In Chinese business and social practice, agreements emerge from relationships rather than creating them. When you become someone’s business partner, colleague, or associate, you’ve already entered into obligations that need never be explicitly stated. The relationship itself creates binding commitments.
This is why relationship-building before formal agreements isn’t just polite custom — it’s constructing the foundation that makes agreement meaningful. A contract signed without adequate relationship lacks the context that gives it real substance.
When you share meals, exchange gifts, and invest time building connection with potential partners, you’re not just preparing for an agreement — you’re building it. The formal contract will document certain terms, but the relationship determines what those terms actually mean in practice and how they’ll be honored when challenges arise.
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