Doing Business in China For Dummies®

Introduction

For many Westerners, something about China is so intense and exciting that it’s a social glue among those who’ve spent some time there. We met through a mutual acquaintance who knew we had backgrounds in China. Over lunch, we swapped stories (and laughs) about living and doing business in China — how challenging the market is, how strong a role government plays in business there, how overwhelming the country can feel, and how everything seems to take so much longer to get done. We both admitted that a solid howto guide could’ve saved us a good deal of time hard spent climbing the learning curve. And so Doing Business in China For Dummies was born.

We think (and hope) that you can find this book useful as a starting point and reference in your China business adventure. As you find out when reading the book, little about doing business there is easy. Your company needs to figure out how the Chinese business system works and how to develop and manage Chinese relationships — and your company needs to be willing to make a commitment to the market for the long haul. You need a lot of patience along the way, too. But with this book as your guide, your company (and you personally) can benefit from the opportunities that China offers.