Is the China the promise land? [risk management]

With a third of the world´s population and a labor rate of only a few pounds a day, China appears both an extremely attractive market and the logical choice for production and sourcing. Quality of goods can be as high as from anywhere else in the world and substantial price increases appear unlikely in the next few years. However, not all companies can boast of success in China. Risks of counterfeiting, civil disturbance, corruption and interruptions to supply do exist. This paper attempts to show how such risks can be minimized and is based on the personal experience of an engineer sceptic, who now finds himself working for a firm recently acquired by a Hong Kong company with over 300,000 employees in China.