互信

• Pinyin: hù xìn
• Hanzi breakdown: 互 = mutual, reciprocal; 信 = 人 (person) + 言 (word) — a person's word, trustworthiness

Meaning

Mutual trust; to trust each other. A foundational concept in diplomacy, partnership, and institutional relations.

A core term in international relations — 建立互信机制 (establishing mutual trust mechanisms) is standard diplomatic language. Also used in business partnerships and team management.

Examples

1. 两国关系能否持续稳定发展，很大程度上取决于双方能否在政治和安全领域建立牢固的互信基础。 Whether relations between the two countries can continue to develop steadily largely depends on whether they can build a solid foundation of mutual trust in the political and security spheres.
2. 团队内部缺乏互信是导致这次合作失败的深层原因，大家各自留了一手，最终谁也没有受益。 A lack of mutual trust within the team was the deeper reason this collaboration failed—everyone held something back, and in the end no one benefited.
3. 推动地区和平进程的关键，在于通过对话与合作逐步积累双方的互信，而不是依赖单方面的强制措施。 The key to advancing the regional peace process is to gradually build mutual trust through dialogue and cooperation, rather than relying on one-sided coercive measures.

Usage Guide

Context: diplomacy, international relations, management

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 两国在签署这项经济合作协议之前，已经经过了长达两年的谈判，逐步建立起必要的互信基础，才能在敏感的技术共享领域取得如此重大的突破。(Before signing this economic cooperation agreement, the two countries had undergone two years of negotiations, gradually building the necessary foundation of mutual trust before achieving such a major breakthrough in the sensitive area of technology sharing.)
• 管理层意识到，要想提升团队的整体执行力，首先必须通过透明的信息共享和公平的利益分配机制来增强各部门之间的互信。(Management realised that to enhance the team's overall execution capacity, it must first strengthen mutual trust among departments through transparent information sharing and fair benefit-distribution mechanisms.)

Don't Say

• 互信 when you mean 相互了解 (mutual understanding) — 互信 specifically means trust, implying reliability and faith, not simply familiarity

Origin & History

互 (mutually) + 信 (trust; faith) — mutual trust between parties

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Professional/Official