Chinese ‘Enormous Hospitality’ Versus Finnish ‘Meeting Among Friends’ : Guest-Host Positioning in China Finland Delegation Visits

Abstract

The importance of co-operation with China has been growing in Finland lately in view of interest to attract Chinese investments and the increasing importance of China on a global scale. Finland has established governmental agencies to aid Chinese investment and ensured the co-operation of regional and local governments in the framework activities, such as town twinning. An important part of investment facilitation and wider co-operation comprises delegation visits by both interested nations to the other country. These involve enterprise interest matchmaking events, meetings with officials, company visits, etc. Based on interview and observation data, this paper elaborates on how the phenomena related to power, positioning, and accommodation between Finnish and Chinese side are manifested during delegation visits. This study was guided by the Positioning Theory by Harré (1991) which involves the need to attend to local moral orders and centers on the view that local distribution of rights and duties determine different kinds of acts and the way episodes unfold. As potential investors, recently Chinese partners yield a different kind of power, which also affects communication between sides. However, in some contexts the discourse of China as a developing country is present as well. Local hosting traditions and being in a role of a guest or host adds some additional variety and layering to communication dynamics. The presence of various discursive positioning elements is analyzed in such aspects as preconceived attitudes, initial visiting impressions, self-presentation, reception style, and the provision of food.