ladies and gentlemen my name is helen campbell formerly of the dg interpretation of the european commission today i'm going to talk to you about giving gifts but in a particular context now i'm speaking to you in december 2012 and we're very close to christmas christmas is of course a time for giving presents it's always very agreeable to give presents but also to receive them and i often find myself wondering what would be the best thing to buy for family members and friends let me now turn to another country a little further afield china i visited
china myself some years ago where i noticed that it is customary to give gifts to everyone you meet so if you go to china remember to take along some presents but giving gifts in china is also a little bit of a minefield you have to get it right be diplomatic and choose the right gift let me give you some ideas some tips here don't give anything too obviously expensive because it could be seen as a bribe a good idea would be to take along maybe a book of beautiful photographs perhaps from your own country or
your own city or perhaps uh another piece of local craft perhaps a tapestry or something made by people where you live you have to be very careful too about avoiding certain things there are underlying messages in every gift in china numbers for example be very careful with numbers because eight is a good number a lucky number in china four is the opposite never give anyone a clock or a watch because it looks as though you're setting a time limit on that relationship don't give anything sharp either scissors knives to be avoided because they imply you
want to cut off the relationship and then last but not least be careful how you package your gift what color you use for wrapping paper that's important too red is always a good bet red is a very lucky color in china whereas black and white should be avoided because they remind people of funerals and then last but very not least is when you give your gift you must not be surprised or put off if it's not accepted apparently it is absolutely polite good manners in china not to accept the gift the first time you can
try again and it should be that the third time you offer your gift it will be accepted very gracefully i hope this is useful advice to you if you go to china thank you
