- by Cheryl Yu, Director of Programmes, TNE Institute
In a recent research interview, I was asked two important questions:
- How important is guanxi in the development and delivery of TNE in China?
- And how important is the third party, the traditional 媒婆 — or in this case, the matchmaker?
My answer was simple: TNE in China is like a marriage.
That may sound informal, but it is actually a useful way to understand how many partnerships develop in practice. They begin with introductions, move through courtship and commitment, then enter the realities of daily life, compromise, growth, and sometimes separation.
And in this journey, one figure is often far more important than many institutions realise:
the matchmaker.
In TNE, the matchmaker may be a consultant, advisor, trusted contact, senior academic, or intermediary. But their role is much more than making an introduction. A good matchmaker connects the right people, reads both sides carefully, builds trust early, interprets expectations, and often continues to hold the relationship together long after the agreement is signed.
A weak matchmaker creates a meeting. A good matchmaker creates a relationship.
That difference matters enormously in China.
The first milestone: meeting the right person
Every marriage begins with an introduction, and in China TNE, this is often true as well.
At the beginning, what matters is not only the proposal itself, but who introduces whom. The introduction carries credibility. It signals that the relationship is worth exploring. This is where guanxi matters most clearly.
And this is where a good matchmaker becomes critical.
They do not connect two parties randomly. They understand both sides, know what each side wants, and judge whether the match is likely to work. They know when the chemistry is right, when expectations are unrealistic, and when a partnership may look attractive on paper but weak in practice.
They help both institutions enter the conversation with trust already in place.
In this sense, guanxi is not just about networking. It is about relationships that carry enough trust to open the door.
The second milestone: courtship
Once both sides show interest, the romance begins.
There are visits, meetings, presentations, and discussions full of possibility. Both institutions begin to imagine what they can build together. Student recruitment, reputation, new programmes, and long-term opportunity all look exciting.
But a good matchmaker does not simply create excitement.
They create alignment.
They help each side understand what the other really wants, what each side can genuinely offer, and where tensions may appear later. They help both sides move beyond polite enthusiasm to practical clarity. In other words, they turn early attraction into something more realistic and more sustainable.
That is why the third party matters so much. They are not only opening the door. They are helping both sides walk through it with their eyes open.
The third milestone: engagement
As the discussions become more serious, the partnership enters an engagement stage.
This is when senior leaders become involved, and when questions about structure, finance, governance, and academic ownership become more important. The relationship begins to move from interest to commitment.
Here again, guanxi matters. In China, support from the top can be crucial, and the matchmaker often helps build that confidence. Their role is not only to connect the two sides, but also to reassure senior management that this is a credible and worthwhile relationship.
A good matchmaker knows how to translate trust upward.
They help the partnership move upward, not just forward.
The fourth milestone: the wedding
When the Ministry of Education approves the partnership, it is like the wedding.
There is celebration, pride, and relief on both sides. The relationship is now formal. It has legitimacy and public recognition.
But just like marriage, the wedding is not the relationship itself. It is the beginning of the real relationship.
This is where many institutions make a mistake. They treat approval as the end goal. In reality, approval is only the moment when both sides now have to build a life together.
The fifth milestone: the baby arrives
If approval is the marriage, then delivery is the arrival of the baby.
The first student intake brings excitement, but also pressure.
Suddenly, the partnership becomes real in a very practical sense. There are students, classes, assessment, quality assurance, staffing, communication, and risk.
And often, the people now responsible are not the same people who built the relationship in the first place.
Business development colleagues may step back, while deans, associate deans, programme leaders, and quality staff take over. These are the new parents. And like many new parents, they do not always agree on how things should be done.
This is often the moment when institutions realise that a successful approval does not automatically mean a successful partnership.
The sixth milestone: quarrels behind the door
There is a Chinese saying: 一山不容二虎 — one mountain cannot hold two tigers.
This often captures the reality of TNE delivery after launch. Once the programme begins, both sides want influence. Both want standards maintained. Both want their voice to matter.
This is the stage where disagreements emerge. Who decides? Whose interpretation of quality prevails? How much local flexibility is acceptable? Who is responsible when problems arise?
From the outside, the partnership may still look stable. But behind closed doors, it can feel like a marriage under pressure.
And this is exactly why a good matchmaker can still matter even after the wedding.
In China, the matchmaker is not only there for the introduction. They may continue to play a quiet but important role in helping both sides reconnect, interpret each other more carefully, and prevent tension from becoming lasting damage.
A good matchmaker does not disappear after the ceremony. They remain useful when the marriage becomes real.
The seventh milestone: learning to live together
After the quarrels comes a more mature stage: learning how to live together.
In TNE, this means clearer governance, better communication, stronger routines, and a more realistic understanding of roles and responsibilities. This is where the relationship becomes less about romance and more about practice.
And this is also where the limits of guanxi become clear.
Guanxi may open the door, but it cannot run the partnership on its own. Once the TNE relationship is established, governance, communication, and shared responsibility must take over.
But if the original matchmaker is still present, they can provide continuity when people leave, leadership changes, or misunderstandings appear. They can remind both sides what the relationship was built for in the first place.
That continuity is often underestimated, but in long-term China partnerships, it can be invaluable.
The eighth milestone: growing the family
If the relationship works, both sides often want to grow it. More programmes, more students, and broader collaboration may follow.
This is like growing the family.
But growth also tests whether the relationship is still balanced. If both sides are growing together, the partnership can strengthen. If one side grows faster than the other, imbalance may appear. One partner may begin to feel that the original match no longer reflects their new status or ambitions.
This is a common reality in long-term TNE. Institutions change. Markets change. Leadership changes. A partnership that felt equal at the beginning may not feel equal ten years later.
The final milestone: renewal or separation
TNE has a lifespan.
Some partnerships grow stronger over time. Some drift apart. Some end amicably. Others end badly.
The agreement may say ten, twenty, or thirty years, but the real life of the partnership depends on much more than the contract. It depends on trust, governance, mutual growth, communication, and the ability to keep investing in the relationship after the early excitement fades.
Final reflection
So how important is guanxi in TNE development and delivery in China?
My answer is this:
Guanxi opens the door. A good matchmaker makes the relationship possible. But governance determines whether the marriage lasts.
Too often, the role of the intermediary is treated as useful only at the beginning. In reality, a good matchmaker may remain important across the whole partnership timeline: in making the introduction, building trust, securing support, steadying the transition into delivery, and helping the relationship survive change.