Doing Business with China (review)

248 China Review International: Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 1996 veal that even the concepts of "self-strengthening" and "revolution" had their origins deep in China's past. Moreover, such concepts are likely to have retained connotations that remain germane to China today ifnot to the entire world. Only when we understand how the Republic and die People's Republic, as well as the Ming and Qing, grew out of China's long history, as well as out of China's intense interaction with the rest ofthe world, will we be able to draw effectively on China's rich experience to help construct a more decent global economy. In die meantime, this book is an important milestone along the way. Roger V. Des Forges State University of New York at Buffalo Roger Des Forges is an associateprofessor ofhistory writing a book on northeast Henan province in the Ming-Qing transition. Jonathan Reuvid, editor. DoingBusiness with China. London: Kogan Page, 1994. 672 pp. Paperback $120.00, isbn 0-7494-1204-6. Though DoingBusiness with China is mainly a reference book, rather than a narrative text, in many ways it meets the reader's requirements better than an analytical volume. For those with no time or patience for a thematic introduction to business in China, this book provides bite-size pieces of useful data on a wide range of topics. Business people will find it most attractive, but research scholars can also glean useful information. Used in combination with academic writings, it can be a truly vital resource for understanding economic developments in the PRC. As an edited volume, the text contains contributions by several authors. A foreword by Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Wu Yi provides a kind of "seal of approval" for the book by the Chinese central government . Though her support implies that the authors had special access to vital statistics , the endorsement may also suggest that the book may have been subject to government screening for unfavorable commentary. In fact, except for some discussion ofinflation woes, the narrative chapters do focus primarily on the strengths of the Chinese economy. Other contributors include Li Yong, a leading© 1996 by University researcher at the Chinese trade ministry; the editor Jonathan Reuvid, a British enofHawai ? Presstrepreneur; and analysts from the law firm Baker and McKenzie and the accounting company Coopers and Lybrand. Reviews 249 The book has seven parts, which discuss, respectively, the Chinese economy as a whole, foreign trade, foreign direct investment, "areas ofopportunity," the securities industry, Hong Kong and Macao, and selected case studies. Like Wu Yi's introductory essay, the first part (pp. 33 to 51) gives a generally rosy overview ofeconomic progress; section 1.2 encapsulates many ofthe most important economic statistics (on industrial output, agriculture, foreign trade, and other areas) in a dozen convenient tables. Parts 2 and 3 of the text are overview and "how to" sections, aimed at potential foreign investors. These total some 190 pages, and include useful information on foreign trade and investment. Section 2.11, for example, discusses key elements ofexport and import contracts, with a description ofpacking, transportation, insurance , and inspection processes. Other sections provide a historical background to the foreign-trade system, rules on commodity inspection, and guidelines on the use offoreign exchange. As China's regulations are subject to frequent change, however, this information may quickly become dated. The parts devoted to "Setting up in Business in China" devolve into rather simple (though informative ) lists oflaws on residence, trademarks, litigation, licensing, taxation, and other key considerations for those planning new ventures; these sections tend to read like an official Chinese government handbook. Part 4 includes eighty pages ofregional description: each province and city gets one or two pages of narrative introduction, with key statistics and a list ofdie main current joint ventures—meant to pique the interest ofpotential foreign investors . Though somewhat simplistic, this section probably could help investors who lack a basic understanding of China's regional strengths and weaknesses. Many past foreign projects have, in fact, been poorly placed geographically, so this section may help remedy such problems, though the descriptions here are almost universally positive. Sections on Tibet and Xinjiang, for example, give...