Guanxi is loosely translated as relationships, usually among family and business friends, and is essential for living in China because bureaucracy is so large. When there are millions of people, there are potentially millions of possible mistakes, so you must choose your friends, associates and business associates very carefully. Guanxi helps by providing trusted introductions.
Trust is always important, but even more so in China. Historically, trust comes from the "guanxi" network, starting with family. Some think of this as being like a bank account, where guanxi is deposited and withdrawn. A Chinese person starts with a family bank account, and this is gradually extended, although with gradually reducing degrees of trust the further you get away from family.
Western businesses can open new guanxi accounts, but they can never match the early family bank account.
