Attracted by regions of future growth, companies are setting up production capacity abroad. This involves people of different cultures working together in planning, design, manufacturing, and administration. Since they are not accustomed to act outside their cultural boundaries they have to learn to reflect upon beliefs, values and behaviour dispositions which we call cultural factors. These boundaries may hinder working together at first but may be converted into an advantage by using this diversity intelligently. This paper shows categories by which to differentiate the cultures and their impact on international cooperation with special reference to factory planning in Sino-German joint ventures. It assists in obtaining an appreciation of the relevant differences in planning approaches. As a tool for reconciling these differences the scenario technique is shown to be suited for creating a joint vision for future work despite individual approaches and expectations. The jointly revealed knowledge helps to lay the foundations for the planning work.