, the Chinese do not draw inferences based on the strength or weakness of a handshake as it is not considered to be a reflection on the person's character or fortitude.
The etiquette in China for business card exchange differs as well. The card-swapping should come at the beginning of a meeting and should start with the highest-ranking official and descend in order of rank.
And that's not all. The card should be studied and then...