There are always so many articles online about gift giving in China, which both shows its importance and delicateness. For foreign business people in the Chinese business environment, deep understanding and practice of the art of gift-giving will significantly prompt your business success.

The art of giving gifts is a major part of the Chinese    culture. Bringing a gift for your Chinese friend, business partner, employee, or host is a good idea which shows the recipient your respect, politeness and appreciation. Below are some valuable and experience-proven ways to give and receive gifts in the most appreciated and appropriate way.

1. Bring gifts with cultural or geographical traits.
Chinese are fond of items that are not accessible in China. Something from your hometown will make for an important ice breaker and will help the recipient remember you long after you leave. These gifts include hand-made articles from your home country, special local products, and items that display your hometown’s characteristics. For example, if you are from Canada, you could give maple products which will certainly impress your recipients.

Chinese people are also very proud of their history and customs, so a gift made from or decorated with natural Chinese "treasures" like jade, crystal and rosewood will be much appreciated.

2. Bring gifts that show plentifulness.
Compared with one large gift, it is better to bring a bunch of small gifts. By showing up with your hands full of bags of presents, you show copiousness which is auspicious in Chinese culture. For the same reason, it is far better to bring gifts in pairs.

3. Bring gifts specially for children, if there is any.
If the recipient has a family, do not forget to include them in the gift giving. A father would be much happier to receive several gifts for his children rather than only items for himself. In this way you could develop a more friendly and intimate relationship which will help your business ties a great deal.

4. Gifts for festivals and certain occasions.
For the Dragon Boat Festival (roughly falls at May-end or the beginning of June), delicately packaged “Zong Zi”(steamed glutinous rice) can be given as gifts. For the Mid-Autumn Festival(roughly falls in September), you should give a box of moon cake and walnuts.

If someone has just moved into a new house, it would be appreciated to give a vase, or “Hua Ping”, as it sounds like peace in Chinese. If someone opens a store or starts a new business, the bamboo flower or “Shui Zhu” can be given,which symbolizes continual growth and prosperity thanks to the many rings on the bamboo stem.

5. Etiquettes and taboos.
The Chinese do not usually open gifts when they receive them. You should not open a gift given to you unless they insist.

The Chinese will decline a gift two or more times before accepting it. Do not give up on the first try, but be sensitive to genuine refusals.

The Chinese would much rather reciprocate a gift with another gift than to send a ‘thank you' letter.

Do not give knives, scissors as they relate to breaking a relationship. Also avoid clocks (which sounds like “end” in Chinese), or anything in sets of four (which sounds like “death”). The Chinese word for "umbrella" is similar to the word for "apart," so this is also an unacceptable gift.

Avoid white gift wrap. Colour white has a connotation of funeral in China. Red and gold colour are good choices for gift paper, bags, or boxes.