Professional Relationships in a Bilateral Context : A Cross-Cultural Communication Study

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to study cross-cultural communication from a Chinese perspective. Professional relationships between the West and China have become pivotal in the political, economic, and cultural domains. It is, therefore, of importance to understand and make use of different communication practices in a bilateral context. This research draws upon studies in the field of sociolinguistics and the material consists of Chinese papers and journals as well as interviews and questionnaires. The results show that the differences in communication practices from a Chinese perspective are considered significant in terms of certain aspects; the reasons at large being argued as cultural and societal. The results furthermore show that direct communication style is regarded as confrontational and emotionless, the strong emphasis on the individual is seen as rude and impolite and the Western concept of negative face is not applicable to Chinese conditions. Factors as high and low context, collectivism and individualism, direct and indirect communication style as well as face is of great importance to better understand and avoid pragmatic failures regarding professional relationships in a bilateral context.