Strong customer-supplier relationships in Chinese business involve both parties investing in each other’s success, not just exchanging goods for payment. Suppliers invest in understanding customer needs deeply, developing solutions for customer problems, and supporting customer development beyond contract requirements. Customers invest in supplier success too—providing useful feedback, maintaining business through supplier difficulties, and helping suppliers build capabilities.
This creates productive mutual dependency where both parties have stakes in each other’s success. A supplier who helped you grow your business has claims beyond what the transactions generated; a customer who supported a supplier through hard times has accumulated relationship capital. Don’t view dependency negatively—mutual investment creates mutual commitment. When both parties have invested significantly in each other, both have strong incentives for relationship success.
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