Culture and Business: Exploring the Etiquette Behind a Chinese Business Meal

The creative project titled “Culture and Business: Exploring the Etiquette Behind a Chinese Business Meal” focused on defining what is proper dining etiquette targeted at doing business with China. Through the use of 10 informational interviews with seasoned professionals who have experience working overseas in China, this project explored the key aspects of building relationships over a meal. Furthermore, online research was taken into account in order to provide a more up-to-date and well-rounded view. Trends that were discovered across categories include seating arrangements, gift giving, conversation topics, drinking culture, gender roles, and the actual act of eating. The goal of this project was to create an infographic and short video with the intention of educating American business students who are interested in working in China. It was found through the study that many Chinese professionals find the rules of business dining etiquette to be common sense. With globalization making developing relationships between American and Chinese businesses more accessible, providing established descriptions of how to properly conduct a business meal is essential to rising American professionals in order to ensure success in closing the business deal with their Chinese counterparts.