One of our clients, a giant in the transport industry, decided to buy cars from China. He chose a Chinese automotive giant, from whom he ordered a dozen or so vehicles for trial. The quality of the cars turned out to be extremely disappointing – the vehicles, despite the homologation process carried out in another country, were not roadworthy and could not be sold, and even constituted a road hazard. The negotiation process proved to be a significant challenge as the Chinese manufacturer was confident in the quality of its product, claiming that the product was ready for the EU market. The Chinese side was not willing to admit any shortcomings or mistakes. This was largely due to the ignorance of the Chinese entity as to the differences in the expectations of European and Asian drivers about cars. Thanks to patient negotiations, knowledge of the available evidence, and the possibility of on-site meetings in China, we finally managed to convince the Chinese of the validity of our arguments. We argued that agreeing to our terms would benefit them in the long run. If our client allowed cars of the proposed quality to be sold, the products of this manufacturer would become infamous and would probably never have another chance to be placed on the European market, being remembered by Europeans as another Chinese product of questionable quality. Instead, we proposed cooperation between entities, testing their vehicles and identifying areas where they could be improved. As a result, our client recovered money for a fraudulent purchase, while maintaining good relations with an important player on the market.
