By Valerie Sartor

Chinese people are no strangers to the concept of networks and networking.

For thousands of years, Confucian ethics have promoted strong bonds of loyalty, affection and obligation between people. The terms renqing (literally, human feelings) and guanxi (the art of social relationships) have helped Chinese people to build personal, social and business relationships through the ages that are mutually beneficial.

This ability to connect and construct relationships with others is a fundamental human need, and it is also a great skill. Networking and communication talent is crucial for success in marriage, friendships, and all kinds of business dealings.

Today, more than ever before, it’s imperative that the Chinese people expand their natural talent to connect with others, and extend this potential to connect into global networking systems. Using this strategy China will not only survive, but also thrive in the modern world.

Networks by definition are interconnected systems with hierarchies but often no fixed centers. Global networks, like guanxi networks, function to enhance and promote relationships among the participants. Global networks circulate currency, information, technology, goods and services – even people.

The crucial difference between the two types of networks is that Chinese guanxi networks are stable, personal and finite. Global networks are constantly in flux; they’re impersonal, and potentially infinite. Interestingly, power and success among members of both kinds of networks is defined by degrees: of intimacy in guanxi, and of connection, in global systems.

Significantly, global networks are not loyal to members, as are guanxi networks. Much more than bonds of blood or friendship are involved. Their energy derives from change, expansion, and innovation: they operate in a fundamentally capitalistic fashion.

Additionally, global networks may rapidly change their composition, members, and even their functions. This constant evolution can leave individuals, societies, and even nations behind as the network evolves; most of Africa is such an example.

The trick is to employ these global networks, like guanxi networks, to empower people and ensure a fair distribution of resources and knowledge.

Clearly, the ancient art of guanxi in China reflects the ability that Chinese people have to connect with each other. Let them now expand that gift in order to successfully connect with the global age, and empower and humanize it beyond the wildest dreams of globalization.