China’s guanxi and the Chinese perception of it 

     I have been studying China for some time and I have long been fascinated by the importance of guanxi 关系. It’s possible to translate this loosely as ‘personal connections’, but it carries a broader implication than the equivalent in Western culture. Guanxi is the way social relations work in China. It is everywhere, between family members and colleagues, and other people too. Guanxi means that one does a favour for another, and the other must return a similar favour within a certain timeframe. This keeps on happening in a continuous loop, and that’s what is called ‘building guanxi’. The stronger the relationship between people, the more the favours are exchanged for the sake of the relationship, not for the expected return of a favour. As a China studies student, I find this fascinating as a phenomenon that is rather different from what I’m used to in Western culture. But how do Chinese people see guanxi? 

There are several ways to look at guanxi, and scholars have identified several different types. The strongest or most intimate type is familial guanxi. Obviously, this is between family members and this type of relationship is intimate and exists in order to maintain the relationship itself. The members of such a relationship take care of the others due to obligation, and not out of self-interest. These bonds cannot be broken. Familial guanxi has roots all the way back to ancient China, from Confucius’ teachings that there are five cardinal relationships: Emperor-official, father-son, husband-wife, elder brother-younger brother and friend-friend. Instrumental guanxi is on the other side of the spectrum, when the relationship exists mostly for the favours exchanged. This type of guanxi can exist between acquaintances or colleagues, and can be broken over time, if favours are not reciprocated. On the other hand, if the relationship is kept up, this type of relationship can become a strong one too. Strong or intimate guanxi can occur between non-family members as well, but often requires a common ground of some sort, like a common place of origin or having gone to the same school. Mixed guanxi is in between familial and instrumental guanxi, and is usually found between friends, classmates, where there is part obligation and part benefit. These different types of guanxi can differ depending on what the researcher focuses on.  

Guanxi is deeply rooted in Chinese history, going back to ancient China and Confucianism. In the Confucian value system, hierarchy and relationalism were important. Personal ties, and them being hierarchical, was commonplace during the feudal period in China. From about the Warring States period until 1911 when the imperial state ended, China was ruled according to the feudal system. Harmony and respect building was important. Many Western scholars emphasise the link between guanxi and Confucianism, but it is even more common among Chinese scholars. Confucius constructed the five cardinal relationships, called wulun 五倫, instructing how authority should work, and the primary relationships of society. Society should be organised into Emperor-subject, father-son, husband-wife, elder sibling-younger siblings and friend-friend. From early on, the Chinese have had these hierarchical relationships as a guide for how society should work, and so it seems natural that this is an important focus of scholars, perhaps especially Chinese ones. In fact, some have said that China is not an individualistic country, nor a collective one, but a relations-based country. In fact, according to Confucian values, an individual cannot exist without belonging to a group, and guanxi is how these groups are navigated. In other words, guanxi is an essential part of Chinese society, and those who are researching it no doubt revere its Confucian roots, while many Chinese who simply exist with it integrated in their daily lives do not explicitly consider it such a magnificent wonder, though they still make good use of it. 

Guanxi has been important since ancient China, but there have been some interesting developments in newer history regarding its role in Chinese society as well. During the Mao era, in a planned economy where basically nobody had any more money than others, favours was the only thing that could be exchanged. Guanxi was incredibly important and could make a big difference on people’s lives. Cadres and other officials were able to distribute certain favourable jobs as they saw fit, and so it was important to have good connections, direct or indirect, leading to favour exchange. This was important for other aspects of life as well: securing good meat, train tickets, travel permits, hotel reservations, rationed household appliances, even timely marriage certificates, as well as other limited services and items. Guanxi and favour exchange was paramount for all these things. But once China started shifting their economy towards a more market-oriented approach, wouldn’t that mean that merit would take over, and make guanxi less important? Employers had to become more calculated and rational in their hiring process, and candidates had to demonstrate ability and not good connections in order to get jobs. But in fact, guanxi has not decreased in importance as much as one might expect. It might even be rising in importance. Using personal connections to find a job means better matches, and a closer sense of obligation both from the employer to provide benefits and payment as per the contract, and for the employee to perform the work efficiently and without stealing from the employer. Before, guanxi was used to ensure a good job assignment from the state, now it is used to gain an advantage in the increasingly competitive job market. Connections are also used to gather information about job openings, as Chinese often find this information more reliable than job advertisements.  

Not everything about guanxi is bright and shiny. It is also closely associated with corruption, as parts of a guanxi connection are often of different status, as expected when four of the five Confucian cardinal relationships are hierarchical, resulting in inequality. This inequality will usually persist over time, as gift giving is often done upwards to those with a higher status. The line between exchanging favours in a mutually beneficial relationship and corruption or bribery can sometimes be very blurry. Chinese will often see a guanxi tie as corruption or bribery if there is little intimacy and a more instrumental connection between people, and if there is clearly something that the gift-giver would like to receive in exchange. In addition, the economic value can affect this perception. If the gift has a high economic value, then it is more likely to be seen as bribery. So, if giving a gift, it is important not to give something too expensive, especially if you don’t know the person that well or there is something valuable that they are in a position to offer, as it might be seen as unethical. There is a tendency to trust more in one’s own personal connections than for example in the law in China. If one is on the outside of such a network, it can look a lot like corruption. This is an important aspect of guanxi.  

So, in order to sum up, guanxi is an important aspect of Chinese society, but it does carry with it some ambiguity in certain situations. But in general, apart from being a natural part of most Chinese’s daily lives, they see guanxi as an increasingly important aspect of society with roots to ancient China and Confucianism. It can be seen as corruption, especially if there is a lot to gain, it is a less intimate relationship and the economic value of the gift is high.