This sometimes creates problems from an American point of view when Chinese exports compete against the products of the same companies factories in other countries. For example, Motorola is encouraged to sell cellular telephones and to produce them in China. McDonnell Douglas and Boeing sell jet airplanes in China, but they must use local subcontractors and train local maintenance workers. Most are joint ventures, often with Chinese middlemen, either from the mainland or elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The problem is that there is sometimes a clash with the Chinese emphasis on personal relations and the U.S. practice of using lawyers as intermediaries.
American attorneys can destroy the chemistry needed between partners to make a deal work.
The Bamboo Network firms are family-oriented and shy away from publicity. They take a low-profile in the commercial world. They do not produce and distribute consumer products with their own brand names. These overseas Chinese business firms rely on centralized family control and informal transactions. This minimized bureaucracy and paperwork.