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A closer look at China

Often what is said about China in books and what actually happens is sometimes different and not enough to get the full understanding about china as a whole. I learn this through one of my interviewees who lived in China for 18 years and is now studying in London. China is vast and could be very difficult to understand. Therefore one would have to go there and experience the lifestyle and culture for them to get a thorough understanding; even then we can still have problems due to the large and complex lifestyle and culture. This country has a great culture and long history and it people has a right to be proud of these and expect us Westerners to respect them as we should.

With the opening of China and its admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) China has given foreign companies unprecedented access to its market. The huge size and population of the country is obviously attracting Western companies to supply the local market. With nearly 1.3 billion people with an estimate that it will reach 1.4 billion in 2010 the government are encouraging home ownership. The people of China are now allowed to own homes for the first time in 50 years. There is now a vast increase in the building of houses which will greatly benefit the construction and furniture industries.

Without a doubt the Chinese market and economy is one of the fastest growing on the globe today as several multinationals are launching there as they see great opportunities and potential in the market. This market has the potential to be the biggest in the world as China is the world's most populated country with well over a billion people. With a mass of potential consumers, it can only be a profitable experience for Western companies looking for more customers. However for this to happen they will have to lose first in order to gain as it will cost them to set up and launch their business in the new market. At the same time the market is fairly young due to certain factors such as politics, being a communist state and a lack of investment. However this is changing and it is becoming more open for others to come in and trade.

Geography Of China

China is not as crowded as we see it on television or presume it to be. This country is dominated by many mountains and deserts, which are barely populated. Of all China�s surface, only 13% of the land is arable. There is a tripartite division from east to west where there is a rich coastal region, which has a large amount of foreign direct investment. The Central zone is developing slower but is now attracting more and more investment in cities like Wuhan.

In the west cities like Sichuan received little investment when compared to the central zone and the tripartitite division. Sichuan is so huge that it's population totals that of France and Italy combined.

China's geography in simple terms

The north side of China is the second most populated part of China and includes Beijing the capital and Tianjin cities and has a population of 250 million, which is comparable to that of the United States.

The ancient heart of China where the first China�s civilization appeared is in 'the Huang He Valley'. There are about 138 million people there and consist of some minority Turkish Ethnic groups and a lot of China's Hui Muslim people. Here in China there is very cold winters and very hot summers.

The east coast China consists of cities such as Shanghai, which is the countries largest city. It is also the most heavily populated part of China with a population of 132 million. This area consists of some of the richest land and also has huge urban manufacturing centres such as Nanjing and Hangzhou. The cities are growing fast on the east coast eating into agricultural land.

The Dongting Hu and the lower Chiang Jiang valley- has been overlooked in the first wave of economic growth but with its rich land and investment centres such as Wuhan and 156 million people. This area is now achieving huge levels of investment.

In the Upper Chang Jiang where the province has 130 million inhabitants, was once a very prosperous area but then fell behind other cities in China. However the Chinese government are currently trying to revive Sichuan's economy. This part of China also has a distinctive sub culture and history of its own.

The South East coast has 58 million people and is very mountainous. It also faces the sea thus its main efforts in business were fishing and shipping until recently. The people of Taiwan occupy several of these islands; as a result the region is almost filled with armed forces.

The far south provinces such as Guangdong have a population of 110 million. The southern mountains almost cut it off from the rest of China as the area is situated south of the mountains. However the economy here is booming but mainly due to Hong Kong.

The remote South west of China has 104 million and is also very mountainous. Agriculture, mining and Timber are the main industries. There are over 50 different ethnic groups in this part of China and is very important in the country's planning when it comes to their military forces.

Manchuria, which is in the North East, has a population of 124 million. Here you can find China's largest oil fields and major manufacturing centres such as Harbin and Jilin. There are also many Russians who are descended from white Russian refugees near Harbin. These people still have their own Russian language and restaurants.

Mongolia has 22 million people and their major centre is Hohot, the capital. This area has herding while most of the people here are recent emigrants and others are of Mongol descent.

Turkestan has 45 million people where most are Han Chinese, however the rural areas consist largely of he Turks. This area is also depopulated such as the Tarim Basin.

In Tibet the population is 3 million are there are high mountains. This part of China without any surprise has its own culture and history however high mountains make it almost uninhabited. It was fairly independent until the 1950's when it was occupied by China. There is currently an on-going dispute inside and outside Tibet about its status.



What does this mean or what does it show?

This great division of he country briefly shows that China is not as unified as it seems and far from it. The country's huge landscape and high population makes differences in culture, climate and economy between regions inevitable. Any of the regions I have described above have large markets for a western company to enter.

The truth about China

There are many attachments to China such as Tibet, Taiwan and Turkish regions. These only became part of China in the last 500 years or so. There are often debates among Chinese leaders on 'where should the boundaries lie?' e.g. Vietnam was once under Chinese rule and is now independent, while Taiwan still has an emotional attachment to China.

Western companies might make mistakes and enter regions where China's heart does not lie in regions such as Tibet or the Turkish regions as opposed to Beijing and Shanghai.



This quick segmentation will give western companies on where to set up in China.

The Beijing region: This area is highly populated and wealthy and is where all the political power lies.

The Shanghai region: This region is very rich and populated, the people here are very proud of this and their motto is 'In Shanghai we make the money, in Beijing they spend it'. Quoted from page 35 on line 17 of Doing Business In China by Tim Ambler and Morgen Witzel.

The Guangdong region has different attitudes to the rest of China and is considered loud by other Chinese. Here there is also huge foreign investment.

The Wuhan region is well populated and industrialised and is aiming to be like regions such as Shanghai.

The west of China has high tech industries, has sub-tropical climate and is also aiming to get their economy booming.

Manchuria is rich in raw resources and industry but often ignored by western companies.

The rest of China are often desolate and empty and are occupied by several non-Chinese ethnic groups inhabit these regions.

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