I find it fascinating how certain things work better for some cultural backgrounds than in others.
The business setting has a lot of etiquette and rules, and as I get more and more experience in international business I get to know that this is an area in where differences are plenty.
With the internet and globalization, it is getting better, but there was a time that was full of great stories of how things would get f**** up really fast for stupid reasons... so I liked it that you mentioned that in Asian cultures this question can be too aggressive.
Cheers