By David DeChant

China continues to emerge on the world stage as an economic powerhouse, projected to be the world’s fourth largest economy within two years. U.S. companies, especially small to medium enterprises (SMEs), stand to benefit significantly from this growth, assuming that they are prepared to enter this highly competitive environment filled with considerable but manageable risks. Nearly 97 percent of all U.S. exports originate from SMEs—companies with fewer than 500 employees (International Trade Administration, 2006).

To enhance their chances of success, SME decision makers must understand Chinese cultures, business norms, and values, and be willing and able to adapt quickly to always-changing markets. This article should help you participate in the world’s fastest growing economy with its ever-increasing demands for premium quality goods and services. You will need to deal with the following questions: Read the rest of “Accept the China Challenge” or post a comment

By Andrew Hupert

What will be the role for international entrepreneurs in China’s emerging 2-track economy?

China’s economic development is being pulled in two diverging directions as Beijing struggles to steer a course through this global recession. On one hand, collapsing international demand for Chinese exports has led policy-makers to stimulate the domestic economy with a massive state-directed infrastructure and employment-oriented spending programs. On the other hand, rational leaders know that they can’t simply write off the external economy that has underpinned China’s stunning success over the last decade.

The result is that China will transition to a new 2-track solution that attempts to chart a middle course – a carefully orchestrated set of domestic policies existing in harmony with a vibrant international, market-driven economy. Read the rest of “China Economics – The Emerging 2 Track Solution and YOU” or post a comment

Within a two-minute walk from my apartment in Shenzhen, there is ample evidence that intellectual property, particularly American, is not very well-protected in China. Nighttimes, three different vendors set up their folding tables on the main street with pirate DVDs by the carton-full, including many of the latest Hollywood releases. Cost: RMB5 each, or 73 cents each.

Read the rest of “Intellectual Property Law in China – Rule of Law is Replacing Law of the Jungle” or post a comment >>

By Jack Perkowski

James Zhang and Vivek Raman, the two students who organized the “Asia Tomorrow” conference at Yale University several weeks ago, were very clear in what they wanted me to cover in my keynote speech. They wanted me to give my views as to how China and Asia would develop in the coming years, but they also wanted me to be very specific as to how Yale students might benefit from these megatrends.

This is what I told the assembled Yalies about how they might play the China card.

Filling China’s Gaps: China is a $3.8 trillion economy, which ranks it third in the world after the United States and Japan. However, it is also an embryonic economy that has many product, technology and service “gaps” that need to be filled. As China continues to develop, a continual stream of new gaps will surface and create opportunities to start exciting, new companies.

Therefore, a good way to approach the China opportunity is to come to China, identify one of those gaps, and then put in place a strategy to fill it. I did it in components, and I mentioned two other examples in my book, Managing the Dragon. Read the rest of “Playing the China Card” or post a comment

By David Dayton

This is the body of a presentation that I give for Global Sources at the China Sourcing fairs. Global Sources asked for a presentation that was aimed at helping new buyers to China understand what some of their options for financing are now that the world economy is so bad. There are, to be honest, no new options (TT’s and LC’s are still the standard), but there are some unique situations that may offer some new opportunities for buyers coming to China.

Know your market

Just because we keep seeing bad news in China and the all the other world markets, for example, exports form China have dropped up to 60% in many industries, that doesn’t mean that we have the whole picture. There are pieces missing, both good and bad, from a broader view that are important to understanding the economic situation in China today. Read the rest of “China: Sourcing in Bad Economic Times – Part 1″ or post a comment