Business Gifts for China

Trading with China and Chinese companies is increasingly a goal for many businesses, looking to capitalise on either the massive market opportunities or the low production costs on offer. New Zealanders relatively relaxed approach to business can lead us to vastly underestimate the cultural gulf which must be bridged in order to achieve success.

While all aspects of the cultural differences should be carefully researched by anyone wishing to trade succssfully with the Chinese, our focus is on Chinese business gifts.

The NZTE site offers a wealth of information, and we feel Michael Stedman of NHNZ (the biggest foreign producer of documentaries in China) explains it well, saying gift giving in China is one of his biggest headaches.
“Gift giving is a social obligation but is governed by a lot of unwritten rules. I have been embarrassed by gifts I’ve seen some New Zealand companies give – things that are tatty and unwrapped.”

Among the gifts he takes are honey, Paua, and books, often including his branding on the wrapping.

Mini Honey Gift Sets

Polished & Boxed Paua shell

Pocket size hardback books with your logo

You will find many more tips on cultural etiquette on our web-site, but some of our key tips include:

• Research your planned gifts (to ensure they are not "unlucky" or accidentally cause offence, which is easy to do)
• Ensure you have gifts for everyone, taking care to ensure your gifts reflect their rank in heirarchy
• Branding with your logo increases the 'mana' of your gifts (we can offer branding on books or gifts for very little extra).
• Ensure your gifts are beautifully wrapped in appropriate colours (we can help with this)

  Sample wrapping of gifts for Chinese recipients

Let us know if you need gifts for Chinese recipients, and we can help you bridge this part of the cultural gulf.