The logic of reciprocity runs deep in Chinese agreement practice. Receiving benefit creates obligation to reciprocate. Help given creates moral claim to future assistance.
This operates beyond explicit agreements — accepting a favor, receiving a gift, being helped in difficulty all create binding obligations without formal undertaking. The reciprocity doesn’t require immediate or equivalent return; timing and form must be appropriate to relationship and circumstance. Help received in business might be reciprocated through personal assistance; a favor today might be returned years later.
But the obligation exists and is tracked. Building agreement relationships includes building reciprocity networks — extending help that creates future claims and accepting help that creates obligations. The web of mutual obligation links parties across time and domains.
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