guanxi

1. ChinauncountableConnections; relationships; one's social or business network.

   To open a new business in China you need guanxi.

   5 more examples

   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.

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

   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.

   1998, Stuart Cohen, Invisible World

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

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

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

   2005, China-Britain Business Council

   The peculiarly Chinese concept of guansi (guanxi) also pervades interpersonal relationships. In mainland China, a stifling bureaucracy can make it impossible to get anything done, so individuals need to form relationships with the people who can get wheels turning. However, the person who turns the wheels for you will, at some point, want to have the favor returned. To accumulate guansi you need to do things for people: Give them gifts, take them to dinner, lend them your car, and so on. Once you have built up guansi, an unspoken understanding develops that favors will be returned repeatedly in an ongoing relationship. Visitors to Taiwan will rarely become involved in guansi, unless there often on business.

   2007, Phil Macdonald, “History & Culture”, in National Geographic Traveler: Taiwan, 2nd edition, National Geographic Society, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 21, column 2

   Synonyms: blat

alternative Kuanhsi · alternative Guansi

1. An urban township in Hsinchu County, Taiwan.

   2 more examples

   Visitors who do reach the town, in the hills of Hsinchu County southwest of the island’s capital city, Taipei, will find quiet, rural scenery, unique local food, unusual types of tea and a museum tour they’d be hard pressed to get anywhere else. Guanxi Township is also notable for its predominantly Hakka population; the Hakka were a nomadic people who settled widely around southern China and Taiwan, and are known for their courtyard homes. The first Hakka reached Taiwan in the 1600s.

   2019 July 31, Ralph Jennings, “A bridge to the past in Taiwan: Guanxi, quiet retreat of century-old town houses, tea, and Hakka food”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 31 Jul 2019, Travel & Leisure

   Education and training sessions were implemented after a baboon was shot by a member of the public after escaping from the Leofoo Village theme park in Hsinchu County’s Guanxi Township (關西), he said. There has been a focus on training to coordinate local authorities, set up communication channels, dispatch animal control personnel, and protect and transport injured animals, he said.

   2023 November 15, Yang Yuan-ting, Jason Pan, “Official defends efforts to control stray dogs”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 May 2024, Taiwan News, page 3