La Chine [China]

La Chine [China]

An unadulterated vision of what China is really like for the foreign investor.

Author(s): Anne Faure-Bouteiller

Publisher: Vuibert

Date of publication: 2005

Manageris opinion

This book offers a general overview of the situation in China as it appears to the foreign investor. The data presented cover a large number of topics, including some that are rarely addressed in Western literature: the tax system (chapter 9), law (chapter 8), etc. Other more traditional themes, such as the role of the State and the Communist Party, regional disparities, infrastructure problems, types of Chinese corporations (chapter 4), etc. are covered in great detail, supported by many concrete facts and figures. The reader comes away with a precise image of the real situation in China, often very remote from the fantasies of China emerging as a fully developed modern economy.
Cultural aspects are not neglected, including a fascinating description of everyday life at a Chinese company (chapter 13), an analysis of the principal traits of Chinese psychology (chapter 2) and a long chapter devoted to business negotiations (chapter 11).
It is regrettable that some aspects of Chinese reality that foreign investors consider to be big issues, such as weak legal protection, non-observance of industrial property protection, low margins, etc., are treated rather superficially. The book still represents a very useful guide to understand the bulk of a country that remains largely a mystery to many companies, even after they are established there.