Patty Loew:
Our next report looks to the far east for a lesson in Chinese etiquette. It's a critical part of any business deal. For example, giving a Green Bay Packers hat would actually be considered extremely rude. We'll explain why in just a few minutes. First, Frederica Freyberg takes you to a dinner where they're serving up Chinese etiquette in Madison.

Woman:
People are tiny, especially women, so do not be too strong to squeeze. Then we go.

Frederica Freyberg:
The big, beefy handshake doesn't cut it in china. 

Frederica Freyberg:
And it's highly insulting to Chinese hosts if visitors stay sober. Heavy drinking is apparently a must at dinner. 

Woman:
With this one, if you put it too close, it's difficult to open it.

Frederica Freyberg:
There's so much for Americans to learn.

Woman:
I tried to use chop sticks and I just can't use them.

Frederica Freyberg:
About doing business in China, especially at the all-important business banquette.

Paula Romeo:
There are a lot of differences so there's a lot to learn.

Xiaojun Wang:
Sometimes it's frustrating for foreigners. I want to eat, five minutes and I want to go back to work. But in China, you eat two or three hours. 

Frederica Freyberg:
She is a professor at a large university in China and came to UW Platteville for a year as part of its Confucius Institute. She staged a training session at a Madison area Asian restaurant on navigating the Chinese business banquette.

Xiaojun Wang:
We have fun together. We eat food together. We shared everything together. It's much more important than just a conference meeting room.

Frederica Freyberg:
And so the diners learn that this type of business meeting in China could last all day or all night.

Xiaojun Wang:
Thank you for coming. Yes.

Frederica Freyberg:
There are seemingly endless rounds of toasts and endless platters of food.

Xiaojun Wang:
You would never think china is a developing country. That is our hospitality.

Frederica Freyberg:
Because building personal relationships comes before any business relationships can be forged.

Xiaojun Wang:
You get to know each other, have a relation with each other. We need to be close and know each other and I trust you so we can think about the business. I'm a host here. My honorable guests sit here.

Frederica Freyberg:
The seating arrangement is very precise and preordained. The American way of just grabbing a chair would be taboo.

Lance Ehrke:
Essentially watching the countries change, I think it's very important to understand the different cultures.        

Frederica Freyberg:
At this program, dinner guests soak up the cultural training, while also trying to get a bite in. Chinese dinner tables do include spoons.        

Lance Ehrke:
And I'm still wiping off the hot peppers from the hot sour soup.

Xiaojun Wang:
To say hello in Chinese and use chop sticks and enjoy their food, drink with them, they will treat you as their honorable and closest friend.

Frederica Freyberg:
And this relationship is key for Wisconsin, according to trade experts in attendance at the training.        
Ken Wasylik:
China for Wisconsin is extremely important. Our third-largest market is China.

Frederica Freyberg:
China is third only to Canada and Mexico for Wisconsin exports and accounts for a billion dollars in sales for the state.

Beng Yeap:
We are very strong industrial machinery and also medical equipment.

Frederica Freyberg:
And so when Wisconsin salespeople travel to China to broker a deal, it's good for them to be equipped to navigate the business banquette, the precursor to any deal.

Xiaojun Wang:
We are eager to help the people understand us or accept us or become friends with us.

Frederica Freyberg:
Just be sure to master the use of chopsticks before the Chinese business dinner is served.

Patty Loew:
As for the gift of a Packers hat being an insult, here's why. In China, a green hat signifies a man who's cheated on his wife. Even mentioning a green hat, much less giving one as a gift, is cause for great humiliation and almost certainly the end of any business deal. Who knew?