This paper illustrates the phenomenon of circles in the Chinese culture, including the type and role of trust in such circles. The Chinese national culture is thought of as a culture of collectivism, which in turn makes the Chinese network structure dense and closed in organizational settings. However, we find that there are also aspects of openness and flexibility in both Chinese business and social networks. In general, a circle is an egocentric network. Second, it has a structure of “differential mode of association”. Third, just like family ties, core members of the circle are indicated by loyal, unbreakable and intimate relationships, but peripheral members are mainly composed of familiar ties, denoted by longterm relationships with limited liability in favor exchanges. Finally, the boundary of a circle is not closed, and outsiders may be included in the circle. That makes the Chinese network structure flexible to opening or closing.