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Abstract- "Guanxi" refers to a link of mutual trust and extension, which can increase the mutual benefit of both parties to enhance long-term interests and create higher value for each other. This study is based on Confucian guanxi theory and focuses on the association between the three elements of Guanxi (feelings, favors, and trust, or Ganqing, Renqing, and Xinren in Mandarin) and the performance of businesspeople in Guanxi. At the same time, the concepts of hard work and smart work are used as the control variables to exclude their effects. The approach is to use Smart PLS for structural equation modeling. We collected 220 valid questionnaires from purchasing managers in the metal products manufacturing industry. The research object was to conduct research and surveys on purchasing personnel in the company, corresponding business representatives, or relevant personnel of suppliers, seeking interaction with business partners. The results show that favoritism (Renqing) has a significant effect and trust (Xinren) has a marginal effect. In contrast, affection (Ganqing) did not have a significant impact on salespeople's performance. As previous literature has shown, working hard and working smart can have a positive impact on performance. Through this study, we further understood that the current traditional industry of metal products manufacturing has a relatively deep relationship between favorability (Renqing) and trust (Xinren). Therefore, the study found that the concept of Renqing has the highest value, followed by Xinren, and Ganqing is the lowest, even lower than the two control variables of hard work and smart work.

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