Closely intertwined with guanxi is renqing, an important vehicle in Chinese social exchanges. Renqing, which literally translates as “human feelings”, is defined by one western scholar as a concept that covers not only sentiment, but also its social expressions, such as the offering of congratulations, or condolences or the making of gifts on appropriate occasions. The rule of renqing in Chinese society is as follows: if you receive a drop of beneficence from other people, you should give a fountain of beneficence in return. A Chinese who has done a favor for you, automatically feels that he or she deserves a favor from you in return. Actually, renqing follows the Confucian notion of reciprocity. There are many Chinese expressions that are associated with renqing, such as Song4 Ren2qing2 (giving somebody a renqing), Qian4 Ren2qing2 (owing somebody a renqing) etc.

The idea of shame, usually expressed as “face”, or "mianzi", could be loosely defined as the status or self-respect in Chinese and it is by no means alien to foreigners. It is the worst thing for a Chinese person to lose face. Never insult, embarrass, shame, yell at, or otherwise demean a person. Since all these actions would risk putting a Chinese in a situation in which he might lose face. Neither should you try to prove someone wrong, nor shout at him in public. In order to get a successful effect without letting a Chinese lose face, any criticism should be delivered privately, discreetly and tactfully, or else the result will be the opposite of what was initially intended.

Courtesy demands reciprocity, goes an old Chinese saying, and gift giving is an indispensable part of social interactions. It is important in both private and business relationships. The best choice for an initial meeting is a gift that expresses some unique aspect of your country. The gift packaging should be red or any other festive color. White and black are ominous and should be avoided. It is not proper, and is even considered to bring bad luck, to give a clock as a gift or to choose one having to do with the number four, which sounds like death in Chinese. Even numbers are considered to bring good luck (the number four is an exception) so you should use both hands when presenting a gift. Generally, the recipient may graciously refuse the present when first offered. In this case, you should correctly assess the situation and present it once again. If the recipient does not open your gift, it does not mean that he or she is not interested in it. It is polite to open it after you leave.