Building & Managing Guanxi

As a Foreigner

To manage guan xi or social connection in China is challenging.

Salvaging guanxi in jeopardy is an arts.

This refers to not only to you as a foreigner, but to the Chinese as well.

Having basic understanding about what guanxi is helpful. But to master the arts, you'd have to go through trials and errors.

Find out to pronounce the phrase 'guanxi', click here.

There are three stages in the management of relationships:

Initiating
Building
Harvesting

Initiating guanxi

On the surface, initiating a new guan xi is no difference from making a new friend.

In actual fact, the process involves more than just adding a new social contact.

It is an evaluation process that considers such things as business and other interests, as well as whether the personal chemistry of the new party is right.

If you are new to building guanxi, the first thing you should do is to relax and enjoy the new relationship!

Enjoy the connection that you are establishing!

It doen't matter whether you are doing it with an agenda in mind, or simply reacting passively. Decide on whether you want to continue with the guanxi later.

Be sincere and natural. You should not go too far wrong.

Appreciate the dining culture

In order to build harmonious and possibly also a lasting guan xi, Chinese like to conduct business with you as friend, rather than partner or associate.

For that, taking you to a restaurant is a basic thing to do. If your Chinese friends or associates take you seriously, but do not take you to a restaurant, things do not seem to be 'in order'.

In most cases, you are treated to at least two meals. One as a gesture of welcome, the other as farewell. There could be more in between.

Enjoy them! Take them as opportunity to build the connection. If appropriate, host a dinner back.

Be treated like ‘old friend’

You may be taken aback! While your friends or associates may have known you for days, they would introduce you to others as their old friend.

Do not be unTo manage guan xi or social connection in China is challenging.

Salvaging guanxi in jeopardy is an arts.

This refers to not only to you as a foreigner, but to the Chinese as well.

Having basic understanding about what guanxi is helpful. But to master the arts, you'd have to go through trials and errors.

duly alarmed. This is the way Chinese show their hospitality. Simply enjoy the compliment, and appreciate their guan xi with you.

Building the Connection

After some time, you'd get to know more and more people. Your own business networks would be formed.

Unless you have unlimited time and resources, you will have to decide on which guanxi to keep and build, and which to discreetly discontinue at this stage.

There are two ways to build and strengthing a guanxi.

One is social, involving activities like dinning and playing golf. The other is to help one another, either in the personal capacity or business.

When guanxi is in jeopardy, look at the following and see whether you are inadequate in any way.

For every set of connections, there would be unique set of codes of conduct

The relationship has to be maintained and cultivated, or it would be short-lived. For the important network, more time and energy will have to be invested in it to keep it alive.
The interactions among members of a network have to be reciprocal. In Chinese, this is known as lishangwanglai (礼尚往来). While other members help you, you will have to help them back. Owing a favor is interpreted as a ‘social debt’ in Chinese, and you'd have to be prudent as if you are managing monetary assets.

It is for this reason that you have to be discernible in the network that you keep and maintain.

At the same time, when you receive gifts of extraordinary variable, do not take it as simply a gift. Try to find out more and see whether the giver is seeking any form of assistance from you.

Many of such requests can be unspoken, as you are expected to know what to do!

Harvesting the connection

Having built the network, you may 'harvest' it as and when appropriate, and be rewarded for the devotion you put in.

Be careful not to abuse the connections nevertheless. Use it only when necessary. Bear in mind that guan xi is reciprocal, and you'd have to do your share when you are asked upon to help.

As a foreigner

As a foreigners, it's better if you can rely on some trusted Chinese friends to advice you on the management of the relationships. This is especially so in delicate issues like gift exchange.

Caution

A word of caution!

While guan xi is useful, losing an important one can adversely affect your business.

It is, therefore, unwise to rely on only one set of guan xi, or even purely on it to get things done. For example, the moment when you have established a business relationship through a guanxi, it is crucial that you cultivate and maintain the business through quality products and services, rather than just that alone.

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