If you haven't yet encountered Baijiu (白酒 - pronounced bye-jo) count yourself lucky. It's a Chinese spirit made of maize or sorghum that makes drain cleaner seem palatable. The most common English translation is "white wine" or "Chinese white wine" though it's not a wine at all. For anyone who does business with Chinese (especially up north) baijiu can be a problem.

If you're stuck in a situation where you may encounter the vile substance, use the Tic-Tac tactic. Since Tic-Tacs are unfamiliar in China, a Chinese host may not recognize that those small white capsules are breath mints. This leaves you free to ram as many as you can into a medicine jar and claim it's your liver medication and that your doctor has forbid you from drinking anything stronger than beer.

If that doesn't work then head for the bathroom and, to be blunt, be sick. Make it look a bit worse than it actually is by thinking queasy thoughts and throwing some water over your face. It sounds drastic, but it's better than getting into a baijiu drinking match. Your liver will thank you the next morning.

If you're Chinese and reading this, remember that anyone who goes to so much trouble not to drink baijiu is doing it for a reason. Don't force it on them. Also, a better translation of 白酒 is "Chinese white liquor" or "Chinese white spirits" (not Sprite.) Wine always contains grapes. No grapes = no wine.

For most foreigners, networking with Chinese can be a little tough. Well, thanks to a question we posted on LinkedIn Answers, we're hoping to make things a little clearer. In brief:

They're not that different

People often get so caught up in the differences that they fail to see the similarities between Chinese and western cultures. Just be yourself and don't worry about skipping across the cultural minefield. Just as most of us would go easy on any local who made a social faux pas without knowing, local Chinese aren't going to bite your head off if you accidentally put your foot in it.

Networking (as westerners know it) in China is still a relatively young concept, and many foreigners and Chinese alike are still finding their feet when it comes to dealing with each other. For the most part it's much the same as anywhere else -- mingle with new people, make small talk and exchange cards. However, there are a few things to bear in mind: