The combination of premises above shows some fear of getting cold feet, but the line of reasoning behind it is not unfamiliar and therefore not that unusual too. In case of sensitive information where the competition could take advantage of, then logically speaking this should remain within the company.
However, companies are mostly hungry for new opportunities to develop and expand their businesses on foreign markets. In order to obtain more information about the possible opportunities lying ahead, without lending too much weight to the negotiations themselves, companies often send a delegation of less high-ranking negotiators with a limited authorisation. The supposedly insufficient experience of the delegation is perhaps the justification found for the premises above. These negotiators cannot be permitted, so to say, to give away the know-how for free when Chinese negotiating partners do their best to gather relevant information as much as possible. Moreover, these negotiators are not expected to enter into agreements with the Chinese negotiating partners by which they might exceed their authority. Let them first explore a bit (see if it is worth it) and they just have to consult the home front when things get serious.
This strategy is quite often seen at tentative discussions, but in China it won't have the desired effect.
Whoever sets out for a trip to China in order to make it a business success, should take along more than sufficient information of one's own company and should be able to take decisions independently. Mailing to and fro because of missing data or out of a lack of authorisation causes one to cut a very poor figure vis-à-vis the Chinese and it undermines one's negotiating position. Just limit consultations with the home front to a minimum. Otherwise, a situation may arise that is equal to loss of face and that doesn't bode well with an eye to the future negotiation result.
Yujie Services comes each month with a premise that focuses upon a certain aspect of the Chinese business culture where things may go wrong.
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