Chinese, millennial, would like to meet

As the world’s largest economy, China flexes some serious business muscle. It’s an important hub for foreign investment, too: in 2015, overseas firms invested US$136 billion into China, according to data from the UN. China’s millennials are key to this expansion. What channels should you use to get on the same wavelength? Alicia Liu reveals the new rules for dealing with China’s future business leaders.

There’s not one kind of millennial…

…there’s two: balinghou (born in the 1980s) and jiulinghou (born in the 1990s). The two groups are of course different from each other everywhere in the world, but in China the differences are even more marked. The jiulinghou are the first generation to be brought up as digital natives and they expect freedom to communicate and express their individuality. The balinghou are seen more as a ‘bridging’ group between their conservative forebears and the new world. Eric Fish, author of China’s Millennials: The Want Generation, explains that the economy that jiulinghou were born into was twice the size than for the 1980s babies. They have heightened expectations — which may lead to frustration as the economy slows down.

For them, WeChat is king

I have been amazed by the explosive growth of WeChat. It is now universally used for both business and personal relationships.

Business cards used to be essential in China. Now they are simply a formality. The best and sometimes only way to keep in touch is by adding people you meet to your WeChat.

Commerce is connected

Forget the contactless bankcard. Ten years ago you would struggle to pay by international credit card in a department store. Now Chinese retailers are actively pushing consumers towards mobile payments.

I recently had dinner with a friend in China and offered to pick up the bill. She had taken a couple of days away from her family to show me around, so I wanted to treat her. But the restaurant was running an offer for WeChat payments. My friend would receive a bigger discount, as she had booked the table using Dianping, an app in which Tencent, WeChat’s parent company, has a stake.

Not only that, the waitress preferred to receive a WeChat payment rather than cash as she didn’t have to hand over precious small change. Before you know it, the waitress had written down the authorisation code and our meal was paid for. (I never did treat my friend.)

Email keeps things personal too

The WeChat digital hub also extends to email. Don’t be surprised if your contacts prefer to use personal email addresses.

They often start with a series of numbers followed by ‘@qq.com’ — which might look like spam or even a scam. However, QQ email is integrated with WeChat accounts so that people can easily forward large attachments via WeChat messages.

This article was originally published by Cathay Pacific Airways @Cathaypacific