Doing research in China today: easier to reach, harder to read
In 30 seconds
China feels familiar on a first visit: fast trains, mobile payments, global brands. Underneath, decisions still run on relationships, hierarchy and unspoken rules. Research succeeds or fails in the gap between what people say and what they mean.
What’s changed
- Slower growth. Around 5% a year, against double digits a decade ago. Consumers look harder for value.
- Local competition. Chinese brands now lead in cars, phones and much of beauty and sportswear. A foreign label alone doesn’t sell.
- Informed shoppers. People compare prices, reviews and creator posts on their phones before buying.
- Data rules. The Personal Information Protection Law (in force since November 2021) requires informed consent, separate consent for sensitive data such as health and finance, and controls on sending personal data abroad.
What hasn’t
Trust is built person to person. Seniority shapes who speaks. Nobody wants to lose face. A transcript gives you the words; a local researcher reads the body language, the facial expressions and the hesitation, and notices who deferred to whom.
Three words carry much of this: li, proper conduct and hierarchy; mianzi, face; and guanxi, relationships. They come up again and again in the pages that follow.
Why a local partner matters
The most useful partner knows China from the inside and has experience of looking at it through a Western client’s eyes. They read what is said and what is meant, understand what an international client needs from a project, and can report it in those terms.
What goes wrong, and the fix
| In the research | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| A translated questionnaire that reads like a translation | Adapt it with local researchers, then back-check meaning |
| “China” treated as one market | Sample by city tier and region |
| Recordings and personal data sent abroad casually | Agree consent, storage and transfer up front with your partner |
| Insight from transcripts alone | Debrief with the moderator, who saw what the words didn’t show |
Try this
After every group, ask the moderator one question: “What did they mean but not say?” It’s often the most valuable ten minutes of the project.
Takeaway: China rewards research that’s local in execution and global in interpretation.
Next: Confucius and Lao Tzu, the two ideas under almost everything.
Planning fieldwork in China? Talk to us.