China's importance is apparent as perhaps the single biggest opportunity in business today. The issue, however, is not if one should participate, but rather when and how to participate.
Despite the prospects, China never has been - and has not yet become - an easy place in which to operate. China's business and legal environments can be exasperating and unpredictable. Although to the outside world it puts on a face of capitalism, China's political system is still deeply rooted in communism and thus can be at times oppressive and inconsistent. Moreover, its vast interior, home to nearly two thirds of the population, is rural and undeveloped with respect to the infrastructure and distribution channels required to bring products to market. While urban migration is ongoing (in 2002, 39% of the population dwelled in urban households) and the population is climbing in social status (a staggering 200 million Chinese transcend the poverty level), its managerial prospects and skilled labor force are modest by western standards.