DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA

To do business in China, as a foreigner, you will need a business visa and preferably an Interpreter and confirmed Exhibition or Expo booking.

An Interpreter/Translator can save a non-Chinese speaker alot of time and enable you to get from A to B quickly and efficiently. Especially, if you are traveling to China for the first time or you have been there many time but speak no Chinese and are not familiar with various cities. An Interpreter can arrange to meet you on arrival at the airport at Shenzhen, Shanghai or what ever city you arrive at. They will guide you to your planned meetings, expo event, help with buying meals, getting train tickets and booking a taxi.

In many instances, you will find that there are a substantial number of people in the service industry who do not speak any English. Of course, you can try and cut corners and save costs, by being prepared, and printing out the name of a company and their address, in Chinese to pass to the taxi driver, but that doesn't always work, because the taxi driver will probably have questions about which entrance to an Expo and they may not be familiar with the address.

You can attend an Exhibition in China, such as the massive Canton fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, as a Visitor/Buyer (usually free) or as an Exhibitor (you pay the costs for a stand/booth for 2 - 3 days plus you need to supply roll-up banners, advertising materials and Chinese Interpreters).

Up to the 119th session, the accumulated export volume for the Canton Fair has amounted to about USD 1.2 trillion and the total number of overseas buyers has reached 7.64 million. The exhibition area of one session totals 1.18 million m2 and the number of exhibitors from home and abroad stands at more than 24,000. In each session, about 200,000 buyers attend the Fair from more than 210 countries and regions all over the world.

The Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair - established in 1957) is scheduled for twice a year - in April/May and in October annually, located at No. 380, Yuejiang Zhong Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou. It's so huge and gigantic that not all exhibitors can exhibit at the same time. For example, the Canton Fair is normally held over 3 phases (different dates during a month, with a phase being 1 week):

Phase 1

    Electronics & Household Electrical Appliances
    Lighting Equipment
    Vehicles & Spare Parts
    Machinery
    Hardware & Tools
    Energy + Resources
    Chemical Products
    Building Materials
    International Pavilion

Phase 2

    Consumer Goods
    Gifts
    Home Decorations

Phase 3

    Office Supplies, Cases & Bags, and Recreation Products
    Medical Devices and Health Products
    Food
    Shoes
    Textiles & Garments
    International Pavilion

Note that you can actually find a wide selection of Translators/Interpreters spontaneously standing on the street near the Canton Fair site, just up from the metro station to the Fair (Pazhou Station - Area B & Area C of Canton Fair Complex). They are mainly students looking to earn some extra income and their English is pretty good. They will charge about 250 or 300 RMB for a full day's assistance. Once you are inside the trade Fair, you can travel between Area, via the free courtesy Shuttle Bus.


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