By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Do you care about building guanxi in China?
Most foreigners know how important it is to build connections in the Chinese culture, but do we have to play with the same rules?
Have you entered the chinese game of thrones known as Guanxi or do you prefer to stay away from it and try to progress in you career/life using your own effort?
11 years 7 weeks ago in Business & Jobs - China
Good question, and seeing as Chinese society seems to run on this I guess it's pretty important. Also I love your Games of Thrones allegory. You either win or you die!
For me, I'm not interested. I'm happy with my job and status and like to keep my head low. I have no intention of climbing the slippery ropes here and if I happen to meet someone who will give me an opportunity then so be it, but it's not like I'm really trying to.
If by 'guanxi' you mean doing a good job and expanding my education then yes, I'm all about guanxi.
If you mean drinking baijiu and smoking cigarettes until I hurl then no, I don't care.
That's why I left northern China. That and it's too dang cold for me.
I'm an old fashioned Brit (albeit with some modern leanings) so I don't do Guanxi. I do my job to the best of my abilities and hope / trust that my employers notice. If they don't come the next round of contract negotiations they will be minus a teacher.
OwainLW:
Couldn't agree with you more mate. That's how I've lived in China and the whole Guanxi thing to me is just badly disguised corruption. Shame that it doesn't always work out that the people who work hard get what they deserve, but that's the way of the world, and to a much greater extent, China. Still, I get along ok without it.
It's not something I actively pursue, and even sometimes actively avoid. My boss and one or two colleagues is all the guanxi I "need". I don't really have the time, energy, or wherewithal to maintain a huge guanxi network 
I would just be polite but natural to the higher guys, but I wouldn't break my back too much.
I may teach an official's kid English or something because that can be very rewarding.
The good thing about guanxi people is that they only call you when they need you and you just do the same.
As for those a**holes who phone every day looking to drink baijiu and wh*re out all the KTVs I try to avoid those people. That's not even good guanxi anyway, just somebody with money.
There are decent ones out there, but there are still alot of c*nts out there hunting for a foreign pet. You don't have be nice to every top guy out there just use common sense to see if they are good people and useful to you.
I realize it's important to have a Guanxi network because that's how Chinese society works but I don't have any. I feel it's a shame to give presents, invite to dinners or just suck up to your boss & other big shots.
I've been working in my school for 10 years, I know many teachers & people who decide whether to renew the next -year contract with me, I'm always polite with them, but I never try to get closer. I just don't need to, what i do need is to make sure I'm always ready for the class & show up on time. I try to involve as many students as possible in the discussion & avoid boring monotonous classes.
Here we have to distinguish between friendship & Guanxi. I met a Chinese lady at the dinner (every National Day they treat all the foreigners who work in the province to dinner), she spoke good English & we enjoyed each other's company. I was told later that she worked for the government & was a VIP. When we were talking, I didn't know that.
dharma86:
Yep, I'm always skeptical if someone's English is too good.
Actually usually I don't like talking to these people because they are either too critical of western countries or too critical of China (In terms of trying to provoke your opinion).
Give me a native chinglish speaker any day.
i'm not 12. i am independent. i do not set out to build contacts or build guanxi. i earn and work my way through life.
I don't go out of my way to build Guanxi and just treat others as I would if such a thing did not exist. For example my partner had a good friend visit Sydney on a group tour. We helped her out buying a few things because they were getting ripped off badly by their tour guide and a few dodgy tourist stores, paying way over for things. We purchased some items for well under half of what they were paying and then a few others in the group asked me to pick them up and take them shopping and I also showed them a few places that were off the tourist trail. Was only too happy to help because I disliked the fact they were being taken advantage of in my country. Also take our friends husband a few bottles of Penfolds bin 707 Cab Sav whenever we go to China. He pays us for it as it is around $300+ a bottle (we take 2 each) but that is far cheaper than what it costs in China. So from just helping out as in these two examples I have built up some Guanxi and have been rewarded with some incredible dining experiences and some good company. Some of those I help have turned out to be well off business people and one I later found out is a judge.
So to summarise. Do I agree with the practise? No
Do I go out of my way or only do things for those who will assist me or who are well off? Of course not.
But in saying all that. Is it good to know that if I get into any bother there are some contacts who would help me out? Yes.
Never have been before but I have a family now that I need to provide for and am able to recognize that no matter how unfair such practices may be, they have become necessary. I'm not here to change the world, i'm just living in it. Not talking about taking jobs that others are more suited to though, but having connections that may prove useful in keeping my own interests afloat is something I am grateful for.
