Re:locate magazine, spring 2007

Moving to China: the low down

Expert advice on everything from removals and housing to schools and integration

Removals

Alan Hughes, General Manager, Cadogan Tate Worldwide Moving Ltd

Cadogan Tate ships household goods to all parts of China on a regular basis. The one thing that sets China aside from the majority of major destinations is the extensive customs clearance process. An employee/assignee must have an import permit arranged before shipment takes place. The documents required for this include:

• original passport
• original work permit (must be valid for one year)
• original residence permit (must be valid for one year)
• company customs certificate
• company business licence
• company foreign trading association approval certificate.

In most cases shipments are packed and returned to our storage depot awaiting approval to ship. Cadogan Tate is a member of FIDI (fidi.com) and only works with moving companies in China that are also members of FIDI. In conjunction with our appointed agent in China, Cadogan Tate will assist the corporate client and assignee with the application of the import permit in all the major cities. For some locations, the assignee will have to be present at the customs office during the application (varies for different locations). The import permit for both air and sea shipments must be applied/ registered at the same time to avoid the requirement for two permits – customs reserve the right to levy 100% duties/taxes on the second shipment.

There is quite an extensive list of prohibited / restricted items that can not be shipped to China, and in particular Shanghai. Cadogan Tate can advise assignees at point of survey.

Cadogan Tate will also advise the transit time required for shipping and custom clearance once the import permit has been arranged. China will have three one-week long holidays where offices, including customs, will be closed. These will fall during the Lunar New Year, May and October holidays.

www.cadogantate.com

Housing

Jill Bedford, Regional Director, Global Mobility Services APAC, Crown Relocation

Selecting host country housing for an international assignment is a key issue for almost all transferees, but particularly so for families relocating to China. I like to think of the priority of housing as part of a Maslow-like "hierarchy of needs": transferees can not focus on their work performance and achievement of business objectives until they have satisfied their basic need to secure a home base in the new location. The style of quality of housing in China varies dramatically dependent on the host city location. For instance, first tier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing offer a good variety of European style housing in professionally managed, community-style developments. However in second and third tier cities, options are limited and in many western-China cities companies either have to establish their own housing compounds or have staff fly in and out from first tier cities on a weekly basis.

Building quality is often very poor and finishes on homes are often not up to European standards. Recently I visited a new complex in Suzhou, the houses were European style, good architecture and lots of "features" but brand new homes had external finishes peeling off, large cracks in the internal plaster in walls and ceilings and were leaking in the rainy weather.

As basic recommendations I would suggest that where a family is being relocated to China, the company provides an opportunity for the partner to undertake a Pre-View Trip to actually see housing and lifestyle. The partner takes on responsibility for the decision to relocate and "buys-in" to the relocation process. For "first-time" transferees to China, I would also recommend selecting housing in a managed community complex so as to avoid dealing directly with a local landlord. Chinese law offers little protection or recourse for a tenant, and issues with an uncooperative landlord can create unnecessary friction and distraction from the assignment objectives.

www.crownrelo.com

Settling In

James Hooper, Corporate Moving Specialist, Interdean

BUSINESS CARDS: When networking for business, swapping details socially, or even getting the taxi driver to take you to the office, business cards are a major tool, so make sure you always have these with you. Have them printed with English details on the front and Chinese on the back, and give and receive them with both hands. Study the card and listen to the person who’s given it to you. Be sure to keep all cards filed away properly, as when you need help with work or home life, your contact list from the expatriate and local community will come in handy.

CULTURE: get into it. If you fight the Chinese culture, you will probably lose. Understand from your local colleagues and experienced expats the rules and history on dos and don'ts. Learning some basic Mandarin wherever you are going to in main land China will come in handy. Perfecting your pronunciation of key words and phrases will stand you in good stead when asking for directions, bartering, ordering food etc… You can either join classes, have private lessons or get some books with accompanying tapes / CDs to get you started. This is something you can do as soon as you know you’re going to be posted to China.

EATING: if you’re not comfortable using chopsticks, I would say it would be a good idea to start using them in the UK, just for fun and to get used to them. I mastered it so well eventually that I was able to eat a full English breakfast using them, and now we’re back in the UK my fiancée and I wouldn’t dream of eating a Chinese take away without them now. The locals can tell by your dexterity with chopsticks how long you’ve been in Asia, and, potentially, how skilled you are.

ORIENTATION: if you’re lucky enough to have a preview trip arranged, make use of this time to prepare for when you touch-down permanently, as you may find that once you’re working you won’t have so much time at your disposal for exploring. Use the buses, taxis and train system to get a feel for the infrastructure. Some sights I recommend in Shanghai are the TV Tower and Grand Hyatt in Pudong, the Shanghai Museum and Shan Yang Market. In and near Beijing, it’s well worth visiting the Great Wall, Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven and Tiamen Square.

www.interdean.com

Cross Cultural

Cathy Wellings, Culture and Communications Manager, Communicaid:

“We advise businesses to provide a couple of days’ training for any staff they’re sending to China. All our trainers have lived there themselves – so they can empathise fully with students. For relocating partners, our courses focus on answering questions and providing strategies to help them make the most of their time abroad, with vital information on everything from shopping to Chinese etiquette. We also offer courses on Chinese culture from a business perspective, as well as language courses.”

www.communicaid.com

Simon Callow, Deputy Managing Director of PDI’s UK office:

“Tackling business problems as a team is common practice in the UK, while working solo is the norm in China. Thus, a brainstorming session in China would be a dismal failure. Western managers working in China must understand that the business culture encourages individuality and solo problem-solving. Also, the British tend to be extroverted in business dealings, while the Chinese tend to be introverted. Thus, it is very easy for a British manager to come across as rude or disrespectful to his or her Chinese superiors.”

www.personneldecisions.co.uk

Schooling

There are English-speaking schools in most of China’s major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. For more information, see the East Asian Association of British International Schools (EAABIS) at www.eaabis.org and www.britishschool.org.cn

Tips for learning Chinese

From Cactus Language Training

1. Work on your intonation
   
   Chinese is a tonal language. This means that the way you say something can completely change its sense. ‘Ma’, for example, means ‘mother’, ‘hemp’, ‘horse’, or ‘to scold’, depending on how you pronounce it.
   
   So, listen carefully to how things are said, and mimic accordingly.
   
2. Keep notes of new words and phrases
   
   Use a Romanised version of Chinese called Pinyin to do this at first – it’s based on spelling the sounds.
   
   Here are some common phrases to start you off:
   
   

   Hi, How are you?	Ni Hao
   Thank you	Xie Xie
   Very good/very well	Hen Hao
   Don't want or No (good for street hawkers)	Bu Yao
   Very expensive (useful when driving a hard bargain)	Hen Gui
   Excuse me	Jie Guo
   Good bye/See you again	Zai Jian

   
   
3. Start learning the Chinese Characters
   
   Learn 2 characters a day. Build up to between 300 and 500, so you can start reading Modern Chinese.
   
4. Practise!
   
   Speak to the taxi driver, shop assistant and waiter. Or head into the country, where no-one speaks English. Or set up an English-Chinese exchange with a friend or colleague.
   
5. Finally, be patient
   
   A well-known Chinese saying is, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’. Chinese appears difficult at first, but once you start, it’s not so bad. So, make the effort, give it a go!

www.cactuslanguage.com