Chinese matchmaker firms

Companies in Denmark trying to sell their goods to China have found the path to success is to use a matchmaker who can break down barriers between the two cultures.

The Chinese matchmaker, Wenyuan Zhu from Beijing, known as Audrey, claims more than 95 percent of her Danish clients are satisfied with her work.

At a sewage plant in Aalborg, Audrey Zhu is hard at work, finding out the needs of environmental consultant Preben Knudsen.

Knudsen's firm already has a foothold in China but wants to expand, selling technology and know how that will help to reduce pollution. Their treatment plants purify water. The waste by products are siphoned off and turned into biogas, a clean source of energy. Knudsen says that Audrey's role in building bridges between Aalborg and China is invaluable.

Pbeben Knudsen, Market Direct China, Niras Company, said, "If we should go to China alone in a company like ours which is a consulting company I think that would be totally impossible for us you know or it would be so expensive you know that we would go to another market which would be easier. So we only did go into this market because we had this co operation with the municipality of Aalborg."

The next client on Audrey's list sells specialist clothing for runners. The firm believes there's only a limited market in China and wants to tread carefully with Audrey's assistance.

Per Thomsen, CEO, Newline, said, "We need people with local knowledge who manage the language who have the right contacts. To do that as a European is very very difficult."

And that's where Audrey comes in. The local authority employs her to smooth paths between the two cultures, and she claims to have achieved a high rate of success.

Audrey Zhu, Matchmaker Aalborg, said, "The most important thing we do is to eliminate risks. Because of the knowledge about China, the business culture and environment, what I do normally is to help the company to spot a need from the Chinese partner."

Henning Jensen, Mayor of Aalborg, said, "We have examples, it gives jobs to China and jobs here because a company have production in China and some of the engineers in China and some of the engineers and salesmen here and the contact where a Chinese company and a Danish company is working together gives a very good mix."

China's growing economy offers European companies the prospect of growth, but the feeling here is that you need a matchmaker to reduce risk, cut costs and establish vital trust between East and West.