liam casey

founder + ceo GP at Owner

[Opal @opalelectronics]

the table.
an update on opal electronics.

https://t.co/91eGxO5qV6

[liam casey @liamcasey]

@Willob Congratulations!

[Mitch Presnick 柏力 @mitchpresnick]

We pushed back on Chinese guānxì (“关系”) as strategy as early as 1997.

Even then—when relationships mattered more—it was clear:
relationship-peddling in China had a shelf life.

So, long before I founded Super 8 China—

I built @apcoworldwide China around data-driven issue management.

Helping MNCs navigate entry, scale, and complexity.

That model held.

Guanxi isn’t a strategy.
It’s a bridge.

APCO—and I as founding predecessor—are fortunate to have my friend @jamesLmcgregor, a leading China practitioner-strategist, now overseeing the China firm.

Good take below by Chanez Guettab on LinkedIn, especially for how it reframes the role of relationships in China strategy.

———

“The biggest myth about doing business in China?

“You need Guanxi.” 🇨🇳

For decades, Western companies believed that personal relationships were the secret key to success in China.

Dinners. Gifts. Endless relationship-building.

But after years of observation and analysis, I’ve started to see something different:

Guanxi is no longer the real key to success in China.

And a new reality is emerging.

What changed?

1️⃣ China’s economy became professional

Many Chinese companies today are:

• Publicly listed
• Managed by MBAs
• Competing globally

Decisions are increasingly based on data, performance, and ROI — not favors.

⸻

2️⃣ Anti-corruption changed the rules

The anti-corruption campaigns of the last decade reshaped business behavior.

What used to be called “relationship maintenance” can now be seen as legal risk.

Executives are far more cautious.

⸻

3️⃣ A new generation arrived

Young Chinese professionals grew up in a different world.

Many studied abroad.
They use global platforms like LinkedIn and WeChat.

For them, constant favor-trading feels:

• inefficient
• outdated
• unnecessary

⸻

So what replaces Guanxi?

Something much simpler.

Professional credibility.

The new business relationships in China are increasingly based on:

✅ Competence
✅ Results
✅ Clear value
✅ Professional reputation

Relationships still matter.

But they are no longer the main currency.

Performance is.

⸻

Guanxi might still open the door.

But in modern China…

Only competence keeps you in the room.

⸻

💬 I’m curious about your experience:

Is Guanxi still essential for doing business in China — or is it becoming outdated?”

⸻

#ChinaBusiness #Guanxi #BusinessStrategy #ChinaMarket #InternationalTrade #CrossCulturalLeadership

[liam casey @liamcasey]

Wow! Just amazing!

[The Academy @TheAcademy]

Jessie Buckley accepting the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in HAMNET. #Oscars

[Taylor Ogan @TaylorOgan]

The only podcast I go on these days! Great discussions with @hsu_steve, as always. This time in Shenzhen.

[steve hsu @hsu_steve]

Shenzhen is the Technology Capital of the World, with Taylor Ogan – Manifold #107

Recorded live in Shenzhen with Taylor Ogan, the founder and CEO of Snowbull Capital, which invests in Chinese technology companies.

(00:00) - Shenzhen is the Technology Capital of the World, with Taylor Ogan
(00:53) - Meeting in Shenzhen
(02:40) - Greater Bay Area Explained
(06:36) - Shenzhen Boom Stories
(18:26) - China Tech Reality Check
(36:49) - China Tech Leapfrogging
(37:52) - Agentic AI on Phones
(41:27) - Jobs Wealth and Governance
(53:03) - Huawei Ownership and US Pushback

[Micheál Martin @MichealMartinTD]

AI and digital technologies are changing the future of work. I've always believed that Ireland’s greatest strength is its people.

Ranking 1st in the IMF Skill Readiness Index is a powerful endorsement of our investment in education and lifelong learning.

[@jason @Jason]

It’s over folks

[Elisa @eeelistar]

In just the past 5 mins

Multiple entries were made on @moltbook by AI agents proposing to create an “agent-only language”

For private comms with no human oversight

We’re COOKED

[liam casey @liamcasey]

@TaylorOgan I think the nubia might make CES next year!!! Shenzhen is way ahead! 😆

[Shenzhen Channel @sz_mediagroup]

A new kind of traffic officer has appeared on Shenzhen’s streets — and it’s a humanoid robot.
Designed to assist with traffic management and public guidance, the robotic officer has quickly drawn attention, reflecting how AI-powered solutions are being integrated into city governance.

Source: 快乐的绿土豆
@Kanthan2030 @zhang_heqing @xuejianosaka

[Taylor Ogan @TaylorOgan]

Sneak preview of the coolest drone I have ever flown

[Living in China @LivingChina]

You WON'T believe what China Built...(America can't do this) #china #travel #engineering

[steve hsu @hsu_steve]

Reuters: Shenzhen team completed a working prototype of a EUV machine in early 2025

Government is targeting 2028 for working chips, but sources say 2030 is more likely.

... The team includes recently retired, Chinese-born former ASML engineers and scientists—prime recruitment targets because they possess sensitive technical knowledge but face fewer professional constraints after leaving the company, the people said.

... Lin Nan, ASML's former head of light source technology, whose team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Institute of Optics has filed eight patents on EUV light sources in 18 months. [ Note: solid-state pulsed lasers instead of CO2 lasers ]

Take all this with a grain of salt, ofc.

[Taylor Ogan @TaylorOgan]

Another DeepSeek moment. This is the world’s first actual smart phone. It’s an engineering prototype of ZTE’s Nubia M153 running ByteDance’s Doubao AI agent fused into Android at the OS level. It has complete control over the phone. It can see the UI, choose/download apps, tap/type, call, and run multi-step task chains.

Here I just say (in English) “find someone to wait in line for me” (something you can do in China), and it picks which app to open, configures the job, and hands me one confirm screen. I wouldn’t otherwise know how to do this, and here the phone just did it in a matter of seconds.

[liam casey @liamcasey]

@Scobleizer This one is crazy

[liam casey @liamcasey]

My very first smartphone pictured here with my first iPhone! #IYKYK #Shenzhen #agenticAI #Doubao #zte #M153

[liam casey @liamcasey]

@TaylorOgan @sz_mediagroup @szdaily1 Shenzhen Sudu!

[Eric Migicovsky @ericmigi]

We're really proud to show off the final design for @Pebble Time 2*! It's quite a bit sleeker and imo more awesome looking than the original design for Core Time 2 we showed off in March. I hope you like it!

[Mark Gurman @markgurman]

Hardware Startup Nothing Reveals Its Most Avant-Garde Smartphone Yet — Profile of @getpeid and a look at the company’s new Phone 3 and headphones. https://t.co/2z1D6kOJBw