“Face” management in the practices of modern business culture in China

Interest in modern Chinese culture is associated with the processes of intensifying political, economic and cultural ties between Russia and China. For successful business cooperation with China, it is imperative to
understand the specifics of Chinese business culture, and therefore the number of studies on this topic is increasing. It is advisable to study Chinese business practices, including in the digital context, based on the sociocultural traditions of Chinese society. Relevance. The fact that the cultural concept of “face” has a central place in the Chinese value system, being the key to understanding the national character of the Chinese, cultural and business practices. Various communication strategies and cultural practices in modern Chinese society, including business, are based on the semantic traditions of the concept of “face,” organically integrated into the collective intelligence of the Chinese people. In the digital world, intercultural business communications evolve into new formats, creating a different subculture in which the management of the “face” is also changing. These online practices of “face work” are becoming an integral part of modern Chinese business culture and deserve special attention. Aim. Based on an analysis of practices in Chinese business culture to reveal the essence and forms of “face” management, to consider the impact of digital transformations on business practices of “face work”. Results. Thepaper describes the universal and specific Chinese aspects of the “face” phenomenon in social and business communications. It is shown that “face” management is a complex communicative mechanism; it is characterized by situational factors and dynamism. It was revealed that the concept of “face” is important in digital culture in the global context of business interaction. In digitalization processes, “face” management is revealed in new formats, such as business communications in WeChat, but traditional cultural practices related to “face” still have a significant impact on business interaction. It is concluded that the difficulty of mastering the skills of “face” management in cross-cultural communications is caused by the presence of various unwritten social rituals associated with the “face”, which may be incomprehensible to a foreigner, being outside the context
of the Chinese social environment.