Nordic Life Science 1
CHINA // GLOBAL REPORT 5 X TIPS FOR DOING BUSINES
S IN CHINA Business Sweden offers business advice both within life sciences as well as China-specific services. Per Portén shares some tips for how to successfully enter China. 1. If you’re looking to enter the Chinese market, make sure you’ve done your homework. You need to understand the business landscape, who the key players are, and whether your product is at all relevant on the market. If the competition is already too strong, it might not be worth it. 2. Decide how you want to enter the market – on your own or with a local partner? Regardless of how you do it, it is extremely important that you have legal protection for your intellectual property rights and your brand, before entering the market. 3. Choosing the right partner is key, and you should research your potential partner and their past business activities carefully. A good rule of thumb is that you choose your partner rather than be chosen. If you already have a good connection in China that might be a promising partner, you should still investigate them and consider all options. 4. Build relationships to build trust. You need to interact with your potential partner several times to build trust, that’s why it’s common to arrange several dinners or lunches – in short socialize with each other – to get to know each other. A shortcut around that is to get an introduction from someone else, but that also requires that you’ve established a previous trusted business relationship. 5. Culturally, China and the Nordics are polar opposites – we do things in very different ways. A bit of humility will get you a long way, but don’t be naive: make sure to take references, double check and ask follow-up questions when you do business in China. NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG | 41 PHOTO ASTRAZENECA CHINA