ABSTRACT
Business leaders should confront the challenging situation, explore and analyse the unknown, then approach the 'truth', in an endlessly repeating process. In the business field, a confrontational approach or direct competition between firms would normally be avoided; a Chinese saying indicates that 'amiability begets riches'. A salient characteristic of Chinese culture has been the extensive role of 'interpersonal relationships' or guanxi in business, politics and society in general. In contemporary China, guanxi has continued to play an important part in business, but its role seems to be diminishing. In Western countries, although it is possible to find examples of a relationship-based business approach, whereby a firm acquires a large project through personal networks, the nature and scale are by no means comparable to those of Chinese guanxi. The wu wei approach to business has been preached and practised by many successful Chinese businesspeople.
