ABSTRACT
Gifting is an integral part of current Chinese society. The saying “You can never go visit people empty handed” is taken more literally in China than perhaps anywhere else in the world. As a matter of fact, even if one does not visit people in person, one is still expected to send gifts to both friends and business associates on important occasions such as major holidays and birthdays. A report published in 2012 estimated demand for gifts at RMB 768.4 billion per year (with individual annual demand totaling RMB 505.5 billion and organizational annual demand totaling RMB 262.9 billion). 1 China is most certainly a society of gifting, in terms of both scope and scale.
