Why "guanxi"? During good times and bad, the Chinese have depended on guanxi--literally “networks of mutual support.” Today, guanxi is coming to have a larger meaning as China becomes a growing influence in the global community and as Chinese professionals and companies expand their global role and global connections. In Guanxi: The China Letter, we look at guanxi as a vital form of social networking that can inform and improve business activities and make those who have it, whether individuals or companies, the preferred partners for Chinese companies, too.When we talk to experts about Guanxi, they surprise me with their enthusiasm. They are bothered by the superficiality of China reporting, and because of their long years of work with and in China, they know how much there is to absorb and understand. They are tired of the focus on economic issues without awareness of the related cultural and social issues. They are also tired of coverage that just lauds or denounces China. Anyone who really knows China knows that both tendencies oversimplify a complex reality, and they worry about the dangers of unbridled optimism as well as unreasonable hostility.
We have also found that Chinese people, in China and outside it, are immensely pleased by the idea that we are going to present the Chinese perspective (or, as they have said to me, “our viewpoint”). And those with Chinese-Western ties—the 40,000 graduates of Beijing University living in the United States, for example—-are delighted by the idea of a publication that aims at balanced coverage and increasing people’s understanding in order to build ties of friendship and mutual benefit.
Guanxi takes a global perspective. U.S. coverage too often focuses on China and the United States alone; although that rel ...