So we found a system manufacturer in ShenZhen whose Chinese name already promised reliability， but a name can promise anything， can’t it？ This small company， whose factory accidentally set up within walking distance of SunLi’s apartment， has developed into our construction partner in China.
We started with small jobs， repairs， minor adaptations. And gradually， we realized： They can do more， we hired them as process line manufacturer for us and our customers. This unassuming company， located in an older industrial area in the middle of NanShan， provides excellent work， especially if we have tough questions or new ideas. For years we have had confidence in each other and were never let down. The head of the company (or his right hand) and I very rarely meet in a “hot pot” restaurant halfway between the factory and SunLi’s apartment. Without words (or in crude Chinese) we go splendidly well with each other， but SunLi is the better communicator， she maintains contact， she develops a personal relationship with the system engineers and coordinates bid solicitation， project management and payment. The result is a mutual full trust.
How did we find this unassuming and yet so capable company？ We have asked around and finally found an indirect acquaintance who was very pleased with a machine manufacturer and gave us his recommendation. We have relied with full confidence on the trust that the acquaintance had already developed. From the outside， one could be tried again to call this “cronyism”. But there are no cronies relayed through recommendations here， but business partners who have developed confidence in each other. Trust of the client is in that the machine builder provides a solid quality， complies with the dates and after installation of the systems provides a reliable and fast service (repairs， spare parts). Trust of the machine manufacturer is in that the customer pays， even if in most urgent cases only a verbal offer is made， followed by a telephone agreement on the technical design and the price and a verbal order – even then everything has to operate smoothly， and it does. This is the mechanism by which the large scope of the Chinese economy outside the sphere of big business and state enterprises is maintained.
The same way we selected our tax adviser and auditor in NanTong. Having already developed trust in the people whom we have indirectly found through my friend， the painter and professor YeDan， who had proven to be so helpful and absolutely reliable， we asked them also to make recommendations for a tax adviser. He should pass all our tax returns， prepare and check the financial statements， pay salaries and file wage tax and social security.
YangMei and her boss recommended the office HuaDa (华达 )， a consultant with no more than a dozen employees， in size just right. But are they the right ones？ I talk to the boss who speaks a tolerable but not particularly well English， SunLi discusses with him in Chinese， referring to me at times. His enterprise advises primarily some Japanese companies here in NanTong， he shows me the references.
All of this makes a good impression， we discuss the details， including an annual payment for their services (fair and not excessive， not cheap， but not overpriced， either). Some details are concerning the daily routine operations. To file taxes and transfer all funds， for example (both to the employees and to the tax office and suppliers)， they need the company stamp. If I do not want to hand it over – which they would understand – they would send each procedure by express to ShenZhen， I would sign and stamp down， send back， and then the procedure can be performed at the bank.
I wage everything back and forth， finally I come to believe that if I want to work efficiently with this office， I have to show them trust， and I may， because this office has guarantors – YangMei， her boss and， indirectly， my friend YeDan. I say： “No， that’s too complicated， I will leave the stamp here， we give you an account authority today， but each transaction must be authorized by me by e-mail.” – “Agreed.”
My trust was not abused once. On the contrary. These tax professionals have helped us more than once in difficult situations. And these people in some ways have become our friends. We do not meet often， but heartily， and SunLi phones at least once a week with the boss or the person in charge. At that opportunity， also personal subjects are exchanged (husband， girlfriend， wife， child， parent， problems， buying a car， etc.).
Like in Germany， the largest share of the gross national product in China is also generated by individual entrepreneurs， small and medium enterprises. In this sphere， mutual TRUST is the lubricant.
There are certainly many， probably too many things in China driven better or in the first place by bribery as the lubricant， even among medium-sized enterprises. I have never used this lubricant. Wherever I realised that this lubricating oil was essential and not the technical and price performance， I have retired， aware and openly. With technology and quality I can compete， but not with corruption， and I will not.
On the contrary， I believe that the financial corruption is at the long run devastating any business， for everyone will distrust each other， everyone is vulnerable to blackmail. This is not sustainable， even in China. It is the opposite of confidence.
The middle production management of one customer， ChangGuang， evidently wanted to be bribed， and for that reason we had to endure for months that all contracts were awarded for even higher costs and a higher effort to elsewhere， for months we had no revenue. The background was clear： The production manager wanted to blackmail us to give them bonuses. I did not allow myself to be blackmailed， though， but stayed tough – we would not pay bribes.