some sort of pressure from the Chinese side to terminate the relationship

I am going to side with Turnoi's mature advice on this one,as wai guo ren, we are outsiders, whether we like it or not, and Chinese will always listen to fellow Chinese be they bosses, family, friends, etc...it is for this reason I found it very hard to make true friends there....trust noone, sad but true, if you work there!

Cheers all!
Sm