You can speak fluent English and still be mis-translating every negotiation.
China's export desks speak a dialect of courtesy where "difficult" means "no", "maybe" means "no", and "no problem" means "I heard you". These aren't lies — it's a communication culture that avoids the hard "no" (保面子 — saving face), avoids conflict in writing, and treats ambiguity as politeness.
I'm writing this from the Chinese side of the table, where these phrases are understood literally. Here are the twelve that cost importers the most money.
1. 有点难度 — "A bit difficult"
Sounds like: a solvable problem.
Means: No — or yes, at a price they don't want to name first.
谁先出价谁输 ("whoever names a number first loses") is the local instinct. "A bit difficult" is an invitation for you to make it easier — with money, volume, or timeline.
Your move: "I understand. What would make it easy?" Make them name the number. If they still won't, they can't — and the answer is no.
2. 这已经是最低价了 — "This is already our best price"
Means: best price for this configuration, this quantity, these payment terms, right now. Each variable is a lever.
Your move: Change a variable, not the sentence. +20% quantity or 30% deposit often produces a 3–7% drop "because the boss approved". The 5–10% that exists lives in quantity, terms, and mix — not in asking again.
3. 交期大概 25 天 — "Lead time is about 25 days"
Means: 25 days after materials arrive, after the deposit clears, and after Chinese New Year (if it's within six weeks). Freight is separate.
Your move: Ask the all-in question: "From deposit received to ex-factory — is 25 days everything, including material procurement?" Then add your own buffer for the silence between "finished" and "actually shipped". Rule of thumb from the China side: mentally add 30–50% for first orders.
4. 我们是大工厂 — "We are a big factory"
Means: Often the opposite — or technically true (the group is big) while your order runs on a small line. Real factories with real volume don't need to say it; their certifications and capacity show it.
Your move: Don't argue — verify. Ask for the business license and check registered capital and business scope, then ask which lines will run your goods. Real factories answer in minutes.
5. 没问题 — "No problem"
Means: "I heard you." It's an acknowledgment, not a commitment. The commitment is the PI (proforma invoice) with the spec written down.
Your move: Convert instantly: "Great — please send the PI with that spec and date." The speed of the PI is the truth test. "No problem" followed by PI delay means there was a problem.
6. MOQ 是 1000 — "MOQ is 1,000"
Means: 1,000 at this price. First orders of 500–600 are frequently possible at +5–10%, or with a "trial order" framing that costs a relationship point instead of money.
Your move: "This is a first order; the reorder is where we scale. Can we do 500 at a fair trial price?" A supplier who refuses all flexibility at order #1 is telling you about orders #2–#10.
7. 老板不在 — "The boss isn't in"
Means: Either genuinely out (common — SME factory owners travel), a stall while they shop your ask internally, or "the boss" is the fictional final authority every negotiator keeps in reserve.
Your move: Never pressure the boss's schedule — that's a face attack. Set a time instead: "Of course — when can you get back to me on this?" A date for the answer is the real commitment.
8. 这是行业惯例 — "This is industry standard practice"
Means: It benefits them. Industry standards that favor the buyer are never invoked — they're just silently applied.
Your move: "Happy to follow standard practice — send me the reference or standard document." Standards that exist survive documentation. Most evaporate at this request.
9. 我们都是这么操作的 — "This is how we always do it"
Cousin of #8, with a twist: it often precedes a request you shouldn't accept — paying to a personal account, 100% T/T upfront, skipping inspection "since we're experienced".
Your move: "I'm sure — and we'll keep the parts that protect both of us: company account, 30/70, third-party QC." The methods that are legitimate survive standardization. The ones that don't were never standard.
10. 马上给你答复 — "I'll get back to you right away"
Means: Within 2–3 business days, if nothing upstream stalls. "Right away" in export-sales time is a mood, not a unit.
Your move: Anchor it: "Great — if I don't hear by Friday I'll assume the price doesn't work and move on." Deadlines get replies; politeness gets silence. This one sentence is worth a chapter.
11. 有一点点色差，不影响使用 — "Slight color variation, doesn't affect use"
Means: There's a defect batch and they hope you'll absorb it. "Doesn't affect use" is their assessment — and it transfers the cost of their QC miss to your listing.
Your move: Respond with photos, batch numbers, and the three disposition options (rework / discount / replacement) — with the cost of each on their side. Verbal reassurance is not a disposition.
12. 最近原材料涨价了 — "Sorry, raw material prices went up"
Means: Sometimes true (commodity inputs genuinely swing). Sometimes it's the annual ritual price-grab before peak season. Your leverage: real material indices are public.
Your move: "Understood — which material? Let's index that input so we both share the movement both ways." A supplier who only passes increases, never decreases, will refuse an index — and now you know what the "increase" was.
The meta-rule
Every phrase above resolves the same way: move the conversation from words to documents. PIs with specs, indexed prices, dated answers, written dispositions. The courtesy dialect isn't deception — it's how the market talks. The importer's advantage isn't speaking louder English; it's converting every "no problem" into paper.
I'm building this system in the open at Sol Research Desk — free guides on supplier verification, reading a Chinese business license, and paying safely, plus a free interactive landed cost calculator (FOB + freight + duty + VAT, runs in your browser). The full 25-template system is the China Sourcing Playbook.
