Topic: news Say What? 10 Things You Shouldn’t Say to a Chinese Person

I'm an American engineer with over 10 years involved in manufacturing by Chinese companies. I lived in Japan prior to being assigned to China. There are different concepts of 'face' in China and Japan. I believe the Chinese concept of 'face' is far different from the Japanese or western concept of being respected. IMO, 'Face' is a crippling factor in innovation and project or product development. 'Face' prevents progress as it hides the personal or corporate recognition of incompetence or failure as a symptom of the need to change to succeed. The difference is especially obvious in the difference between Western and Chinese engineering meetings. In China, they tend to play it safe, offering few opinions or new approaches. Nobody admits screwing up. They often confuse loud with logic. In both Japan and the West, there is a strong tendency to accept personal responsibility and push for creative solutions. I recognize the politically based cultural background to the Chinese concept of face, however, in China, 'face' seriously impedes personal improvement, innovation and solving problems in a timely fashion.