China, Does a Contract ≠ Revenue? | 在中国，合同是否意味着收益？

"The number and value of contracts that a company holds usually is affiliated to the value of the company", which would be taught in every MBA course. However, what an MBA doesn't give you is actual business experience. 

“通常，一家公司持有的合同的数量与价值与这家公司的价值密切相关”，这在每门MBA课程中都会讲到。但是，MBA课程并不会为你提供真实的商业经验。

There is no doubt that many people have had a very pleasant experience dealing with the Chinese and signed lucrative deals that became mainstream revenue of the whole business. Contrasting this, unfortunately many people have also felt that they were pushed into the ditch, lost money and they never want to set foot again in China. 

毫无疑问，许多外国人都有过与中国人打交道的愉快经历，并签署了利润丰厚的合同，成为整个企业的主要收入来源。与此形成鲜明对比的是，很多外国人并不这么走运，却有一种被推进火坑的感觉，甚至于赔了钱，再也不想踏上中国的土地。

Two things to bear in mind that will help avoid any loss:

牢记下面两件事有助于避免遭受任何损失：

In China a signed contract does not mean execution will follow. No matter where the linkage is from and how sophisticated the company may look like, it won't stop Chinese being "Chinese".  Firstly, China is not a well-regulated market and people don't have a strong legal awareness as the people do from the west. We often see that Chinese entered into a contract but don't stand by it, don't execute it or want to change the terms or simply find problems in the contract after the contract was signed. 

在中国，合同签订后并不意味着一定会履行。无论牵头人是谁，也无论这家公司看起来多么高大上，这丝毫都不会影响中国人办事的“中国特色”。 首先，中国的市场监管机制不够健全，因此人们的法律意识也不像西方人那样强烈。在中国，我们经常会遇到这种情况，合同签是签了，但是没人遵守，也没人执行，或者想修改条款，甚至于“鸡蛋里挑骨头”。

More haste and less speed, don't rush into a contract with the Chinese. Almost every Chinese would show you great hospitality and generosity during your visit there, that's the Chinese culture. But don't get the wrong impression, they can be very harsh in contract negotiating and sometimes there is no logic to it. Yet the worst case is negotiation only starts after the contract is signed, all things can be back on the table regardless of what's been agreed and signed before.

俗话说“欲速则不达”，所以在与中国人签订合同时一定要三思而后行。几乎每个中国人在你拜访期间都会表现得非常得热情好客和慷慨大方，但这是中国文化的一部分，不要被这种表象所迷惑——他们在合同谈判中会非常苛刻，有时甚至没有逻辑可循。然而，最糟糕的情况是，合同签署后谈判才刚刚开始，所有事情都可以重新拿回到谈判桌上，无论之前已达成什么协议，也无论之前已经签署什么文件。

The best way to do business in China is to take a staged approach. Employ a gradual and steady business propeller when coming into a new market. I suggest you take these steps below to reduce your risk and assist for things to go well:

在中国开展业务的最佳方式就是分阶段开展。进入一个新的市场时，一定要稳稳当当、循序渐进地开展业务。因此，建议采取以下步骤来降低风险和保证业务的顺利开展：

1. Get documents translated into Chinese by a professional translation company, organize a professional interpreter from the same company to attend your meetings in China to ensure the consistency;

请一家专业的翻译公司将相关文件翻译成中文，然后使用同一家公司的专业口译参加在中国进行的相关会议，确保信息传达的一致性；

2. Engage a professional on-the-ground Chinese company to do an initial market research, collect some basic market information;

聘请专业的中国公司进行初步的市场调查，收集一些基本的市场信息；

3. Initial meeting and generate interest;

首次会面，表达合作的兴趣；

4. First follow up between 1-4 weeks with a general plan; 

首先对总体规划跟进1-4周的时间；

5. Second follow up with a detailed plan;

然后跟进详细计划；

6. Confirm the next step - initiate a small trial project and enter into an agreement;

确认下一步动作——启动一个小型试验项目并签订协议；

7. The trial project went very well, assessed the risks and gained a better comprehensive understanding the counterparts and potential issues; update matters and documentation;

如果试验项目进展顺利，则对风险进行评估，更好、更全面地了解对方及可能存在的问题；及时更新相关事项和文件；

8. Confidence then to do a bigger project and execute the project, continue with international lawyer engagement and enter into a detailed formal agreement;

如果对大型项目的合作及实施有信心，则聘请一位国际律师参与其中，并签订详细的正式协议；

9. Engage an international professional service company based in China or hire an experienced bilingual Chinese person to assist the smooth operation of the project.

聘请中国的一家国际专业服务公司或一位经验丰富的双语专业人员来协助项目的顺利运作；

10. Taking off from there..........

企业由此起飞……

Although China is not the most well-regulated market, China is a huge market for companies and the second largest economy in the world. When there is a clear opportunity, the best decision I believe is to seize it, understand it and build it - it might be the best opportunity you ever come across.

虽然中国市场的监管机制不够健全，但中国是世界第二大经济体，对任何公司而言都是一个巨大的市场。当有一个很好的机会出现时，我认为最好的决定就是抓住它，充分理解它的意义，并以此为基础实现更大的发展——这有可能是你一生中遇到的最好的机会。