Product Description

When China opened its doors to the West in the late 1970s, Western businesses jumped at the chance to sell their products to the most populous nation in the world. Boardrooms everywhere buzzed with excitementa Coke for every citizen, a television for every family, a personal computer for every office. At no other time have the institutions of Western capitalism tried to do business with a communist state to the extent that they did in China under Deng Xiaoping. Yet, over the decade leading up to the bloody events in and around Tiananmen Square, that experiment produced growing disappointment on both sides, and a vision of capturing the worlds largest market faded. Picked as one of Fortune Magazine's "75 Smartest Books We Know," this updated version of Beijing Jeep, traces the history of the stormy romance between American business and Chinese communism through the experiences of American Motors and its operation in China, Beijing Jeep, a closely watched joint venture often visited by American politicians and Chinese leaders. Jim Mann explains how some of the worlds savviest executives completely misjudged the business climate and recounts how the Chinese, who acquired valuable new technology at virtually no expense to themselves, ultimately outcapitalized the capitalists. And, in a new epilogue, Mann revisits and updates the events which constituted the main issues of the first edition. Elegantly written, brilliantly reported, Beijing Jeep is a cautionary tale about the Wests age-old quest to do business in the Middle Kingdom.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #925772 in Books
• Published on: 1997-03-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Involving Story of Globalization Glitches
This book is absolutely required reading for anyone contemplating any business venture or involvement in China. We also recommend it warmly to any student of contemporary Chinese history or global business. Author Jim Mann does an exceptional job of telling the harrowing story of a high-stakes joint venture that developed when American Motors set out to manufacture Jeeps in China. The battle lines were quite clear, and this "joint" venture proved to be quite a skirmish. The partners’ expectations could not have been more different. Far from being a collaboration, Beijing Jeep was a contest in which the parties used deception, subterfuge and obfuscation to wrestle for what they wanted, while giving away as little as possible. The Chinese sought access to modern automotive technology and foreign exchange. The Americans chiefly wanted to sell to China’s vast domestic market and to use low-cost Chinese labor in their supply chain. Beijing Jeep depended upon ongoing Chinese subsidies until Chrysler acquired AMC. This account effectively ends with that acquisition and with the Tiananmen uprising shortly thereafter, although the author added an updated epilogue. This Jeep’s rough road offers critical lessons about driving business in China.

Pretty good but mostly out of date.
Pretty good but as most of the issues took place over a decade ago it is mostly out of date. For example, the thinking of the Chinese has changed a lot since then. In particular, management. They are far more profit oriented and realistic then they were then. The face oriented attitudes towards the West still exist though. Thus it is still very useful in regards to the issues joint venture management in China must deal with.