PrintNi Hao, ??
Geography & Population
Welcome to China! Located in Eastern Asia, China is the world's fourth largest country in terms of geographic area (following Russia, Canada, and the United States). With nearly 20% of the world's people (about four times the population of the United States), China is the most populated country in the world. And Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak, is on the border China shares with Nepal.
To Read Now
Visit United States Central Intelligence Agency publication, The World Fact Book
- Click on "Learn more" under "Country Comparisons," near the bottom of the page. Acquaint yourself with the categories of information presented.
- Choose a topic, then in the menu on the left, choose "East and Southeast Asia" for China to appear. Click on "China" for info to appear. Familiarize yourself with the structure and nature of the information available.
To Read Now
At this point, please complete Lesson 11 Reading: China, from Chapter 16 "China: History, Culture, and Political Economy" of Business and Its Environment by David P. Baron (Prentice Hall, 2010). A PDF can be found in the Lesson 11 Modules tab.
Some tips you will find helpful with these readings: "structured pluralism" here refers to a system where multiple stakeholders may be involved on an issue and have different preferences for its outcome. These preferences are expressed to political and social institutions, which act in ways that shape business opportunities. Sound familiar? Hope so! It is the nonmarket system described earlier in this course, with the added reminder that the nonmarket exists in a context of culture and history.
Also, very important, please remember that Baron uses the word "interests" to represent what we (more clearly, I believe) call "stakeholders." And, SOE means State-Owned Enterprise. CCP means Chinese Communist Party. PRC is the People's Republic of China, the official name of China. Read the following:
- Discussion of guanxi, excerpt on pages 526 - 527 (as noted)
- The Nonmarket Environment and the Four I’s, pages 527 – 532
- Business: State-owned Enterprises, Foreign Direct Investment, and International Trade, pages 532 – 535
- Continuing Issues, pages 535 – 540
Reading Assignments are under the Modules Tab.
If you are interested, read this recent, short article from Harvard Law that explains the continued role of guanxi in Chinese domestic and international business.