Doing Business With China

STEWART HAMILTON is Emeritus Professor of Accounting and Finance at IMD, Switzerland where he has taught since 1981. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, UK, he is a member of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, of Alberta and of Ontario. He has extensive consulting experience with a wide range of major European companies. He has contributed to many books and other publications and has written several prize winning cases. He is the author (with Alicia Micklethwait) of 'Greed and Corporate Failure; the lessons from recent disasters' JINXUAN (ANN) ZHANG is an experienced business developer and manager with 15-plus years of experience spanning executive education, consumer goods, infrastructure and banking industries in China and Europe. She is a project-based researcher at IMD in Switzerland and other top international business schools and is partner of a Swiss-based boutique consultancy. Her research, teaching and consulting activities are focused on China/Asia, especially on challenges faced by Western companies entering or seeking to grow in China and Chinese companies expanding overseas. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Wuhan University in China and a MBA degree from IMD in Switzerland.

• Prologue The real question is when and how to go to China Understanding China No simple solutions Understanding the 'Chinese way' Getting on the ground 1 In Search of a Perfect Answer 2 A Bumpy Ride in China 3 A Rising Chinese Champion 4 A Bittersweet Partnership 5 A Controversial Acquisition 6 A Chinese Perspective 7 All at Sea 8 Stormy Waters 9 Oil on Troubled Waters 10 Lessons not Learned   11 Pause for Reflection   12 Last But Not Least   Notes Index

'If you wish to learn about Doing Business with China, buy. You'll read up-to-date, well written and varied real-life cases about foreign and Chinese companies doing business in this fast-changing and dynamic market. The overall message is be pragmatic, learn as you go, adapt. China's patriarch, Deng Xiao Ping said, 'learn from facts'. You can't fail to learn much from this excellent book' - Jonathan Story, Emeritus Professor of International Political Economy, INSEAD 'As someone who has 'done business in China' during my career, I can highly recommend this book to anyone intending to do the same. Hamilton and Zhang have penetrated beyond cliches and theory to offer a real 'hands on' guide of what it takes to play and win in this increasingly critical market and, in turn, work with Chinese companies internationally. China offers a huge goldmine of opportunity in the 21st century but prospectors would do well to heed the pragmatic lessons of this book as they pursue their ambitions.' - Peter Yorke, 'Global Marketing Director, Procter & Gamble' 'Doing Business with China offers a crash course in understanding the cultural differences between Chinese and Western business practices and how vital it is not to underestimate these. It is supported by factbased insights into recent high-profile case studies which make this a valuable and entertaining read for anyone venturing into or doing business with or in China.' - Harold Dyrvik, Regional President, Asia Pacific, Bacardi Limited '...an interesting guide to understanding the Chinese way of doing business and how to prepare for the inevitable bumps that await any MNC in a market so fastgrowing, yet so different from the West.' - The Economic Times