Richmond Engineering is a successful Vancouver-based entrepreneurial manufacturer of roadway light poles that has decided to expand into Asia rather than attempting to compete in Eastern Canada or the United States. The process of finding and qualifying leads for joint ventures, the stages for developing an agreement according to Chinese business practice, and the pressures of negotiating with the Chinese are all described in detail.
Nortel, a large Canadian telecommunications company, has been doing business in China since 1972. By mid-1994, Nortel had successfully developed two joint ventures in China but two others were bogged down in negotiations. The two that had been finalized would not make any money for Nortel, while the one in Guangdong that would make a profit was hopelessly bogged down. The chairman of Nortel China was contemplating alternative ways of expediting the negotiations. One alternative was to help the Chinese achieve their telecommunication-related industrial policy, by investing in an agreement whereby Nortel would help train R&D technical experts in China; this demonstration of goodwill might expedite the Guangdong project. Other options included selecting a new set of more cooperative partners; standing tough in the current negotiations; using the unsigned Advanced Semiconductor joint venture as a bargaining chip, as it would contribute to the Chinese government's goal of industrial self-sufficiency; or investing more heavily in back door and guanxi relationships. If Nortel could not find a way in which to expedite negotiations with the Chinese, one of Nortel's major competitors could easily pick up where Nortel left off.