American CEOs visiting China can't escape having to dance on stage

American CEOs traveling to China face big challenges. Perhaps the most terrifying? The local tradition that business leaders dance and sing on stage to huge crowds.

- Raffaele Huang & Sha Hua

When Jensen Huang, the Taiwan-born American chief executive of Nvidia, the trillion-dollar Silicon Valley chip company, visited local employees in Shanghai last month, cheering staffers summoned him onto stage to participate in a Chinese folk dance.

The 60-year-old Huang, who was raised in Oregon and is now among the world's richest men, had swapped his signature black-leather jacket for a floral-patterned vest. He twirled a red handkerchief in each hand while trying to swing his hips and lift his legs to the rhythm of "The Dearest," a Chinese song about yearning for one's home and parents, according to videos, which weren't released by Nvidia but independently distributed anyway.

The moving parts weren't exactly in alignment, as they might say back at the office.

"His dance moves were kinda stiff and his legs and arms were uncoordinated," says David Chen, a Nvidia engineer in Shanghai.

But he also found Huang's demeanor appealing, and he says he now feels more connected to the company. For Chen, a corporate leader's personality sets the tone for the staff.

The invite is coming Heads up to Western executives visiting China: CEOs are vulnerable to being thrust into the spotlight, especially now when Lunar New Year bashes held for employees tend to involve MCs, lavish prizes and entertainment possibly you.

And it doesn't matter if you're better at giving a keynote than singing on key.