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As investment prospects darken, financiers increasingly view the game as a way to build 'guanxi' or connections with officials who hold the purse strings on local projects, especially those overseas investors might consider too risky.

Doctors and experts said the use of red packets and "guanxi", or connections, to gain access persists.

However, the Trump administration recognized reality and fought against deeply-entrenched interests that included “paid Beijing proxies and guanxi brokers” — a reference to China‘s powerful lobbyists and others who tried to influence U.S. policies in Beijing‘s favor.

Her experience is shared by other young Chinese workers who feel pressured into attending such events, in a country where building guanxi - or personal relationships - is key to securing business deals and good standing in the eyes of upper management.

In the run up to the IPO, the team came under pressure from senior management to fend off regulatory scrutiny and it, in turn, relied heavily on “guanxi”, or personal relationships, said two of the sources.