Exploring Guanxi with the Chinese in South Africa

What is it about?

Based on a case study of recently arrived Cantonese-speaking im/migrants in Johannesburg, this paper examines the role of guanxi—a combination of migrant networks and social relations—in shaping their economic activities and opportunities in South Africa. Through Cantonese im/migrants’ narratives and stories, this paper reveals that the practice of guanxi often strengthens personal and employment relationships. As such, Cantonese im/migrants tend to be employed in the restaurant and fahfee sectors. The paper also explores the common forms of corruption that Chinese migrants face in their everyday lives and how closely these can be related to practices of guanxi, leading some to confuse the two practices depending on their perceptions

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Why is it important?

The Western interpretations of corruption as something universally constituted lead to an ambiguous boundary between guanxi and corruption. The literature review on guanxi in this paper shows the differences between Western and Chinese perceptions of guanxi. A discussion of these cultural differences provides a further understanding of how and why guanxi is distinguished from other types of social-networking concepts, and shows there is a distinction between guanxi and corruption, even though these two practices can be easily conflated (Yang 2002).