Guanxi - The Chinese Connection

The way of Guanxi...

As the Godfather always says,

"Do me this favor. I won't forget it. Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They'll tell you I know how to return a favor."

Or,

"Good. Someday, and that day may never come, I'll call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day - accept this justice as a gift on my daughter's wedding day."

The quotes are there because word on the Internet is that culture-4-travel.com needs some street cred. (Hehe)

Guanxi is somewhat similar to what the godfather has said. It is the term the Chinese people use to describe a relationship, favors, network, or social connection between friends and partners.

You may think that networking and connection are important everywhere, not just in China. With that thinking you are correct. However, networks have so much more meaning in China, from getting the best deal on shopping to getting ahead in life.

China education

Let's look at an example,

As I mentioned before, education is very competitive in China and it is very difficult to get into a good school. Nonetheless, it is very common to see a less qualified person go to the best school in the country. Almost every year, there are unqualified students able to get into the top school in China by the connection that their family has with the government officials and vice versa as well.

There are a lot of students who are smart, talented and more than capable of succeeding at big schools. However, if the students are downright poor or their family does not have the right Guanxi (connection), you can literally say that their talent will go to waste.

From my personal perspective, Guanxi in China is based on one concept -- the obligation to help friends first. Let's look at another example. Say that you are doing business with a Chinese organization, and everything is about to be concluded. Yet, if that organization has a long time partner, the majority of the time the company will not hesitate to take back the contract with you and give it to the partner.

Guanxi with friends...

For some people traveling is for pleasure, or maybe just to live there for fun. It is best for you to make friends. If you become sick while living there, your friend can help you to find a doctor. The doctor may give a discount with super special care instead of the normal rate which would have you paying big bucks for the same treatment.

Guanxi is not excluded from money transactions. Money will be used to exchange favors in the business place and this is very legal. I know this is a very crude rule to live by; however the Chinese people accept this to be a part of their life.

So what can we learn from these examples? For anything from small to big, you always need the right Guanxi in China. Without Guanxi, it doesn't matter that you are a genius and talented, you will not get anywhere in life (if you live in China). It is so important that it even has its own website, which is Guanxi.com.

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