One Billion Customers

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BOOK Published by Free Press Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Copyright © 2005 by James McGregor All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. FREE PRESS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. The Wall Street Journal and the Wall Street Journal Book colophon are trademarks of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Book design by Ellen R. Sasahara Library of Congress Control Number: 2005044398 ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-8245-1 ISBN-10: 0-7432-8245-0 www.simonsays.co.uk To my family Cathy, Sally, and Grady John, Sally, Armando, Bruce, Laura, Donald, Douglas, Lisa, John, and Mary Contents Cast of Characters Preface Introduction A Startup and a Turnaround • With one foot firmly in the past, and the other stepping into the future, China is simultaneously the world’s largest startup and turnaround. 1 The Grand Bargain • Two hundred years of foreign domination and duplicity have left a residue of suspicion and distrust. Understanding that history is essential to doing business with the Chinese. 2 Same Bed, Different Dreams • Avoid joint ve......