Greedy or Stingy

Chinese customers have a curious characteristic unknown in Western countries- they order too much food. First of all, it is because the Chinese attach a lot of value to the concept of "keeping face". When inviting guests and friends out to dinner, the Chinese do not view it simply as "eating together" . People come to restaurants to strengthen friendly ties and to do business. A big banquet is therefore considered a good investment. Impressive banquets in China are similar to lengthy business negotiations in the West , so Chinese hosts tend to splash out on these occasions. Western partners should not regards their Chinese hosts as greedy that would ruin both the friendship and business deal. The reason behind the phenomenon is simple. The hosts feel that if all the food is gone at the end of the meal, their might think they were stingy.