Product Description

What will happen when China can manufacture nearly everything that the United States and Europe can, at one-third the cost? It's a ground-shaking question and, when it comes to the West's future economic health, not everyone will want to hear the answer. The burgeoning output of China's vast low-cost factories and the swelling appetite of its 1.3 billion consumers, both of which are driven by infusions of foreign capital and technological know-how, are rapidly altering global commerce. So are China's newfound freedoms, national ambitions, and growing prestige. In CHINA INC., veteran journalist and former commodities trader, Ted Fishman, shows that economics is just where the story begins. Fishman paints a vivid picture of how the mega trends radiating out of China are shaping the day-to-day lives of people everywhere. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with Chinese, European and American workers, managers, and executives, Fishman also tells how China will force all of us to make big changes in how we think about ourselves as consumers, workers, citizens, and even as parents. The result is a richly engaging work of penetrating reportage and analysis.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #372732 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

China in the 21st century

This well-researched reveals China as an awakening giant, experiencing roaring growth and impressive technological advances. Not only does the country have the unrivalled productive power derived from its vast low-cost labour force but its one billion plus consumers have made it a lucrative market.

One of the reasons for its breathtaking economic growth is that rural people have been moving to the cities in large numbers. Three of the most interesting chapters are titled The Revolution Against The Communist Revolution, Pirate Nation (which examines the problem of counterfeits and brand theft taking place in China), and chapter 11: The Chinese Century.

The author examines the implications of this rising colossus for the world, and for the West in particular. What if China manages to produce everything that the West does at half the cost? And at the same time as its industrial and knowledge economy is booming, the country is aggressively pursuing reliable sources of raw materials and acquiring foreign companies.

Its geopolitical influence is increasing, as is evident in its potentially dangerous friendship with Iran (as part of an Asian Economic Co-operation Group that includes Russia), and its growing influence in Africa (especially Sudan) and even in South America (Venezuela).

Time will tell if the Chinese economy is inherently sound and how far the country will take its alliances with rogue states like Iran. China's involvement in the Middle East might prove its undoing. The book provides all the latest statistics and plenty of intelligent analyses. It concludes with Notes, a Bibliography and Index.

China is rising, BUT what can a business person do?
Like The Chinese Century, this book also analyses China's rise and its impact on the rest of the world.

Unlike The Chinese Century, which is written by an academic, China Inc is written by a journalist - the former consists of 176 pages while the latter presents a pretty similar picture with over 300 pages.

And like The Chinese Century, this book - also classified as a business book - has made no attempt to show what, as a business person, he or she can do to succeed in the era of "China Inc".

To know this, you have to read Dr Wei Wang's The China Executive: Marrying Western and Chinese Strengths to Generate Profitability from Your Investment in China.

Highly practical, The China Executive contains all the wisdom you need to know in your endeavours to succeed in business with China.

Inaccurate and dated regurgitation of billion dollar figures
Fishman regurgitates the contents of scores of much more credible books to produce a seemingly random collection of misunderstands and dated facts and figures about China. Even worse, although this book was first published in 2004 and updated in 2006, most of the figures date back to 2002 and earlier.

Fishman is quick to state 'a book about China would be out-of-date even before it were published'. Having condemned himself to this untruth, he then compounds the problem by filling every single page with out-of-date figures, which demonstrates a clear insecurity about his absence of first-hand China experience. Pages are peppered with out-of-date billion dollar figures which seem to be more to fill space rather than support any argument.

Fishman does however excel at writing very visual snapshots of the major tourist spots he visits on his brief stay in China. Unfortunately, he can't speak Mandarin so these snapshots are mostly devoid of human interaction.

Annoyingly, Fishman even goes on to spout falsehoods about the history of the Japanese Ramen noodle. Infuriating. If you are looking to read about China, then I recommend buying one written by a China-hand journalist, rather than a Princeston graduate who admits a 'good friend at Harper' helped him have his book published. The following two books are excellent and not in any way dated:

One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China
China Shakes The World: The Rise of the Hungry Nation