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Marketing inside the dragon, despite China′s bureaucracy

Alan T. Shao, Belk College of Business Administration, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Paul Herbig, College of Business Administration and Graduate School of International Trade, Texas A&M International University, Laredo, Texas, USA
Abstract
As more businesses invest in China, there will, of course, be increased marketing opportunities there. But while China′s current government continues to encourage foreign investment, the future holds some political uncertainties. This vast country has the opportunity to become a supereconomic power, but its government must lead the way, and not scare off potential investors.
Article Type:
Technical paper
Keyword(s):
China; Investment; Marketing.
Journal:
International Marketing Review
Volume:
12
Number:
1
Year:
1995
pp:
65-76
Copyright ©
MCB UP Ltd
ISSN:
0265-1335
Introduction
The sleeping dragon has awakened, and, after its long hibernation, it has grown and attracted considerable attention from those outside its domestic borders. Business Week (17 May 1993) has called China “the emerging economic powerhouse of the twenty-first century” – and for good reason (p. 54). With a population of 1.19 billion people and a land mass covering 3,692,244 square miles, a plethora of business opportunities exists. China is an agrarian, semiindustrial country with a centralized political structure. All international business associated with the Chinese is influenced and shaped by these factors. China, while rich in manpower, also has the world′s largest hydroelectric potential and coal reserves. In addition, it has vast reserves of iron, petroleum, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminium, lead, zinc, and uranium.
For many years, China′s foreign trade policy was one with strict self-reliance, importing only necessities while exporting surplus domestic production to pay for it. By the late-1970s, political party leaders started to link the growth of the domestic economy to an increase in foreign trade. For the past century, foreigners have been trying to pry open the door to the Chinese market ( Mitchell, 1990). It was in 1978 when Deng Xiaoping finally opened China′s doors to the rest of the world and revealed that his country had most of everything but its people could not afford much of anything. A decade and a half later, per capita income is still only about $435 per year ($2,413 when adjusted for purchasing power (Political Risk Yearbook, 1993)), although it is much higher in large cities, and millions of people are moonlighting outside the state system. Throughout the 1980s, China was cautiously considered the new frontier in world trade.
Being viewed as a new trading frontier does not mean that manufacturing and marketing in China are simple. On the contrary, companies still face bewildering bureaucracies; dealing with the numerous ministries and various levels of government can be quite frustrating. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to review the most popular and effective ways of marketing and doing business in China – in spite of its bureaucracy. While the country may seem like a maze to foreign businesses, it is not impenetrable.
Dealing with the Chinese
Until the mid-1970s, culture and politics made trading with China difficult. Deals were made 本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。