wtfeWays They Frame Engineering
日本語

GermanyvsChina

ドイツと中国DECN

Seen from Germany: each line below describes China relative to Germany.

Swap: see Germany from China

Culture Map: eight scales

Erin Meyer's eight scales, sorted by how far apart Germany and China sit, largest gap first.

Filled dot: Germany, where you are looking fromHollow ring: China

Where you will notice the difference6 scales

  1. Communicating

    China leaves more to be read between the lines than Germany (4 steps)

    Germany −2, China +2, on a line from −3 (Low-context) to +3 (High-context).

  2. Trusting

    China builds trust through personal relationships more than Germany (4 steps)

    Germany −2, China +2, on a line from −3 (Task-based) to +3 (Relationship-based).

  3. Disagreeing

    China avoids open disagreement more than Germany (4 steps)

    Germany −2, China +2, on a line from −3 (Confrontational) to +3 (Avoids confrontation).

  4. Evaluating

    China gives negative feedback more indirectly than Germany (3 steps)

    Germany −2, China +1, on a line from −3 (Direct negative feedback) to +3 (Indirect negative feedback).

  5. Deciding

    China leaves decisions to the person in charge more than Germany (3 steps)

    Germany −1, China +2, on a line from −3 (Consensual) to +3 (Top-down).

  6. Leading

    China keeps more distance between boss and team than Germany (2 steps)

    Germany 0, China +2, on a line from −3 (Egalitarian) to +3 (Hierarchical).

Not placed2 scales

These scales are left unmarked: either Meyer leaves a country off the scale or no source places it, and drawing it anyway would be guessing.

  • PersuadingMeyer leaves China off this scale and describes its reasoning as holistic
  • SchedulingNo source places China on this scale
Positions are read by eye from Erin Meyer's published charts and rounded to seven steps. A step means “further towards that pole”, not a measured distance. How the positions were read

Hofstede: six dimensions

Scores from 0 to 100, sorted by the gap between Germany and China. They describe national averages, not either country's character.

  1. Power distance

    China scores 45 points higher than Germany (80 against 35)

    Germany 35, China 80, on a line from 0 (Low power distance) to 100 (High power distance).

  2. Individualism

    China scores 36 points lower than Germany (43 against 79)

    Germany 79, China 43, on a line from 0 (Collectivist) to 100 (Individualist).

  3. Uncertainty avoidance

    China scores 35 points lower than Germany (30 against 65)

    Germany 65, China 30, on a line from 0 (Tolerant of ambiguity) to 100 (Avoids ambiguity).

  4. Long-term orientation

    China scores 20 points higher than Germany (77 against 57)

    Germany 57, China 77, on a line from 0 (Short-term) to 100 (Long-term).

  5. Indulgence

    China scores 16 points lower than Germany (24 against 40)

    Germany 40, China 24, on a line from 0 (Restrained) to 100 (Indulgent).

  6. Motivation towards achievement and success

    China and Germany both score 66

    Germany 66, China 66, on a line from 0 (Consensus-oriented) to 100 (Decisive).

Country averages. About 80% of variation in values is between people inside a country (Taras et al. 2016).Source: The Culture Factor — Country comparison tool (2026).About the Hofstede dimensions

What the sources say, theme by theme

Entries for Germany and China, side by side on wide screens. Each keeps its own confidence label and citations.

Design & quality

Germany2 claims

China3 claims

Failure & risk

Germany5 claims

China2 claims

Feedback & code review

Germany3 claims

China3 claims

Hierarchy & decisions

Germany3 claims

China2 claims

Communication & docs

Germany3 claims

China4 claims

Work & careers

Germany5 claims

China4 claims

Open source & community

Germany5 claims

China5 claims