Intermediate - Joining the Chamber of Commerce (C0367)

你来中国多久了？喜欢这里吗？
nǐ lái Zhōngguó duōjiǔ le ？xǐhuan zhèlǐ ma ？
How long have you been in China? Do you like it here?

几个月了。这里机会很多，对我们商人来说，真是个好地方！哎，这里的外国商会多吗？
jǐgeyuè le 。zhèlǐ jīhuì hěnduō ，duì wǒmen shāngrén láishuō ，zhēnshì ge hǎodìfang ！āi ，zhèlǐ de wàiguó shānghuì duō ma ？
A few months now. There are a lot of opportunities here. From a businessman’s point of view, it is a really good place. Hey, are there a lot of foreign chambers of commerce here?

很多啊！世界上的一些主要国家在大城市都有自己的商会，比如美国商会、欧洲商会、还有澳大利亚商会等，都很有影响力。
hěnduō a ！shìjièshang de yīxiē zhǔyào guójiā zài dàchéngshì dōu yǒu zìjǐde shānghuì ，bǐrú Měiguóshānghuì 、Oūzhōushānghuì 、hái yǒu Aòdàlìyàshānghuì děng ，dōu hěnyǒu yǐngxiǎnglì 。
There sure are! In the bigger cities, the major countries of the world all have their own chambers of commerce, for example: the American Chamber of Commerce, the European Chamber of Commerce, the Australian Chamber of Commerce, etc. They all have a lot of influence.

那么参加商会有什么好处呢？
nàme cānjiā shānghuì yǒu shénme hǎochu ne ？
So, what benefits are there to joining a Chamber of Commerce?

好处可多呢！他们会用不同的方式支持会员的工作。经常组织培训、聚会，介绍同一行业或不同行业的会员认识，建立很好的人际网络。
hǎochu kě duō ne ！tāmen huì yòng bùtóng de fāngshì zhīchí huìyuán de gōngzuò 。jīngcháng zǔzhī péixùn 、jùhuì ，jièshào tóngyī hángyè huò bùtóng hángyè de huìyuán rènshi ，jiànlì hěn hǎo de rénjì wǎngluò 。
There are so many benefits! They support their members’ work in different ways. They regularly organize training and meetings. They also introduce members of the same and different professions, establishing excellent networks of people.

这对刚来中国的人来说太重要了！不仅可以帮我们推广生意，还能认识很多朋友！
zhè duì gāng lái Zhōngguó de rén láishuō tài zhòngyào le ！bùjǐn kěyǐ bāng wǒmen tuīguǎng shēngyi ，hái néng rènshi hěnduō péngyou ！
That is so important for people who have just arrived in China! It can not only help us promote our business, but we can also make a lot of friends.

没错，商会在工作和生活上对我的帮助一直都很大！而且，他们还会介绍许多中国的法律和在这里做生意需要注意的事情。
méicuò ，shānghuì zài gōngzuò hé shēnghuó shang duì wǒ de bāngzhù yīzhí dōu hěn dà ！érqiě ，tāmen hái huì jièshào xǔduō Zhōngguó de fǎlǜ hé zài zhèlǐ zuòshēngyì xūyào zhùyì de shìqing 。
Exactly. Both for work and in everyday life the chamber of commerce has always been a big help to me. Furthermore, they also inform us about a lot of the laws in China, as well as about some things you need to pay attention to when doing business here.

真是太好了！我得赶快去加入！
zhēnshì tài hǎo le ！wǒ děi gǎnkuài qù jiārù ！
That’s really so great. I must go and join immediately!

Vocabulary

机会	jīhuì	opportunity
商会	shānghuì	chamber of commerce
影响力	yǐngxiǎnglì	influence
好处	hǎochu	benefit
支持	zhīchí	to support
会员	huìyuán	member
组织	zǔzhī	to organize
培训	péixùn	training
聚会	jùhuì	to hold a meeting
介绍	jièshào	to introduce
行业	hángyè	industry
人际	rénjì	interpersonal
网络	wǎngluò	network
推广	tuīguǎng	to promote
聚集	jùjí	to gather
派对	pàiduì	party
社交	shèjiāo	social interaction
接触	jiēchù	to come into contact with
排列	páiliè	to arrange; to put in order