national interest, drop dead, A 'Death Wish' in China

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• Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reacted angrily to President Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal and hinted at stepping up the country’s nuclear program, citing the need for electricity. President Hassan Rouhani said, “Everything depends on our national interests.”

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Some 10 million elders are threatened by hunger — but the president’s budget would slash desperately needed funding for food programs.

Donald Trump to Hungry Seniors: Drop Dead

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The national interest, often referred to by the French expression raison d'État ("reason of State"), is a country's goals and ambitions, whether economic, military, or cultural. The concept is an important one in international relations, where pursuit of the national interest is the foundation of the realist school.

National interest - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_interest

drop dead　倒れて死ぬ.

1.

die suddenly and unexpectedly.

"she had seen her father drop dead of a heart attack"

FAUX PAS By EMILY FLITTER

How Not to Give Partners
A 'Death Wish' in China
October 10, 2007

The situation

C. Roe Goddard thought he understood local customs. Turns out, he told a group of Chinese businessmen to drop dead.

ABOUT FAUX PAS

In the age of globalization, understanding of local custom is invaluable for business executives representing their companies around the world. Faux Pas, written by Emily Flitter, looks at how to avoid the false steps.

Want to share? If you've committed a faux pas, narrowly avoided one or have tips for conducting business in a foreign culture, write to Emily Flitter at emily.flitter@wsj.com.

Mr. Goddard, now a professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, was preparing gifts for the members of his joint-venture team at the end of a successful mission to find a drug-manufacturing partner in China. He became enamored with an elegant leather-bound travel clock and couldn't resist buying one to give each of his 11 Chinese colleagues at a celebratory banquet in Shanghai.

Mr. Goddard had done consulting work in China before, but he didn't know that the Chinese word for "giving" is Song, and the word "clock" is Zhong, which sounds like a word describing the end of a person's life. Thanks to that etymological connection, the gift of a clock in China can be construed as "a death wish." 送終

約1990年 DuPont日本公司的同學也送鐘給我 沒什麼啦

The custom in question

Mr. Goddard had violated a well-known taboo, stepping into the kind of trap that awaits countless expat executives fronting their companies around the world. Plenty of local traditions have endured the muting effects of globalization, and Mr. Goddard had to follow China's if he hoped to maintain successful business relationships there.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Do you feel comfortable giving and receiving business gifts when you're in another country? Share your thoughts in an online discussion.

"He did the right things: organize a big lunch, present them with a gift," said Donny Huang, a Beijing-based consultant on cross-cultural issues. But to give a clock, to go with personal taste over acknowledged local custom, was a serious mistake that could have been costly.

Mr. Goddard's reputation, his Guanxi -- the measure of a trustworthy, successful, businessperson -- was at risk. "It's something you kind of protect and are always seeking to enlarge," Mr. Goddard explained. "China is only evolving toward a system of where there's the rule of law." And the personal relationships an executive builds there can help overcome the hurdles created by corruption and an environment where contracts can't always be enforced.

C. Roe Goddard

Beyond Guanxi, the choice of a gift demonstrates local savvy, and a person who made the mistake of giving a clock would seem ignorant -- and vulnerable. "They would probably say 'dumb foreigner' instead of 'look, the guy wishes that we die,'" said Salih Neftci, an economist and a columnist for Shanghai's daily business newspaper Diyi Caijing Ribao.

Learning the ropes

When choosing the right business gift in China, the recipient's title and personal interests are important to note. And a choice that demonstrates an appreciation for Chinese culture is a must.

Every region is unique, Mr. Huang said: "This part of the world is totally different from New York." The symbolism of gift choices may astonish some foreigners, but a sensitivity to the kind of message that accompanies the clock is invaluable. For example, "wearing a green cap is really, really bad for a man," according to Mr. Huang. "That means your girlfriend or your wife is having an affair with someone."

There are ways to play it safe. Jihong Sanderson, director of the Center for Research on Chinese and American Strategic Cooperation at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests giving books about a visitor's native region or culture, Californian wine, or useful items such as pens or stationery. And although chocolate may be too sweet for the adult Chinese palate, it is still welcome in many family homes. "They will give it to their children," she said.

WHEN IN BEIJING . . .

Some advice on avoiding faux pas while in China:

• U.S. Commerce Dept.: Essential Advice for China

• Chamber of Commerce: Dos and Don'ts in China

• Ten Cultural Rules for Doing Business in China

Also, in China, it doesn't hurt to get personal. "The separation between personal life and work is so clear in the U.S.," Mr. Huang noted. "In China, the boundary between personal and work is so close."

In the end

In Mr. Goddard's case, enlightenment followed embarrassment. Soon after he presented the gift-wrapped clocks at the banquet, Mr. Goddard received a note at his hotel from one of his Chinese colleagues. The note expressed gratitude for the clocks but explained the unintended insult, and it came with a penny from each person who got one, symbolically turning the exchange into a purchase. That way, they were no longer a gift -- and no longer an insult.

Mr. Goddard said he was grateful for the group's explanation of the taboo. "It showed how they respected me," he explained. And it didn't affect the outcome of the deal. He also appreciated the larger lesson. "Humility is a valued trait in China, so I hope I've learned a little about that."

Write to Emily Flitter at emily.flitter@wsj.com