Language
Official language(s)
The official Chinese languages are Putonghua (referring to the typical Chinese language) and Mandarin, which also happens to be one of the United Nation’s five functional languages (Luo p. 17-23). Putonghua is commonly known in English as Standard Chinese or Mandarin Chinese. It is the most popularly used language in both Chinese land and island. On the other hand, The Universal Language and Character Law of China stipulated Mandarin to be the universal language nationally.
Dialects
There are seven main dialects in China namely; Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Wu, Min, Xiang and Gan. Of all these varieties, the most commonly and widely used dialects are Hakka and Cantonese. They are mostly used in Southern China, having distinctive pronunciation from the national dialect Mandarin (Luo p. 17-23).
Prevalence of English
The use of English is expected to increase in China. According to China Daily, more than 300 million Chinese are presenting learning English, which is almost a quarter of China’s population. It is anticipated that the next five years could see state employees below 40 years old master, at least one thousand English phrases. Teaching of English will be in all Kindergartens within that time frame ("Use of English Language to Increase in China").
Buying Behavior
Price sensitivity
It is tricky pricing a foreign product in China. On one side, Chinese consumers believe that the higher the cost, the higher the brand status or the better the product quality. Pricing foreign brand lower than the domestic one may lead to suspicion on its quality. On the other side, the willingness of premium Chinese shoppers varies by consumer group and product category (Luo p. 25).
Retail preferences
The retail market is dominated by department stores, wet markets and state-owned distribution sites. Before, international retailers were only allowed entry if they had non-controlling stake in combined venture with domestic companies. Presently, there are wide retail formats like shopping mall, hypermarkets, online stores and wet markets. The most preferred are the emerging convenience stores, shopping malls and hypermarkets ("Understanding Chinese Consumers").
Being knowledgeable about certain areas like business culture, meeting protocol, business etiquette and negotiation techniques are imperative. Other aspect within the business etiquette such as gift giving, guest-host relations, developing business relationship, negotiation styles among others are accepted.
Work Cited
Luo, Yan. "Analysis of culture and buyer behavior in Chinese market." Asian Culture and History 1.1 (2009): 17-25.
"Use of English Language to Increase in China." The Economic Voice. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.economicvoice.com/use-of-english-language-to-increase-in-china/50016957/>.
"Understanding Chinese Consumers." China Business Review. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/understanding-chinese-consumers/>.
