Do not ever ease your grip on the Chinese and keep them on a short leash. Only then will they keep their promises. Do not relax and never let the Chinese relax. Ever. Let them always feel your steel backbone. Otherwise, get used to delays, unreasonable prices, damages and other disappointments.
First and foremost, a Chinese negotiator should have a strong character. What does it mean? The way I put it, he or she should have «balls of steel», the absence of which makes negotiations with the Dragon pointless.
36 stratagems
A stratagem is basically a ploy. When we hear «ploy», we hear «dishonest», but the Chinese see it as an ingenious solution to a problem, which does not necessarily include dishonesty. We add a negative connotation to the word «ploy», and we are wary of cunning people, but the Chinese have more respect for those who can be crafty and come up with a clever solution to a problem. As you can see, in China, the word «ploy» has a positive meaning.