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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookLiterally translated, “guanxi” means “relationships.” How to conduct these relationships is a central idea around Chinese life and business. In the business world, guanxi has commonly become known as the network of relationships that help people to get, keep, and refer jobs. These connections are built upon a complex system of family, friends, and favours and, like trust, guanxi can be difficult to build and easy to destroy.
I did something for you and now you owe me for life.
"Guan Xi" means connections. People do that a lot in China.
Guanxi is a system of connections around which Chinese social and professional relations revolve, basically having the right connections (shaking the right hand, drinking with the right person, ...) will make your life easier.
For e.g. being the drinking buddy of the chief of the local police can save you from jailtime if you happen to kill someone.
Being friend with some local government official while running a company can give you access to business opportunities with the local government that would otherwise be locked away from you. Let's say that you own a car factory and the local government wants to buy 300 new cars for its employees, you could get an exclusive contract with them if you know the right person.
This is a dumb, dark-ages like system that irremediably leads to corruption and inequalities.
It's a nice fancy word for cronyism and nepotism rolled into one...
It's corruption, nepotism and cronyism put into system and then excused as a cultural feature.
Edit: Sorry DrMonkey, didn't see your post even though it was made 4 hours before mine.
DrMonkey:
You are forgiven son, walk in peace (but with your pants on)
iWolf:
Mr DrMonkey, you are a true humanitarian. I think Burak43 owes you eternal guanxi.
relationships, connections that with stings attached. I think guanxi is everywhere, especially in a company, seems like in chinese culture you have to work your ass off to build a good guanxi with your boss.