NEVER address an official as 'comrade.' Be careful about how you use black, white and green. And above all, get your dinner seating arrangements right. A little mistake could cost your company big bucks, or send diplomatic relations into a tail spin.
This is the advice of businessmen, diplomats and public relations companies who have learned the subtle rules of Chinese protocol the hard way.
Foreigners commonly assume that nearly half a century of communism has broken down class barriers and done away with all but the basics of social form and etiquette.
The truth is that Chinese society is as hierarchical and protocol-conscious as any other in the world, and that many outsiders throw away months or years of careful negotiations with a single fatal social slip. Despite their common cultural roots with mainland China, Hong Kong people are often the worst offenders.
'People make mistakes all the time, and they don't even know it,' said Elisa Cole, a Beijing-based representative for the American-based public relations company Hill and Knowlton.
Though banquets are supposed to be happy occasions celebrating the conclusion of a business deal or honouring the presence of a guest, in China they do have a way of leading to major rows.
