ABSTRACT
It is jiaoqing and its corresponding ethical practices that promote and maintain cooperation among Chinese migrants. This chapter aims to investigate the sustainability of voluntary and genuine cooperation beyond the circle of kin. Certainly, there are many social mechanisms influencing non-kin cooperation, for example, an authoritarian government or a sophisticated market may establish the rules of play. When identifying and analysing non-kin cooperation, two theoretical obstacles need to be overcome. First of all, non-kin cooperation should not be identified as a mere extension of familial cooperation and should not be analysed under the strong notion of Chinese familism. Non-kin cooperation is separable from the familial cooperation as it runs subject to different moral principles of social interaction. The investigation of everyday non-kin cooperation in China needs to go beyond the dogma of guanxi. Voluntary cooperation is nurtured with continuous care, affection and interaction.
