Investors search for yellow brick road

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 30, 1994 by Lois Weiss

The workers are also loyal to their own people, usually a relative they have worked with in the past and trust, not taking orders well from Americans. "There is no concept of third party supervision," he noted. Bringing in a third party construction manager is a foreign concept."

Lawyers are also viewed with distrust. "There is no history of third party contracts, they regard them as too aggressive and counter-productive,, Manning continued. They respect the handshake but its the process of getting to that point."

In China, like everywhere else, it is important to develop the relationships, called "quansi" or connections." "They will work with you if they know you," Manning said. That's how the country has operated. You can have a contract written but there is no concept of contract."