Do they actually work together?

Hello, I have been doing business with China for a very short time and I have met a frequent issue, which I wouldn't name as a "problem", but that is very strange for me...

When making the first contacts with a possible supplier, asking for the first preliminary quotes and so on, I receive 2 or up to 3 emails from different individuals of the same company answering my questions.

That is not common in the Western world... negotiations and so on are carried out by one person, and the rest of his work mates will not interfere...

I have thought about two possible reasons for this to happen in China:
1. Maybe this people don´t actually work together, in one same office.
2. Maybe they gain commissions for each deal they carry out, and that´s why they "compete" (I guess this would be acceptable for trading companies, but it shouldn´t be like that for manufacturers, those I deal with)

And another thing which bothers me is that they reply or request for you to reply to personal emails and not corporate emails. Why would they want that? Do they try to keep there negotiations out of the reach of the rest?

It is all very strange, maybe Chinese forum members or those of you who have more experience in working with China can explain...