Has the nature of Guanxi changed in the post-COVID era of doing business in China?

Thirteen years ago, my personal driver in Shanghai invited my wife and me to a lavish, relatively speaking, dinner party to celebrate my birthday with his relatives. This dinner celebration is unusual for any...

As we internalize the Guanxi engine metaphor and grasp that it needs 'fuel' to run, we will also recognize that, like any well-designed system, its inertia will continue running off alternative sources regardless. Chinese rituals were refined over the past five millennia, and every Chinese person...

Every interaction in China can either improve a relationship or activate a cloak of deception called goodwill extraction. While this might sound dramatic, it simply contrasts the possible outcomes of every engagement you'll encounter doing business in China. Once you understand your interactions...

Jack Ma's Ant Financial (rebranded as Ant Group) IPO debacle encapsulates a complex interplay between China's rapidly evolving tech sector and an opaque and reactive regulatory framework hierarchically disincentivized against market-oriented decisions. It's a Guanxi-based paradox disguised to...

As a Western leader in China, should you be concerned that promoting someone invariably leads to others feeling apprehensive (焦虑 Jiāolǜ)?

Managing Chinese employees is simple: tell them what to do.

Leading Chinese employees is complicated for Western leaders, requiring a deep understanding of...