Networking is based on personal contacts. These take time to build-up and there are unwritten rules, often subtle and challenging. Where and how to start is crucial and the international exhibition agriChina in Beijing offers the ideal setting for this. Held this year from April 26 � 28 at the China National Agricultural Exhibition Center it is the only platform offering access to the important decision makers in Chinese agribusiness. agriChina is also aimed at providing the Chinese market with the right kind of high quality agricultural information crucial for growth in this expanding market � a market receiving continuous political attention.
Networking is called �Guanxi� (closed system) in Chinese. It�s a traditional concept that goes back centuries and is deeply embedded in the national psyche and culture. In a business context Guanxi involves building relationships that, once established, should be mutually nourished through support and exchange of information, small gifts or favours. The continuation of successful business relationships depends on this networking. In fact in many Chinese businesses there�s often a full-time �Guanxi Manager� working alongside CEOs and other managers - who also conduct guanxi as part of the job.
agriChina � a networking opportunity within a promising agribusiness market
Just like other Chinese business sectors, agriculture depends strongly on guanxi networking. It is perhaps even more important in agriculture because the market is so fragmented featuring, as it does, 240 million family farms averaging 0.5 ha and some 2000 state farms covering nearly 5 million ha.
�Against such a background, business relationships come to depend on the exchange of information, both to understand the trends in the market and the solutions available. In this sense, agriChina is not just an exhibition; it is a platform for visitors to network directly with providers of solutions. This is one reason why the event also features more communication-boosting conferences and forums than many other events. As such, it embodies the guanxi concept perfectly. Many companies fail in China because they think they can apply the same business principles as in western countries. Developing understanding for each others� interests and roles within a cooperation is a close and long-lasting process in China. Guanxi is the key to this process of confidence and trust,� explains Karl-Martin L�th, DLG Head of International Cooperation and Project Manager of agriChina.
One organisation that has used agriChina to build up effective business relationships is the German cattle breeding company Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics. �We decided to exhibit at agriChina first in 2004 and then again in 2006 because we saw this as an opportunity to further develop our Chinese network. A platform with over 15,000 potential clients offers a unique chance to make lasting personal contacts. Since we first decided to do business in China in 1999 we have invested time and effort in networking and it has more than paid off,� comments Peter Baumg�rtel of Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics.
The full agriChina programme also includes the opportunity to take part in an agricultural excursion with farm and company visits and is aimed at supplying a wide range of comprehensive and relevant information for visitors and exhibitors alike. The expected 15 000-plus exhibition visitors will include a large proportion of decision makers from Chinese industry, trade, government and the sciences as well as from large farms in the important agricultural regions of north and north-eastern China. The main exhibition sectors at agriChina are: Agricultural machinery, crop production and livestock farming.
agriChina is organised by the DLG � the GermanGermany agricultural society, jointly with Deutsche Hannover Messe , Hannover, and is supported by a number of key international organisations.
For more information on agriChina: www.agri-china.cn.
