Both foreign observers and Chinese themselves denounce China’s mediocre record concerning inter-firm contracts execution. However, China is a society where contracts have played an important role in social life and the use of formal contracts is relevant in inter-firm transactions. How to explain this Chinese oddness? What role(s) play contracts in inter-firm cooperation in China? A qualitative study on five enterprises of different regimes suggests that contracts can not be seen only as a governance system, their real functions are deeply influenced by the culture of a society. It seems that in Chinese context, formal contracts constitute not only a legal protection but also and especially the fundamental reference point for a regulatory system based on reciprocity.