Answer the "why?"
Ted Plafker's "Doing Business in China" is an excellent guide for anyone who needs information regarding Chinese business behavior and the factors influencing it.

The book is well written and informative - not too analytical but facts are provided through "easy to approach" narration which makes the book a fun read.
The reader can get the feeling that the author knows what he is writing about and he manages to convey his experiences and knowledge in an interesting way. The reader is given a good perspective of all the concepts dealt with. This guide offers answers to the question: why? For example, why is it so difficult for a Chinese person to say: "No"?

I recommend this book to business orientated people dealing with China or Chinese culture. It really provides any reader with inside information and good advice.

decent book about China
This is a decent and insightful INTRODUCTORY book about doing business in China, but far from enough.

Informative
This book has alot of good info for someone staring or thinking about getting into the import/export business.

Great read for China Business book
This is a great book for those doing business in China. Not only does this book cover social norms and behaviors, but gives background information on why these social norms exist. This leads to a broader understanding of the Chinese and makes for an interesting read.

Examinng China's Economy
Ted Plafker, author of Doing Business in China: How to Profit in the World's Fastest Growing Market, should know what he's talking about as he personally invested 18 years of his life living in Beijing as a business journalist for The Economist. And he does! Plafker's wonderful book is an excellent guidebook that is filled with insightful anecdotes and very useful summaries at the end of each chapter.

Three sections that readers will find especially helpful are: 1. Pinpointing the Top Emerging Markets; 2. Laws, Rules & Regulations; and, 3. Understanding Cultural Differences.

As a consultant on doing business in Asia, I stress the importance of understanding a country's law and culture before making investment decisions. The author rightfully cautions his readers that it is not especially profitable to label China as a communist country and proceed from there as the Chinese market economy is more socialist than it is communist. (On my visits to China, I `ve found it more capitalist than many Americans might imagine.)

He advises that for a company to thrive in China it must re-tool its product to fit the needs of the Chinese consumers. I have found this to be especially true for India also.

Ted was in Los Angeles in the Spring 2008 and I had the privilege of meeting him in person.

By Gunjan Bagla
Author of Doing Business in 21st Century India