Is it possible to 结交朋友？

Question

This little text is talking about the importance of 人脉关系. If you want to be successful, you should make a lot of friends.

(in brackets added by me, not in the original text)

（如果你）多结交能认同你的做法、想法和才华的朋友，他们一定会为你带来好运。

I often wonder about the scope of 的 when it is used to indicate a preceding descriptive phrase.

I think the adjectival phrase for 朋友 is [能认同你的做法、想法和才华]. I don't think 结交 comes under the scope of the second 的。

Take away the adjective and we have '多结交朋友‘ 'make friends with a lot of friends' which seems a bit contradictory. If they are friends, there is no need to make friends with them. If they are not friends, then they are just 人。

Is the Chinese text ok?

Answer 1

This Chinese text is ok.

◎ 结交 jiéjiāo

[take up with] 与人交际往来,联络友谊

Basically, 结交 means get close to someone, contact and communicate to improve the relationship. Becoming friends is just the result of 结交.

In another way, 结交 is not just making friends. In the following sentence it's hard to say 结交朋友 for me.

清 纪昀 《阅微草堂笔记·滦阳消夏录四》：“实则布散徒党，结交婢媪，代为刺探隐事，以售其欺。”
茅盾 《昙》二：“父亲是早已想利用她来结交权贵，姨太太又乘机构煽，他们都顶着礼教的大帽子来坑害她。”

Answer 2

I think this is a bit like when you say I can't say nothing.
If it is already nothing, of course you can't say it.
So both I can't say nothing and 『多结交朋友』are just convention.

Answer 3

As a native speaker, I'd like to say that 多结交朋友 can not be translated directly into make friends with a lot of friends. Instead is should be translated into make a lot of friends. 结交 here is equals to the word make in phrase make friend. So it's OK to say 多结交朋友.