There is no equivalent single word in English that could translate "Guanxi / 关系". Same applied to the word "Mianzi / 面子" and "Renqing / 人情".

Put it roughly, Guanxi refers to the social networking, relationships or connections among people. The direct translation of Mianzi is "face" in English. It means giving face or showing respect to others according to the person's status and reputation in the society.

The closest translation of "Renqing" in English is Human Sentiment. Renqing is closely related to Guanxi and Mianzi. The other word for Renqing could be favour which is an important element in maintaining Guanxi in society. If one received a favour from someone, it is expected to return the favour to the other person. If not, it could means you are not giving Mianzi to that person and hence affected the Guanxi.

Guanxi, Renqing and Mianzi are closely related to Benevolence (ren), righteousness (yi), courtesy (li) in confucianism. These are the critical instruments in maintaining interpersonal ties in the society.