English

Noun

guanxi ‎(uncountable)

1. (In the context of Chinese society) Connections; relationships; one's social or business network.

   To open a new business in China you need guanxi.

   • 1996, James O'Reilly, Sean O'Reilly, Larry Habegger (editors), Travellers' Tales - Hong Kong

     Who would dare to drive around in a [right-hand drive] car that was so obviously stolen and smuggled into the country? The police, of course! And Communisty Party officials. And those with guanxi with the police.

   • 1998, Stuart Cohen, Invisible World

     By chance he'd happened to be in Hong Kong when Clayton had died, and his guanxi had smoothed out the paperwork that could have delayed things for weeks.

   • 2000, Yadong Luo, Strategy, Structure, and Performance of MNCs in China

     It should be noted that the existence of a basis for guanxi does not imply that such an alliance will develop.

   • 2005, China-Britain Business Council

     Many foreigners claim to have guanxi with their Chinese counterparts; few actually do.

Translations

Synonyms

• blat (from Russian)

See also

• network
• relationship