Problems of bilingual communication among Chinese construction workers in joint economic activities

Abstract

The article examines the problems of bilingual communication among Chinese construction workers in joint Russian-Chinese economic activities. Based on a survey of 638 Russian and Chinese engineers, the study identifies professional and terminological difficulties, the risk of false understanding of work-related messages, differences in certain communicative and managerial attitudes, and the need for bilingual coordinators. The empirical basis comprises two independent samples of construction engineers (322 respondents from the Russian Federation and 316 from China) surveyed with a structured questionnaire; the reliability of the observed differences was tested by means of descriptive statistics and linear probability models. The findings show that the terminological barrier and the effect of illusory understanding are reproduced consistently in both groups, whereas the most noticeable between-group differences concern the preferred managerial style and the readiness to make autonomous decisions when authority is delegated; the demand for a full-time bilingual coordinator proved almost equally intense among Russian and Chinese specialists. The necessity of comprehensive organizational and pedagogical support is substantiated, including professionally oriented language training, the development of feedback skills, the simulation of workplace situations, and intercultural mediation.