I frequently heard some Chinese ask "Do you have Guanxi in that department?", "Why do not you find a Guanxi to solve the problem?", and so on. Actually they even bring that to the Western culture, which sometimes brings them trouble. More and more foreigners know from different sources that Guanxi is important in China. Some people, especially some book or column authors, even believe that it is the first thing to know if one wants to do business in China because you will gain competetive advantages from a powerful Guanxi network. How important is it exactly in business and life in China?

Daryl Choy said:"Guanxi/relationship is the critical success factor for almost everything.  Without it, it is impossible to proceed to the next step.  Without the next step, the relationship ends." He also mentioned that negative relationship can be very costly. However, once a relationship becomes negative, it is not Guanxi anymore. 

Frederik Balfour summarized "Playing the guanxi game is still imperative, and especially for foreign investors. " by two examples "One of Asia's most successful businessmen, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has parlayed his guanxi particularly astutely over the years, in the process winning valuable licenses and permission to build huge real estate developments." and "Knowing that Party boss (or his children) remains not just a competitive advantage but an admission ticket."

On the other hand, Jianshuo Wang in Shanghai said: "These days, especially in large cities in Shanghai, or Beijing, many decisions are now business decisions, and there are clear owners (just like most countries in the world), the role of Guanxi start to fade out...... (So) Guanxi is important, but no longer the ONLY key. "Jianshuo has studied and worked in Shanghai since college. He grew up in a smaller city. 

Bill Fischer agreed with his opinion "After several thousand years, guanxi, or the Chinese reliance on trust and partnership within a web of relationships in order to achieve advantages, has finally met its end. Professionalism has triumphed. Merit is king. Performance is now preferred over referrals." 

Steven M.Dickinson made the conclusion: "having good guanxi does not work for foreign investors in China. " based on four reasons: "No foreigner can recreate a Chinese-style guanxi network. ... Connections with local government officials are short-term and can be abruptly terminated. ... The Chinese provider of guanxi may suddenly disappear.... A project based on guanxi gives too much power to the Chinese side of the deal." As a Chinese living in the US for many years, I can understand the difficulty for a foreigner to enter a different culture. I would say that what he said frequently happens, at least in the past and possibly current time and in many, if not all, places in China.