In China, it's called guanxiwhich means "relationship." To have good guanxi is to know people in high places. It is often said that guanxi is the key to success in China and in many other developing markets - Asia, in particular. As with those other false promises, my advice to you concerning guanxi would be this: don't bet on it.
I am not saying that guanxi is unimportant; it is often very important. However, guanxi is rarely a guarantee of success. Furthermore, as economies like China's liberalize, guanxi becomes less important. You don't want to stake your future on a factor that is fading into the past.