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Rating:  -
Sun Tzu said "Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will win every battle." This book provides the readers with a key to the critical success factors of conducting business in China. It contains much pertinent information to help understand the people and the culture that drive the business culture in China. As a former expat manager in Asia for a major American telecom company, I found incredible knowledge, intriguing numbers, and insight in this book, and I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to grow their business or career with the Chinese economy.
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China Now is a sweeping and practical guidebook for those intending to engage in the formidable challenge of conducting business activities in China. The authors possess first-hand experience which will benefit entrepreneurs as well as corporate executives. There is ample `hands-on' step-by-step guidance, by region, with an emphasis on negotiation preparation, techniques and styles, and approaches to the drafting of contracts and relevant cultural insights. Extensive discussions regarding intellectual property protection with important historical perspective--harking back to the years when Americans provided very lax protection for IP-- provide the reader with an understanding of the opposing views of today. There is also considerable discussion of the existing International IP agreements and the progress made in this area. The various sectors of China's high technology and research and development are surveyed, along with the expanding harbor and container capacity, power supply and information management systems, and air and ground transportation systems.
A brief review of rural China suggests the possibilities for investment by labor intensive industries in these geographical areas that have not significantly shared in the new Chinese economy. There are summaries of the Chinese governmental structures and legal profession, their functions, powers and interrelationships, formal and informal, with discussions of the consequences for foreign business. Useful anecdotal references are sprinkled throughout.
China Now presents historical and cultural perspectives that are lacking in many public portrayals of the nation. China's unforgotten bitter experiences with foreign powers in the 19th and first half of the 20th Centuries are surveyed. The book also offers a present day assessment of the contentious issue of U.S. impediments to trade with China. The authors emphatically set forth their views of the importance of the unimpeded flow of trade for the promotion of mutually beneficial international relations.
In addition to its value for business investors, China Now affords a very useful set of perspectives for the general reader who wants a fuller understanding of the world's `other giant.' It covers not only the principal sectors of China proper (Northeast China, Beijing and Tianjin, Shanghai, the Pearl River Delta (including Hong Kong) and Rural China), Singapore and Taiwan and their economic relations with China, but also addresses the economic importance of the Chinese Diaspora. Historical, cultural and economic relations between North and South Korea and northeast China are also discussed.
Through a portrayal of the evolving business face of China, and its cultural underpinnings, the book serves as a counterbalance to the customary more-or-less dominant focus on the political and military aspects of relations with China. The general reader will find an informative picture of the extensive involvement of Western and Japanese capital investment and business activities in China, Sino-Russian trade and economic cooperation and the growing South Korean investment in northeast China. The mutuality of international economic interests is made quite clear.
America's understanding of China is too important to be left to business people and political operatives alone. China Now can help to bring such understanding to the general electorate. A phrase appearing near the end of China Now: "China and the United States need each other," states an important premise of the book. If this phrase is true and remains true, it is a basis for optimism.
Edward Lindsay
Certified Public Accountant
Member California State Bar (Inactive)
Fountain Valley, California
Rating: -
The past two years have given us the most practical and useable China books to date. Businessmen who are on their way to China or who are getting ready to make their "mission-critical" decision about China no longer need to wade through histories of the Ming and Qing dynasties or biographies of Mao, to do their homework. "China, Inc." makes the business case for China, "Mr. China" provides a first-person cautionary tale, and, recently, "Dragon Rising," provides a journalistic snapshot of the current state of Chinese politics and society. To this mandatory reading list of books for the American businessmen seeking to do business in China -- or already on his way! -- we must now add "China Now."
Mark Lam's and John Graham's new book challenges the reader with a sense of urgency like no other, compelling the reader to decide how he will respond to developments in China both professionally and personally. Lam and Graham make the case that the year 2007 is "Shang-High Noon," so to speak. It is high time for all of us to change our lives and our habits. We must come to terms with the new reality of China, or else miss the symbolic boat riding up the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong to Guangzhou (Canton).
Lam's and Graham's perspective on "doing business in China" has benefitted from the ten-year historical arc moving from the 1996 Asian Financial Crisis to the rapidly growing -- and now maturing! -- Chinese economy of today. During these ten years, they have worked directly with companies, such as Ford and large computer manufacturers. As a result, they have been able to document some of the scarier Chinese business practices, while also formulating practical advice for the business traveller for minimizing risk. Lam and Graham gently caution you that if you don't take their advice, you will be "Shanghaied" -- and not just in Shanghai.
Refreshingly, the advice given is decidedly the opposite of that given in biz schools across the country. In China, the traditional life preservers are either unavailable or a hindrance to your business success. Due diligence won't help, because you can't trust the CFO's numbers. Watertight contracts and crack legal teams won't help, because the Chinese will do everything in their power to avoid the courts. Good, old-fashioned American salesmanship won't help, because the Chinese negotiation process is counter-intuitive to the American one. And, if you don't like it, you'll never do lunch in Shenzhen again!
Lam's and Graham's most powerful recommendations are the following:
-- Understand the notion of "guangzi" - without it, you'll never do lunch
-- Be patient with the lengthy process of "non-task sounding" - the first 90% of the negotiation process will be focused on trust-building
-- Pay attention to Chinese business etiquette -- who sits where and who talks first is of paramount importance
-- Ignore the cultural divide of language at your own peril! - No matter what you hear, you cannot depend on English or English translators
-- Make a personal decision today to learn Chinese and participate in Chinese culture!
With these practical tips and the arguments that support them, Lam and Graham provide a useful primer that will help you be prepared for your next Chinese adventure. Compellingly, Lam and Graham argue in the final chapters of their book that your next Chinese adventure may not occur in Shanghai, but in other global economic powerhouses dominated by the Chinese -- in Singapore, in Taiwan, in Malaysia, in Thailand or the Chinese-American-owned software company down the street in Irvine, California.
You never know where your "Shang-High Noon" will take place. So, you would do well to use Lam's and Graham's entertaining and easy-to-read book to prepare yourself.
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This book is a wide ranging guide to doing business in China that will be valuable to newcomers as well as more experienced China hands. The book is broken into four sections. The first is an overview of Chinese history, culture and business environment, all with a focus on gaining insights relevant to doing business in China. The second set of chapters offers advice to American and western business people on negotiating with the Chinese. The third section covers differences among regions within China and with Greater China, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora. The final section focuses on negotiating and protecting intellectual property in China.
Among these sections, the first is the least groundbreaking but might be most useful to the first-time visitor who needs to get some basic footing and avoid social faux pas or the appearance of obvious ignorance. An exception is Chapter 4, which deals with U.S. impediments to trade with China. Here the authors take on U.S. government policies that they believe hurt American interests, such as technology export restrictions and U.S. immigration policies. Their view favoring engagement over belligerence will certainly not go down well with some in Washington, but will be received better by the business community in both countries.
The chapters on negotiation combine the authors' knowledge of international negotiations and specific China knowledge, with particular attention to details such as the mix of skills needed, preparation, venue, and agenda. This section draws on earlier chapters describing both American and Chinese business cultures, in order to help "John Wayne" Americans from being "shanghaied" by their more patient and indirect Chinese counterparts. Anyone preparing to negotiate a business deal in China would benefit from this section. Likewise, the third section on the different regions of China may be familiar to more knowledgeable readers, but includes details on negotiating in each of these areas that will be less familiar and quite useful. Anyone who has visited Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing will be aware that Chinese culture is hardly monolithic.
The most controversial chapters are most likely those on intellectual property. Lam and Graham's recommendations about the need for patience, education, and willingness to substantially lower one's prices in order to protect IP and sell knowledge-based products will not be popular with either Hollywood or Silicon Valley. First, there are not many good cases of successful IP strategies in China; even Bill Gates might be surprised to see Microsoft's China strategies characterized as "brilliant." Second, whatever a company does in China will set precedents for other emerging markets. Finally, many will see the whole argument of Chinese exceptionalism as an excuse for inaction on the part of the Chinese government and businesses, something like the old claim that Japanese snow was different so Japan couldn't be expected to import skis. Yet the fundamental argument here is well proven by experience in other countries: protection of IP will only be taken seriously when a country has its own IP to protect, or when outside pressure becomes severe enough. Given that the U.S. government has limited leverage and more important interests in its relations with China, businesses must be realistic and try to work with local partners and governments while helping to educate them on the value of IP.
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