Overcoming the 'Ugly American' stigma

Anyone associated with a US company doing business in foreign markets is likely to encounter negative local preconceptions. Rarely are these associated with the quality of US products or services but arise instead from the way Americans conduct their business dealings in foreign countries. The extent to which negative preconceptions towards the United States as a country will impact a business deal will vary from country to country, and can be influenced by random developments such as political tensions. However one country that such issues are more likely to emerge as a materially disruptive factor in comparison with many others is China.

The team at XportReporter have compiled a list of ten potential obstacles to US companies developing good trading relationships. The items on this list were gathered during the course of hundreds of interviews with Chinese officials and/or businesspeople which were conducted over the past year. In many cases these issues are misconceptions or biased notions and are not accurate reflections of how US businesses really think or operate. However, we believe that it is important for American companies to be aware of what these perceived issues are so that they are better able to position themselves as viable trading partners and avoid letting them escalate into unnecessary deal breakers.