Book Review "mr. China"

International Business Management

Freddie Garcia

December 3, 2005

Book Review: “Mr. China”

This book was written by Tim Clissold. “Mr. China” tells the story of one entrepreneurs encounters with the Chinese government and other foreign investors during the 1990’s. China was in the midst of a transformation from a closed society to opening its borders to big business. Like every crafty entrepreneur at the time he is involved with the “gold rush” to conquer this new market.

The main character in this true story is originally from the UK and works for Arthur Anderson. The book begins with his first trip to China as a curious outsider interested in their culture. After this first initial visit China’s allure gets the most of him and he enrolls into one of the state run universities to learn Mandarin Chinese.

His education begins right after the Tiananmen Square incident but is not seen in his eyes as such a disheartening act. It was actually the catalyst for change. Not in the sense of a revolution but more in a personal living way. The Chinese were ready to embrace technology that was available out in the world. They were ready to change from a military economy to a domestic economy.

Eventually the oppression of the communist country gives way to Deng’s “Southern Tour”. This was a call for China “To get rich is glorious”. Deng’s new China was to embrace development zones through out the country. This announcement spurred a land rush of investors in America to look at China as the next big thing. This was great news for Mr. China since Arthur Anderson needed his services again and a contact in China.

Pat was an investment banker with a proven track record from the US. He moved to Hong Kong and setup shop there for some time and was introduced to Mr. China by a mutual friend. Together they would prospect China for businesses and industries that needed investment capital. They spend the next couple of years visiting factories all over the country. Along the way they meet up with another Chinese contact Ai Jang. Ai is a former Red Army officer whose family went against Mao (former communist party ruler).

Pat, Ai, and Mr. China figure out that the best investment for them at this time is in the end up finding a Mayor in Changchun who embraces the investment capital that they generated.

Mr. China goes into great detail on how the deal is won and lost and the different prospective of the key players. He realizes how much money is really in America and how freely the rich people are willing to invest millions in the “China Fund”. He also details how a communist country with such a huge workforce can make simple