In China, Giving Face doesn’t mean abandoning your values.
It means choosing when and how to express them.

This video tackles one of the hardest moments foreigners face in China—when Western instincts about honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing” collide with Chinese expectations around harmony, Face, and relationship preservation.

If you’ve ever felt:

• Ethically uncomfortable staying silent
• Frustrated by vague answers
• Torn between honesty and harmony

You’re not alone—and you’re not misunderstanding China by accident.

In this episode, I explain:

• Why trust does not guarantee truth in China
• Why Giving Face is not deception, but social risk management
• How moral certainty can quietly destroy guānxì
• How to respond ethically without triggering defensiveness or retreat

This is not about learning what to say in China.
It’s about learning when not to speak, how to read what’s really happening, and how integrity works inside a different psychological system.

🔗 Learn more: https://www.genejhsu.com

#ChineseCulture #ChinaBusiness #Guanxi #SpeakMandarin #LearnChinese

Western business culture assumes one thing by default:
If someone trusts you, they’ll tell you the truth.

China doesn’t work that way.

In this video, I break down one of the most damaging assumptions foreigners bring into Chinese relationships—the belief that trust and truth are morally linked and rise together over time.

They don’t.

In China:

• Trust is relational
• Truth is conditional
• Communication is ritualized
• Harmony often outweighs disclosure

Chinese cooperation isn’t about lying or deception. It’s about managing risk, preserving Face, and keeping future options open.

Once you understand why Chinese counterparts default to skepticism—and why pressing for clarity often backfires—behaviors that once felt confusing start to make sense.

This episode is part of The Chinese Honeymoon Period series, exploring how trust, guānxì, and perception really work beneath the surface.

🔗 Learn more: https://www.genejhsu.com

#ChineseCulture #ChinaBusiness #Guanxi #ChinesePsychology #LearnMandarin

“Mastering the gray areas is to doing business in China what political correctness is to corporate America: MANDATORY.”

Westerners often parachute into China assuming strength, clarity, and leverage translate cleanly across cultures. They don’t.

China operates in a gray zone—where ambiguity is tactical, patience is power, and absolutist, black-and-white thinking quietly destroys influence.

In this video, I explain why:

• Guānxì (关系) explains HOW relationships operate
• Lìyì (利益) explains WHAT people consider
• Yīnyáng (阴阳) explains WHERE decisions actually live

China’s “maddening vagueness” isn’t incompetence or evasion. It’s a pragmatic system designed to preserve Face, share risk, and keep future options open.

If you’re frustrated by indirect answers, shifting commitments, or a lack of accountability, the problem usually isn’t them—it’s the questions you’re asking.

This episode reframes Yīnyáng not as an ancient philosophy but as a modern psychological operating system that governs leadership, negotiation, ethics, and survival in China’s business landscape.

If you want to lead, negotiate, or build teams in China, mastering the shades of gray isn’t optional.

🔗 Learn more: https://www.genejhsu.com
📘 Speak Less, Guanxi More is now available (PDF & Flipbook still free)

#ChineseCulture #ChinaBusiness #Guanxi #LearnMandarin #SpeakChinese