My company, USL, has done a great deal of work to understand the full background of our joint venture partner. We had already established a clear idea of our common goal, to develop the market for our products in China. Clarity and consistency in our dealings with each other were very important. I decided that I needed to focus on relationship building within the company, to ensure that we could find a good way to work together and to bring some continuity to the process. Trust within a partnership is very important. And this often extends beyond the business to placing trust in the local government too. If any part of any of there relationships fails to deliver as promised, the future of any investment must be called into question I was lucky in several senses I realized early on that the first step in doing business in China was to stop and learn from the local cond itions I found among the British community in Guangzhou a mentor/coach who was happy to pass on tips and advice to me. That man, Steve Warren of the chemical company ICI, had built up a multi million production facility and helped me to develop a plar of action. He also helped me to identify the one factor which my company could offer to make it competitive in China: we would offer service to our customers as well as a I would certainly encourage others who are new to the market to find an experienced friend to bounce ideas off. At the same time I would encourage Chinese local governments to make more use of the successful foreign joint ventures within their area as role models to attract new investors. There is nothing like a success story to attract interest; and many foreign companies in China, as part of their commitment to the community they work in, will be happy to lend their services to further internationalise the business environment annin Str Leadership Positive goals eam work I was also lucky that, when I return to China to work in the joint venture, one of my contacts from my first visit to China in 1993 was now in a key position, at the Design2 My company, USL, has done a great deal of work to understand the full background of our joint venture partner. We had already established a clear idea of our common goal, to develop the market for our products in China. Clarity and consistency in our dealings with each other were very important. I decided that I needed to focus on relationship building within the company, to ensure that we could find a good way to work together and to bring some continuity to the process. Trust within a partnership is very important. And this often extends beyond the business to placing trust in the local government too. If any part of any of there relationships fails to deliver as promised, the future of any investment must be called into question. I was lucky in several senses: I realized early on that the first step in doing business in China was to stop and learn from the local conditions. I found among the British community in Guangzhou a mentor/coach who was happy to pass on tips and advice to me. That man, Steve Warren of the chemical company ICI, had built up a multi million production facility and helped me to develop a plan of action. He also helped me to identify the one factor which my company could offer to make it competitive in China: we would offer service to our customers as well as a product. I would certainly encourage others who are new to the market to find an experienced friend to bounce ideas off. At the same time, I would encourage Chinese local governments to make more use of the successful foreign joint ventures within their area as role models to attract new investors. There is nothing like a success story to attract interest; and many foreign companies in China, as part of their commitment to the community they work in, will be happy to lend their services to further internationalise the business environment. Since I met my own role model, I have relied on a number of key principles to advance our business in China: Planning Strong Positive Leadership Positive goals Team work I was also lucky that, when I return to China to work in the joint venture, one of my contacts from my first visit to China in 1993 was now in a key position, at the Design