Stephen Petras, partner in the Business Group, spoke at the U.S.-China Business and Trade Development Conference in Niagara Falls, NY on September 20, 2011. His presentation was titled “Observations on Doing Business in China— A Lawyer's Perspective.”
As the keynote luncheon speaker, Petras advised that he has been doing business transactions in China since 1986 and that it would be a mistake to describe China as one, homogeneous culture with a single “Chinese” approach to business transactions. “What I can tell all of you is that spending lots of time together with your Chinese business counterpart greatly increases your chance of success, while rushing into an agreement almost guarantees difficult problems.” Petras emphasized the need for patience, even in today’s rush to sign an agreement, when trying to conduct business in China.
Petras also participated in a panel discussion with business executives and government officials on “Doing Business in China” in which an outline he prepared, “China – Legal Considerations and IP Issues,” was handed out. The outline covered:
More than 200 people attended the conference, including business/trade executives and leaders; firms looking for importing/exporting opportunities; international business marketing and sales managers/directors; manufacturers and suppliers; managers for purchasing, procurement, global sourcing; government economic development groups; and chambers of commerce members. There were also more than 100 attendees from China representing small and medium-sized businesses and government agencies present.
The conference was hosted by the New York State Small Business Development Center, Empire State Development, U.S. Commercial Service – US Department of Commerce, New York State and the U.S. Small Business Administration.