ABSTRACT
For high-level business negotiations in China, it is very important that a fully competent and capable negotiation team is carefully selected by senior management. During team selection, they should evaluate and ensure the best fit of each selected negotiator to the team so that they have the competence and skills to hold specific roles required during the business negotiations in China. Different international companies have different approaches for selecting their negotiation team members plus assigning them with different roles in the negotiation team. In addition to the various formal primary negotiator roles covering business, finance and technical areas, analysis of actual negotiation roles and practices in China has also suggested that there are some essential secondary informal negotiator roles. Analysis of negotiation team management has highlighted that it is key to consider the right team size, assigning the right roles for each negotiator, good negotiation team preparation and planning, plus good team communications.
