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Now, like so many things in China, the old notion of guanxi is starting to make room for the new. Businesspeople – local and foreign – are tapping into emerging networks that revolve around shared work experiences or taking business classes together. Networking that once happened in private rooms at smart restaurants now goes on in plain view – at wine tastings for the nouveau riche, say, or at Davos-style get-togethers such as the annual China Entrepreneurs Forum held annually at China’s Yabuli ski resort. By tapping into these informal groups, Western companies can theoretically improve their understanding of the marketplace, hire the best talent, and find potential business partners.
Guanxi goes back thousands of years and is based on traditional values of loyalty, accountability, and obligation-–the notion that if somebody does you a favor, you will be expected to repay it one day. One of Asia’s most successful businessmen, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has used his guanxi particularly astutely over the years, in the process winning valuable licenses and permission to build huge real-estate developments. Playing the guanxi game is still imperative, especially for foreign investors.
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Multinational companies, of course, provide rich opportunities for networking, too. Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide holds an annual party for former employees, many of whom now work for the company’s clients, including Lenovo, Johnson & Johnson, and solar-panel maker Suntek. McKinsey has plenty of alumni who have moved into senior posts at major companies and start-ups. “Obviously, they became a valuable network for us,” says Andrew Grant, who runs the firm’s China practice in Shanghai