Young Chinese Professionals - Changing Guanxi Practices Across China

IMO relationship-building in 🇨🇳 China isn't dying. But the HOW is shifting: A recent discussion with Dr. Stephan Ruppert got me thinking: German companies report that their Chinese partners are blocking personal contact, refusing WeChat, shutting down small talk. I'd like to share few things I've observed travelling across China: 1. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (& 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆) 2. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 3. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 (𝗦𝗘𝗢 𝘃𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲) + 2 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 I try to break this down: 1. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 My conversations with younger professionals in Tier 1 and coastal cities are extremely direct. Feels like talking to someone in Berlin. Even in Kashgar (Xinjiang) a few young guys in their 20s jumped straight into business opportunities within minutes. The personal stuff came after: it was about shared hobbies, not banquets. Which brings me to a key shift: Connection is moving from what I call "Banquet-Guanxi" (drinking, formal dinners, hierarchy) to activity-based bonding. Playing sports together, grabbing a coffee, shared experiences. 2. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 In northern and inland provinces (at least the places where I travelled: Liaoning, Shandong, Shaanxi), conversations felt more formal and careful: More 爱国 (patriotic) sentiment upfront...like testing the waters before getting deeper. Observing if I know the etiquette at dinner: who pours for whom, seating order. Or casually mentioning how great the infrastructure is now and watching how I react. Very different from the "let's get to business" energy in Shanghai or Shenzhen. 3. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 (𝗦𝗢𝗘 𝘃𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲) – 𝗻𝗼𝘁 100% 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 I spoke with people from a state-owned gas company and military backgrounds. Yes, they were more formal. But I think that's mostly because they were older and learned relationship-building in a different era. I would say it's more about generation than org type. (But would love to speak to more younger people in SOEs to verify this!) + 2 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗜'𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿: 阴阳老板 ("Yin Yang the boss") Younger workers literally screenshot labor law paragraphs and send them to their manager when asked to work weekends. If someone doesn't even want to invest extra energy for their own employer — how much energy is left for relationship-building with a foreign partner? The replacement cycle Many young professionals know they'll be swapped out for cheaper graduates in 1-2 years. (That's unfortunately how the market works right now.) So why invest in a deep relationship with an overseas partner if you won't be on the project next quarter? --- What are you seeing in your daily work with partners in China? Does relationship-building feel different nowadays? Lily Wang Carsten Senz Eric Lin Harald Buchmann Dr. Ellen Wieck-Mesarosch