Gift Exchange in China
1 min readChinese people are used to maintaining and enhancing relations via gift exchange, especially during holidays and festivals. However, the gifts sent by people are not necessarily expensive.
Sometimes little gifts are enough to express the good will. For instance, one can bring some nutrition products and fruits when visiting the elders, or cash enveloped in red envelops, depending on one’s own financial status or the relationship with the receiver. Giving the right gifts to the right person is the key in China especially when it comes to building successful business relationships.
When giving gifts, there are two things that are noteworthy: first, you have to understand the relationship between each other; second, you have to make clear the purpose of your visit. Generally, the closer the relation is, the less attention is paid to the value of the gift, which just embodies the Chinese concept of “It’s a small gift, but it’s the thought that counts”.
In fact, people will surely be serious on choosing gifts to persons of different status, interests or hobbies. If you want others to do you a favor, or the relation is still not close enough but needs to be enhanced, you should spend much effort in selecting gifts.
