[wisty]

> A friend told me that in China, reputation is very important.

There's two concepts here - "face" (literal translation) and "connections" (also a literal translation). Both are widely misunderstood.

AFAIK (and I'm not an expert):

Connections (guanxi) is fairly straightforward - it's all about who you know. However, there's a spectrum between casual acquaintances, people who do each other favors, extremely close friends, and family (in order of usefulness). It's often used as a bluff too (saying you know a guy, when it's all just a con).

"Face" (mian zi) is much more complicated. Since the term is used in English, it's easy to mistake what it really means. And it's also kind of vague - everything from "don't look undignified", to "don't let anyone disrespect you", to "have a good reputation".

Generally, Westerners think "face" means "be upfront, and willing to admit to an honest mistake". In China, this is rarely the case.