Cultural and national negotiation styles reflect the priorities and communication behaviors of that culture. Priorities such as teamwork, trust, openness, and non-confrontational situations are all along a sliding scale with each culture. The communication behaviors of each culture reflect these priorities and can dictate how a culture will engage in negotiations.
■Chinese Style of Negotiation
Chinese negotiators expect to build up a long-term cooperative relationship with their partners. Different from American negotiators, they are not in a hurry to reach an agreement. In a general way, they need a slow start to “warm up”, which is followed by some tentative suggestions. Chinese negotiators, like their Japanese counterparts, never expect any open confrontations for whatever reasons, and are always trying to “save face” for both sides.
The Chinese are reserved, and they are known for their good manners and hospitality. The Chinese attach much importance to mutual trust and relationships. Therefore, they may spend much time enjoying tea and social talk in the beginning of a negotiation. However, in the eyes of the foreign negotiators the Chinese are some of the toughest negotiators in the world. The Chinese would research their opponents thoroughly to gain a competitive advantage during negotiation, so both the technical competence and a non-condescending attitude are vital important when negotiating with the Chinese. The Chinese delegation will be large, and they prefer to use an intermediary. Although Chinese negotiators imply that there is no compromise or a third choice, there usually be ample room for compromise in reality. Nothing is final until it is signed.
■U.S. Style of Negotiation
Imagining self and others as independent, autonomous, and self-reliant, the U.S. negotiators incline to rely on individualism. It does not mean that they do not confer with others, but they tend to see self as separate rather than as a member of network or web. And this kind of tendency usually causes independent initiative in negotiation. Normally, American negotiators are competitive in their approach to negotiations and are confident, persistent, and energetic. They see things universally and are fond of arguing their positions. They concentrate on one issue at a time; focus on areas of disagreement instead of those of commonality or agreement. They prefer certainty and closure to fuzziness or open-endedness.