Introduction With one fifth of the world's population, China has the greatest number of consumers in the world. Businessmen in intemational trade will often find themselves dealing with Chinese consumers. Waldie (1980) has warned intemational managers in Hong Kong to examine the cultural differences between Chinese and Westem people in general when making management decisions. An English term can have a different meaning in a Chinese situation. For example, in Westem culture, maturity means "to

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... be able to express one's genuine self, to be free from the constraints of what other people think, to confront others because of the consequence of being individualised or different" (Waldie, 1980). But, for the Chinese, maturity means a movement towards a harmonious integration into the social fabric of the family, as well as the institute at which one is working. Thus, it is crucial and beneficial for intemational marketing managers to understand the Chinese way of life and value systems. This is the objective of this article.