As the so-called 'workshop of the world', China and its exports, especially labour-intensive goods, face protectionism in the United States and the European Union. To circumvent these barriers, the Chinese leaders are emphasising domestic consumption, itself dependent on rising personal income levels and an improved national social insurance system, and a move to high-tech products, themselves requiring indigenous innovation.
The creation of a knowledge economy, in addition to outward investment in manufacturing, could lead to a distinctive independent style of Chinese management. Simultaneously, China’s participation in intra-regional trade underlines the nation’s role in Asian regional business networks. Such developments in turn present a challenge to Western and global business.
This book was published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.
Robert Taylor was formerly Reader in Modern Chinese Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for Chinese Studies at the University of Sheffield.. He is the author of a number of books and academic articles relating to China’s management systems and Chinese foreign policy, including Greater China and Japan (Routledge, 1996).