Unusual Chinese Connections (a.k.a Guanxi)

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 Western leader assigned a driver in China because these drivers usually lack the Guanxi or cultural incentive to suggest such a gesture to their clients.

In the Chinese hierarchical system, the higher-level person usually organizes and pays for these occasions.

Why did my driver, XiaoHe (小何), insist on this overture, and what were the reciprocal personal benefits, referred to 利益 (Lìyì), in Chinese?

For context, XiaoHe was an unauthorized driver (黑出司机 Hēi chū sīj) I met when he was peddling rides inside our gated expat community in Gubei (古北 gǔ běi), Shanghai. I accepted his solicitation for an airport ride, chatted in the front seat along our commute, and eventually struck a deal with him to be my personal driver to and from Taichung, Suzhou, and my apartment in Shanghai. [For an immersive listening experience about my experience with XiaoHe, listen to The Chinese Honeymoon Period audible on Audible].

Of course, our Guanxi (关系) didn't deepen overnight, but the resulting LIYI considerations (personal benefits) are noteworthy and invaluable lessons in today's post-COVID environment in China. Because I treated him as an equal, as is customary in Western culture, he was given a disproportionate amount of Face or Mianzi (面子). I also became a "trusted" friend or partner, which is always elusive when doing business in China, that granted him access to a perceived array of opportunities and inside information.

This perception psychologically permits Chinese people to "feel better" about a relationship and lower their anxiety and stress in immeasurable ways.

Having a trusted driver was more important for my safety and punctuality than anything else, but what I got out of the proverbial relationship extended into realms rarely coveted by foreigners in China. XiaoHe was available 24/7 via text message, and I was never required to haggle rates for any destination. I never overpaid him, and he never disagreed with what I arbitrarily decided was fair and reasonable for his fare. But beyond the simplicity of all my local transportation needs in Shanghai, I gained access to unofficial resources from AnHui province, a network of migrants willing to do anything for the right price. Let's say I had "local muscle" in Shanghai to settle scores that official authorities wouldn't entangle themselves without deep Guanxi connections.

Access to resources I never had to employ was empowering and made my life in Shanghai more pleasant and rewarding. Priceless!

Listen to The Chinese Honeymoon Period, audiobook on Audible, to learn how to benefit from my experience through 10 Chinese cultural concepts that encapsulate all the cultural awareness needed to thrive in China today.