Doing Business in China: Center for International Business Education and Research Offers Five-Week Course

The continuing globalization of the world economy has resulted in increasing levels of international trade, direct investment, diversity, and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. A vast majority of Fortune 500 companies, and a growing number of small- and medium-sized companies, are conducting business in China. China's economy is the second largest in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) at $10.2 trillion. Its GDP growth rate has grown annually at an average of 10 percent, while its per capita income has increased an average of 8 percent annually over the same time period.

Over the course of five Saturdays between Feb. 9 to Apr. 12, the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business is hosting "Doing Business and Managing Enterprises in China," a highly topical executive seminar available to Smith students, faculty, staff, and the business community alike. The seminar provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges faced by companies investing in China.

The Smith School has maintained a major presence in China for some time now, with operations including a prestigious Executive MBA program in Beijing and Shanghai, an annual business plan competition that offers $50,000 for domestic entrepreneurs in China, and a productive partnership with the University of International Business & Economies (UIBE), Beijing, China.

The key faculty leader for "Doing Business in China" is Chunguang Ma, professor of global management at UIBE. Ma has taught this and similar seminars in both China and at the Australian National University for over 10 years.

A wide variety of topics are being covered, including "Competing with Domestic and Foreign Enterprises in China," and "Challenges of Working with State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs," and "Globalization – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," the last of which is presented by Vinod Jain, founding director of CIBER at the Robert H. Smith School of Business and affiliate professor in the department of Logistics, Business & Public Policy. Additionally, the seminar features a wide variety of guest speakers from companies presently doing business in China, as well as Smith faculty members, including Anil Gupta, Ralph Tyser Professor of Strategy and Organization and Research Director for the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship and CIBER.

China's rapid economic growth shows no signs of slowing down. According to Ma, in January 2008, China reported a record foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow of $11.2 billion in US dollars. This figure represented a 110 percent increase over FDI inflow for the same period last year.

Seminar participants were given a packet of supplemental readings and were encouraged to contribute questions for group discussion. "China changes so rapidly, that it can be hard to stay on top of the industries, trends, and legal environment. This seminar does a great job of keeping the business community aware of the latest relevant events in a concise and engaging format," remarked first-year MBA student Kristi Zobel.

Peter Baird, MBA Candidate 2009, Smith Media Group