In Mobs We Trust

The Chinese appear to be quite suspicious and cold towards strangers with whom relationships have not been established. Nobody can be trusted except one's extended family. The Chinese do not trust outsiders, so a social network of family members, relatives, friends, classmates, colleagues and others is built on which trust can be established, reciprocated and developed. This obsession with trust is caused by another phenomenon in China: dishonesty. In business transactions, a great deal of adulteration of goods is practiced. For example, weights and measures are fudged. To protect one's interests and ensure that opportunistic behaviors such as cheating are avoided, trust-based guanxiwang must be established before business relationships can be cemented.

—www.china-window.com

All Seouled Out

While American style icon Gwen Stefani looks to Tokyo's Harajuku girls for fashion inspiration, Chinese hipsters set their sites on South Korea. According to the authors of China's New Culture of Cool, South Korea is at the forefront of fashion, TV, music and online games. Plus, for the Chinese, it comes with much less historical baggage than Japan. "[Chinese consumers will say] 'We like Shiseido, but we hate Japan,'" co-author LiAnne Yu said. "We like the food, but not the people." This "Korean Wave" started around 10 years ago when a locally produced drama took Asia like crazy. Brands such as LG, Samsung and Dior used the show's popular actors and actresses in campaigns, and soon Asians were looking to Seoul for fashion inspiration.