pert consultancies in China that boast they handle your business requirements every step of the way, from market research to making introductions right through to invoicing and tax. They also take an interesting fee for doing all of this.

So it looks like it makes sense to use the internet to do business with China - even if it does turn out to be just a toe in the water. Us

The two most over-used buzzwords in business of the last ten to fifteen years are “China's Coming” and “The internet will change everything”. Curiously, it's not very often that you hear both buzzwords used together - but why not ? Using the internet to do business with China has to be one of the smartest ideas around.

First of all, China has some incredible advantages in terms of trade. It has easy access to raw materials and cheap labour. Its economic base is growing and there is very little that China can't produce. Secondly, it is a massive and growing market for all sorts of products and services and with an increasing taste for western brands. These facts alone make doing business with China a very interesting proposition, let alone the fact that your competitors are already thinking about how they can lower costs and/or expand sales by doing business with China.

But there are a number of drawbacks to doing face to face business with Chinese companies. China is a long way from the West, with a different business culture and a limited number of English speakers. If you want to travel to China to do business, it can be quite an expensive and daunting proposition. You'll need a translator or interpreter and you'll need to put aside a large amount of time to get to know the markets and the country and the culture once you have arrived. In fact, if you want to crack the Chinese market, even if you are just considering sourcing some suppliers, you are taking on a very large task. There are many expert consultancies in China that boast they handle your business requirements every step of the way, from market research to making introductions right through to invoicing and tax. They also take an interesting fee for doing all of this.

So it looks like it makes sense to use the internet to do business with China - even if it does turn out to be just a toe in the water. Usi

rms of trade. It has easy access to raw materials and cheap labour. Its economic base is growing and there is very little that China can't produce. Secondly, it is a massive and growing market for all sorts of products and services and with an increasing taste for western brands. These facts alone make doing business with China a very interesting proposition, let alone the fact that your competitors are already thinking about how they can lower costs and/or expand sales by doing business with China.

But there are a number of drawbacks to doing face to face business with Chinese companies. China is a long way from the West, with a different business culture and a limited number of English speakers. If you want to travel to China to do business, it can be quite an expensive and daunting proposition. You'll need a translator or interpreter and you'll need to put aside a large amount of time to get to know the markets and the country and the culture once you have arrived. In fact, if you want to crack the Chinese market, even if you are just considering sourcing some suppliers, you are taking on a very large task. There are many expert consultancies in China that boast they handle your business requirements every step of the way, from market research to making introductions right through to invoicing and tax. They also take an interesting fee for doing all of this.

So it looks like it makes sense to use the internet to do business with China - even if it does turn out to be just a toe in the water. Us

t your competitors are already thinking about how they can lower costs and/or expand sales by doing business with China.

But there are a number of drawbacks to doing face to face business with Chinese companies. China is a long way from the West, with a different business culture and a limited number of English speakers. If you want to travel to China to do business, it can be quite an expensive and daunting proposition. You'll need a translator or interpreter and you'll need to put aside a large amount of time to get to know the markets and the country and the culture once you have arrived. In fact, if you want to crack the Chinese market, even if you are just considering sourcing some suppliers, you are taking on a very large task. There are many expert consultancies in China that boast they handle your business requirements every step of the way, from market research to making introductions right through to invoicing and tax. They also take an interesting fee for doing all of this.

So it looks like it makes sense to use the internet to do business with China - even if it does turn out to be just a toe in the water. Us

be quite an expensive and daunting proposition. You'll need a translator or interpreter and you'll need to put aside a large amount of time to get to know the markets and the country and the culture once you have arrived. In fact, if you want to crack the Chinese market, even if you are just considering sourcing some suppliers, you are taking on a very large task. There are many expert consultancies in China that boast they handle your business requirements every step of the way, from market research to making introductions right through to invoicing and tax. They also take an interesting fee for doing all of this.

So it looks like it makes sense to use the internet to do business with China - even if it does turn out to be just a toe in the water. Us

pert consultancies in China that boast they handle your business requirements every step of the way, from market research to making introductions right through to invoicing and tax. They also take an interesting fee for doing all of this.

So it looks like it makes sense to use the internet to do business with China - even if it does turn out to be just a toe in the water. Using a b2b marketplace, you can be trading with Chinese companies within minutes at negligible cost. There are a large number of these market places where companies pay a fee to list their products and prices. You can browse for free and then make contact with any company you choose, or you can pay your membership fee for a greater range of products, suppliers and wholesale distributors along with other advantages such as customised searches or being informed when new, relevant listings appear.

If you sign up to these sites, you will need to be aware that they do not guarantee the accuracy of products listed, nor do they guarantee the honesty of the company who is offering to trade. This suggests that it is of vital importance to verify that the company can supply what it offers. Many companies who have gone down this route have carried out a test to ensure that the supplier can deliver what they advertise.

Having taken these caveats into consideration, the fact still remains that using B2B networks to start trading with China can save you a lot of time and money if you want to do business with China.