Adventures in China

Guanxi, very loosely, might translate to "connections" and "worth". But it is far more complex than that. It is a system of power and trade and networking.

The last time I tried to explain guanxi, I was told that I was just naive about the United States and that "everywhere in the world works like that."

I don't agree.

Guanxi is the thing you need to get anything in China. You need it to get a good job. I'm not saying that connections don't grease the wheels in all parts of the world, because they certainly do, but not to the degree it is in China. You need guanxi to get train tickets in China.

I had guanxi simply by having white skin. I didn't necessarily have anything to offer anyone except my white presence, which was more than enough. In exchange for being present, and being seen with a person, people were more than willing to take me to fantastic meals or find me train tickets (through a friend's brother's friend). My presence, often recorded on film for posterity, would be seen by other people who would assume that the people I was with had some sort of influence, simply because they were with a white person. All I had to do was sit there.

Because of guanxi, the idea of corruption in China is very different than it is, here. You can buy guanxi with money, if you don't have it some other way. From the outside, it looks like there are bribes in every aspect of Chinese life. From the inside, it is just an expression of a larger system.

I don't see the system going anywhere anytime soon. There simply aren't enough resources to go around. There aren't enough jobs and there aren't enough train tickets. If you can control the jobs or the train tickets, you might as well do as well with it as you can. Use one favor here to get access to a concert. Use another favor to get your sister-in-law interviewed in another company. Give another favor for a little cash. These exchanges aren't always one-for-one or all at once. Guanxi can stretch over time, and it does.