Guanxi Master

Kevin Rudd’s response to the Stern Hu trial reveals the wonders of Chinese negotiation

Last week, we wrote about Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s savvy handling of the Stern Hu affair. Well, it didn’t seem to temper Hu’s sentence, with his 10 year sentence being quite normal for bribery of this scale. However, in responding to the trial, Rudd has displayed great cultural awareness – and scored some political points. Read the rest of this entry »

Understanding one of the most important aspects of Chinese culture

The Chinese can be very generous people. In fact, they are some of the most generous people I know. They never arrive empty-handed, and won’t let you leave without taking gifts or food. From fighting for the check at a restaurant to playing the gracious host, the Chinese’ spirit of generosity is one of their greatest cultural treasures. Stemming from the old village traditions, this attribute continues to impact everything from the birthday of an Anhui farmer’s baby to Foreign Ministry negotiations in western Africa. Read the rest of this entry »

A philosophical exploration of Western academia’s fascination with East Asian culture and thought

A familiar scene: the affluent cosmopolitan city dweller sits at a sushi diner in the middle of a bustling American metropolis. Before him rolls a mechanized conveyor belt offering all the supposedly-palatable delights of the Orient, in perfect and beautiful variety. He very discriminately raises his chopsticks and partakes, and in his mind swim visions of pagodas, misty rainbow bridges, and kimono-clad women drinking tea. It’s sophisticated, refined, and, above all – fashionable.

In the modern Western world, we generally agree on the need to look far away from our own historical perspective and put ourselves in the shoes of the other. Yet the world we live in is becoming increasingly small, thanks largely to Western industrialization and its resulting technological revolutions. Who is sufficiently other from us, and who are the ones that we so desperately need to learn from? Read the rest of this entry »

A little-known jewel of Chinese wisdom that is opening doors to great opportunity

China has a historical tradition of great old sages. However, they generally weren’t characterized by the flowing silk robes and serene walled gardens that the Western mind imagines. Instead, art and history always depict them as wearing tattered rags and living in mountain caves, cold and poor. Lao Zi, Ji Gong, Zhuang Zi, and the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove are all models for this stereotype. They were men who “Saw the Tao,” and realized that because entropy was inherent in all things, poverty was the only “sustainable” lifestyle that could be proposed. In this philosophy, therefore, the building of palaces and the ruling of nations was pointless – unless one realized that they are pointless, at which point they become great fun! Read the rest of this entry »

Some claimed that Kevin Rudd’s relationship with China was too close for comfort. Now, China may be thinking the same thing.

Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu’s trial finally starts here in Shanghai this morning, after nine months of detention and waiting. There has been a lot of media discussion about the case, with criticism of everyone from Rio Tinto to the Chinese government, to the Australian government, to Stern Hu himself. In the United States, many commentators contend that Australia should be stronger in challenging China’s position, and in Australia, some have argued that the Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister should take more advantage of his guanxi with China. In light of this, Kevin Rudd’s comments last week form a profound vignette into politics, diplomacy, and Chinese culture Read the rest of this entry »