The first thing you should do before setting up a trading relationship of natural resources is putting some homework. This does not apply to manufactured goods which cannot be usurped by them
Don't just talk to them and try to get a sense of who they are from that. Don't just talk to people that have emigrated to that country from your country. They are smart enough not to treat them like dirt because they know you will speak to them. Your sovereignty forces them to treat you in a dignified manner which fools many countries. You should talk to minorities, immigrants, and indigenous people.
For example, I'm thinking about selling oil to Australia, first thing I'm going to do is try to speak to the Aboriginal people to get a sense of who I'm dealing with. If they are telling you fucked up stories of mass incarceration or other b*******, then you need to avoid dealing with them.
Any bizarre beliefs in their supremacy over other people is a red flag. Let's say you wanted to figure out what's going on with the US, these country should come to African Americans and other groups that are in constant contact with them. I have a ton of stories that correlate with events in Venezuela.