Writing English in China
By Filomena Mitchell
XPI China Correspondent

Effective communication in all business matters, especially in international trade, requires a great deal of care to express what you mean in the most concise and professional terms. With cross-border trade it is important to take great care to communicate effectively.

If you are engaging in business with China, your company should appoint someone proficient enough in English to answer emails in simple but understandable way.

General writing tips
• Use short sentences.
• Replace long words with shorter ones.
• Make sure paragraphs focus on one idea.
• Maintain formality: Use titles and family names to convey an attitude of propriety.
• Check for punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors.
• Avoid slang, jargon, clichés and other figures of speech (i.e., zero tolerance policy, once-over, done deal, user-friendly, etc.).
• Be specific and illustrate your points with concrete examples.
• Provide a summary: Bring the email to a clear conclusion.
• Check your writing: When you have finished writing your message, it may be necessary to re-write or re-organize the document to make your message clear.