Chapter 4.12: Effective Public Relations

Li Yong, Deputy Secretary General, China Association of International Trade

Overview

Public relations in China shares some common characteristics with western concepts but has unique features, deeply ingrained as a legacy of its 5,000-year-old culture. An understanding of Chinese culture, related value judgements, codes and protocols is key to effective public relations. The business network discussed in Chapter 4.3 constitutes a part of this, but much of Chinese public relations is concerned with interpersonal relationships.

For the purposes of this chapter, the concept of public relations is divided into micro public relations, which involves interpersonal interactions, and macro, which involves communication with the public on a collective basis.