The Chinese-perspective of Intercultural Competence Models Revisited

Most intercultural competence models have been developed by Western experts based on Western theory and Western cultural values, and they are not culturally specific models. The lack of non-Chinese researchers to study and contribute to the construction of intercultural competence from a Chinese-perspective is a serious shortcoming, and most of the models developed by Chinese scholars are a replica of the Western models. A Chinese-perspective of intercultural competence model is indeed needed to reinterpret concepts and theories that are coined in the West, which are then widely used and generalized without any concrete-solid bases of their universality. This paper deployed empirical study methods to analyze the content of the literature to understand the construct of Chinese-perspective intercultural competence models. Eight Chinese-perspectives of intercultural competence models formulated by Chinese scholars between 1998 and 2013 have been identified, two of them are researched in English, while six others are in Chinese. As a result, there are no significant differences in the components of those eight models, as most Chinese scholars agree that cognitive ability, emotional management and communication skills are three of the major components which constitute the Chinese version of intercultural competence models. This research is timely, and is worth conducting, due to increased Chinese investments throughout the world, and the power and influence of China as the world’s largest economy. The results could be used as a guiding operational scheme to prepare business partners from both sides for successful cooperation.

However, one should recommend, in future research, that there be a comparison of Chinese-perspective models with Western-perspective models in order to delve deeper into the construct of the models to examine the degree to which the Chinese and Western-perspective of intercultural competence are complementary and compatible with each other.