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542 China Review International: Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1995 policies toward China in a way that is perhaps more critical than one would expect from many foreign correspondents. Covering China is worthwhile reading not only because the average sinologist does not have the benefit ofwitnessing Chinese history in the making as a journalist does, but also because this kind of book introduces us to the various constraints under which foreign journalists operate before they can write up what they see as "news." Daojiong Zha University of Hawai'i mm Dennis A. Rondinelli, editor. Expanding Sino-American Business and Trade: China's Economic Transition. Westport (Connecticut) and London: Quorum Books, 1994. ix, 270 pp. Hardcover $55.00. This book is a collection oforiginal essays contributed exclusively by faculty members of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill. As the preface suggests, the collection is aimed at analyzing the implications of China's economic transition for Sino-American business and trade from the perspective ofbusiness scholars. The book begins with an introductory chapter written by the editor, in which he provides a very brief glimpse at China's economic transition while devoting most ofhis attention to Sino-American trade patterns. The introduction also attempts to provide a much needed integration among the various chapters. This is a tall task considering the challenge ofdiscussing both China's economic transition and China-U.S. trade in the same volume. While the two issues have been explored in the past, the relationship between them has so far been relatively ignored . Hence, the book represents an interesting effort to connect between two key issues. The effort, however, is only partially successful. The title of the second chapter, "Economic Reforms in China: The Political Rationale," by Weiqiao Wu, is somewhat ofa misnomer. It is a summary ofthe Chinese economic reform effort to date (up to 1992), and contains very little in the form ofpolitical analysis; for instance, there is hardly a word on the political©1995/) ' > coalitions supporting either a faster or a slower pace ofreform. Whether the latter ofHawai'i Press*s 0^mterest to me business reader is another issue (I believe it is), to be addressed below. The third chapter, again by the editor, discusses barriers and opportunities to U.S.-China trade relations. This is a useful chapter which examines the changes in Reviews 543 Chinese trade policies, identifies obstacles, and offers solutions to the two countries' trade problems. This is also the onlychapter in the bookwhich pinpoints a strategic direction for both U.S. and Chinese firms seeking entry into each other's markets. Much ofthe rest ofthe book consists essentially ofways in which Chinese companies can improve their competitive edge and gain further entry into the U.S. and other global markets. Thus, the fourth chapter by Jay E. Klopmaker, Richard G. Starr, and Rondinelli is on expanding China's exports to the United States; the fifth, by William A. Fischer, suggests ways in which Chinese management can be improved so as to increase China's trade potential; the sixth, by Gyula Vastag and D. ClayWhybark, is intended "to examine the capacity of Chinese enterprises to manufacture products in ways that will make them more competitive with North American companies" (p. 165); and the seventh, by D. Clay Whybark, suggests how to improve manufacturing management in Chinese state enterprises. The last two chapters, by Jack N. Behrman, discuss China in the world economy and its long-term strategy for international trade. Given that the United States merchandise trade deficit with China is now second only to that ofJapan and growing rapidly, I was really puzzled by the book's focus on the Chinese perspective. This maybe a problem in terms ofthe potential audience for the book. The editor proposes that the potential readership includes students of economics, trade, and investment; those interested in China's economic and political history and comparative management; and business executives , government officials, and others involved in China's trade and investment. The latter, especially U.S. business executives with limited China knowledge, could be the natural audience for such a book, but unfortunately, its current focus renders it oflimited...

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