From a social perspective, Wu notes, Chinese people place a strong emphasis on collectivism because they can’t live on their own, both spiritually and materially speaking. They rely on guanxi, or personal connections, to get things done. Meanwhile, they prefer to let powerful figures such as their parents or the government make decisions for them.

Very glad that here in the west personal connections aren't a metric for success, nor do we allow powerful figures to make decisions that fundamentally shape our lives without our input.