January 18, 2026
China office workers run to bond with peers, clients, pressured to meet speed expectations
Chinese office workers are literally switching to working on the run as the building of bonds with customers and colleagues becomes increasingly trendy.
On mainland social media, increasing numbers of people say running has become their company’s work culture or helped them bond with clients.
A woman based in Beijing said she first learned about the concept of “business running” two years ago when her client invited her on a 7am run.
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The woman, surnamed Peng, said the client was difficult, but the networking run went surprisingly well.

“It was the best meeting I had with my client,” she said.
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