A condensed script for the dinner after a factory visit: seating, the first toast, declining drinks without offence, the toast you give back, and leaving well.
饭局 is a meal with a purpose; 局 is the word for a game or a situation in play. After a factory visit the boss will usually host, and the dinner is where the relationship, more than the price, gets settled. This page is the short version for the day itself. The longer background is on the toasting (敬酒), hosting (请客), gift (送礼), and face (面子) pages. The host sits in the 主位 (zhǔwèi), usually facing the door; the most important guest, probably you, sits at the host's right. Wait to be seated, let the host order, and do not try to pay: the host has already paid, and insisting costs them face. Reciprocate by hosting on their next visit or at a later dinner.
请坐qǐng zuòplease sit
You will be guided to your seat. A modest protest, 您先坐 (nín xiān zuò, "after you"), is polite; then sit where you are put.
王总您先请，我坐这儿就好。
Wáng zǒng nín xiān qǐng, wǒ zuò zhèr jiù hǎo.
After you, Mr Wang; here is fine for me.
招待zhāodàito host, hospitality
The thank-you at the end names the hospitality: 谢谢款待 or 谢谢您的热情招待.
谢谢王总的热情招待，今天吃得很开心。
Xièxie Wáng zǒng de rèqíng zhāodài, jīntiān chī de hěn kāixīn.
Thank you, Mr Wang, for the warm hospitality; I really enjoyed tonight.
喝酒hē jiǔDrinking and Declining
敬酒的规矩 jìngjiǔ de guīju · The Toast in Brief干杯 gānbēi → "dry the cup": drink it all 随意 suíyì → "as you like": sip what you want; say it to make drinking optional for both 我先干为敬 wǒ xiān gān wéi jìng → "I'll drain mine first as a mark of respect" 杯子放低 bēizi fàng dī → clink with your glass rim below a senior person's 以茶代酒 yǐ chá dài jiǔ → "tea in place of wine": the standard way to toast without alcohol
不太会喝酒bú tài huì hē jiǔnot much of a drinker
Decide before the dinner whether you drink, and say it early with a reason that leaves no one at fault: health, medication, an early meeting, or driving. Once you have drunk one toast, refusing the next is harder.
Sorry, I'm on medication and can't drink; let me toast everyone with tea.
我酒量不好，我随意，您也随意。
Wǒ jiǔliàng bù hǎo, wǒ suíyì, nín yě suíyì.
I can't hold much; I'll sip, and you drink as you like too.
敬jìngto toast respectfully
Return the host's toast once the host has toasted you, standing and holding the glass with both hands. A short toast in Chinese is worth more than a long one in English.
Praising the food is the easiest conversation: 这个菜很地道 (this is very authentic), 是本地特色吗 (is it a local speciality?). It invites the host to tell you about the region.
Price is rarely negotiated at the table, but the boss may ask a soft question about volume or the future. Answer warmly and without numbers; numbers belong in the meeting room the next day.