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Making the right impressionWhen doing business in China, it's best to be reciprocalBy Kristie LuStout Editor's note: CNN International anchor and correspondent Kristie LuStout begins her "Shanghai Diary" as part of CNN's extensive "Eye on China" coverage. She will file stories daily from Shanghai and the surrounding region.  CNN anchor and correspondent Kristie LuStout reports from the Shanghai area. SHANGHAI DIARY
SPECIAL REPORTYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSSHANGHAI, China (CNN) -- With its glittering skyline and a century-old reputation for wheeling and dealing, Shanghai is China's money metropolis. It's China's wealthiest city. It's China's leading industrial center. It's China's fast-beating commercial heart. Migrant workers from the countryside flock here to find work, while high-flying international execs check into the towering Grand Hyatt... a five-star gateway to the so-called "billion man market." Just about anyone with a business plan wants in -- making the mainland the world's most popular target of foreign direct investment. But once the eyes adjust to the glitzy hotel lobbies and sleek skyscrapers, China can be a baffling experience. It has an underdeveloped legal system, rampant bureaucracy, and a strange obsession with building world-class infrastructure. And don't forget, it is a communist state. But it's China's unspoken social code that can be most puzzling to visiting execs -- a code that emphasizes personal connections and hierarchal order. Shanghai-based human resources trainer Peter Chen is on call to help demystify Chinese business behavior. I recently booked him to brush up on the basics. For example, it's well known that in China, one should present the business card with both hands, making sure that the Chinese side is facing the recipient. For me, that's a no-brainer. But, I make a mistake when I slip the card into my pocket a bit too quickly. "When receiving the card," Peter instructs me, "you must make a show of examining in carefully for a few moments. You must spend a bit of time paying attention to its details as a sign of respect. And then, carefully place it into your card case or on the table." The Chinese, I'm reminded, are very particular about status and respect. Make the wrong move, and you could sour the relationship. A business meeting in China may also end with a gift exchange. I showed Peter a variety of items to see which would be appropriate to give. The iPod was deemed too expensive. "Could carry a bribery undertone," he tells me. He also warned against the golf ball, tee and towel set as "it could carry a meaning of extravagance." The most ideal choice? A CNN-produced DVD wrapped in the lucky color red. It's an ideal gift since it represents my company without breaking the bank, a gift that can be easily returned by the recipient with something of similar value. It's a way of thinking that dates back to Confucius, who emphasized reciprocal behavior between cultured individuals. Peter has advised executives from General Motors, Intel and Siemens about how to make that good impression in China. But these days, most of his clients hail from home. They are Chinese executive assistants eager to demystify the strange ways of that inscrutable foreign executive. 
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