Editing Guanxi (section)

==Ethical concerns==
In recent years, the ethical consequences of ''guanxi'' have been brought into question. While ''guanxi'' can bring benefits to people directly within the ''guanxi'' network, it also has the potential to bring harm to individuals, societies and nations when misused or abused. For example, mutual reciprocal obligation is a major component of ''guanxi''. However, the specific date, time and method are often unspecified. Thus, ''guanxi'' can be ethically questionable when one party takes advantage of others' personal favors, without seeking to reciprocate.<ref>Dennis B. Hwang, Patricia L. Golemon, Yan Chen, Teng-Shih Wang and Wen-Shai Hung. "Guanxi and Business Ethics in Confucian Society Today: An Empirical Case Study in Taiwan." ''Journal of Business Ethics'' 89.2 (2009): 235–250. Print.</ref> A common example of unethical reciprocal obligation involves the abuse of business-government relations. In 2013, an official of the CCP criticized government officials for using public funds of over 10,000 yuan for banquets. This totals approximately 48 billion dollars worth of banquets per year.<ref name="Harding 2014"/> ''Guanxi'' may also allow for interpersonal obligations to take precedence over civic duties.<ref name=":1">{{Citation
  |last = Ansfield|first = Jonathan|title = Where Guanxi Rules|newspaper = Newsweek|date = December 17, 2007|url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/74369}}</ref>

Guanxi is a neutral word, but the use or practice of guanxi can range from 'benign, neutral, to questionable and corrupt'.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fan | first1 = Ying | year = 2002 | title = Ganxi's Consequences: Personal Gains at Social Cost | url = http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/1281| journal = Journal of Business Ethics | volume = 38 | issue = 4| pages = 371–80 [378] | doi=10.1023/a:1016021706308| s2cid = 154277952 }}</ref> In mainland China, terms like guanxi practice or ''la'' guanxi are used to refer to bribery and corruption.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal | last1 = Li | first1 = L | year = 2011 | title = Performing Bribery in China: guanxi-practice, corruption with a human face | url = https://zenodo.org/record/895341| journal = Journal of Contemporary China | volume = 20 | issue = 68| pages = 1–20 | doi=10.1080/10670564.2011.520841| s2cid = 154040629 }}</ref> Guanxi practice is commonly employed by favour seekers to seek corrupt benefits from power-holders. Guanxi offers an efficient information transmission channel to help guanxi members to identify potential and trustworthy partners; it also offers a safe and secret platform for illegal transactions. Guanxi norms help buyers and sellers of corrupt benefits justify and rationalize their acts.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Zhan | first1 = J. V. | year = 2012 | title = Filling the gap of formal institutions: the effects of Guanxi network on corruption in reform-era China | journal = Crime, Law and Social Change | volume = 58 | issue = 2| pages = 93–109 | doi=10.1007/s10611-012-9379-9| s2cid = 154430151 }}</ref> Li's ''Performing Bribery in China'' (2011)<ref name="ReferenceA"/> as well as Wang's ''The buying and selling of military positions'' (2016)<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = P | year = 2016 | title = Military corruption in China: the role of guanxi in the buying and selling of military positions | journal = The China Quarterly | volume = 228 | page = 970 | doi=10.1017/s0305741016001144| hdl = 10722/227432 | s2cid = 56392352 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>Wang, Peng (2017). The Chinese Mafia: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Extra-Legal Protection. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> analyze how guanxi practice works in corrupt exchanges.

This question is especially critical in cross-cultural business partnerships, when Western firms and auditors are operating within Confucian cultures. Western-based managers must exercise caution in determining whether or not their Chinese colleagues and business partners are in fact practicing ''guanxi''. Caution and extra guidance should be taken to ensure that conflict does not occur as a result of misunderstood cultural agreements.<ref name=":1" />

Other studies argue that ''guanxi'' is not in fact unethical, but is rather wrongly accused of an act thought unethical in the eyes of those unacquainted with it and Chinese culture. Just as how the Western juridical system is the image of the Western ethical attitudes, it can be said that the Eastern legal system functions similarly. Also, while Westerners might misunderstand ''guanxi'' as a form of corruption, the Chinese recognize ''guanxi'' as a subset of ''renqing'', which likens the maintenance of interpersonal relationships to a moral obligation. As such, any relevant actions taken to maintain such relationships are recognized as working within ethical constraints.<ref>Steve Lovett, Lee C. Simmons and Raja Kali. "Guanxi versus the Market: Ethics and Efficiency." ''Journal of International Business Studies'' 30.2 (1999): 231–247. Print.</ref>

The term ''guanxixue'' ({{lang|zh-Hans-CN|关系学}}, the 'art' or 'knowledge' of ''guanxi'') is also used to specifically refer to the manipulation and corruption brought about by a selfish and sometimes illegal utilization of ''guanxi''. In turn, ''guanxixue'' distinguishes unethical usage of ''guanxi'' from the term ''guanxi'' itself.<ref>Douglas Guthrie. 1998. ''The Declining Significance of Guanxi in China's Economic Transition''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> Although many Chinese lament the strong importance of ''guanxi'' in their culture because of the unethical use that arises through it, they still consider ''guanxi'' as a Chinese element that should not be denied.