It’s common knowledge that China has the fastest growing economy in the world. What is not common knowledge is exactly how Western companies can gain a foothold and increase their profits by doing business inside this next great superpower. Ted Plafker, a Beijing correspondent for The Economist, has written a fully detailed, yet user-friendly prescriptive guide to navigating the business landscape of the world’s most populous nation—Doing Business in China.

On September 11, Plafker, a business journalist who has worked in China since 1989, sat down for an interview with Beijing Review reporter Ding Wenlei to talk about the purpose of writing the book and share his views on how individuals and companies can succeed in this challenging and often confusing environment.

Beijing Review: What was your main purpose in writing a book about doing business in China? How long had you been thinking about writing this book?

Ted Plafker: The idea started over two years ago. The publisher, Warner Business Books in the United States, approached me with an idea for a business book, a prescriptive guide about doing business in China. They looked for a writer and thought I was someone in the right position to do the book. I had been here since 1989, writing on all kinds of Chinese affairs, including business, economics, trade, politics, virtually every aspect of the Chinese story. Besides this, my wife, who is also American, has been running a company here for a long time. She provided me with a backstage view for the book. Over the years I have been watching her do business in China, and this has provided great background for me. She is an extra window for me that others may not have.

What are the most important things Western business people need to know about doing business in China?

The most important thing is not only understanding China. Everyone is very eager to figure out China since they think it is a goldmine and they want to know where to sign on. They also need to figure out whether their business matches with China, with what they know about their own company. There are certain companies that might be too small, might focus on different directions and might not have the resources to function in China. You can’t just come here to set up a company and let it go. It requires intensive effort to decide what to produce and sell in China. So you have to understand your own company, your own business, and have to figure out whether you have the resources, the people, the money and the time to make it work. The first big decision I talk in the book is whether you need to be here.

Are there certain criteria to guide them in making the decision?

There are some benchmarks, like whether they should have a revenue of at least $20 million a year and about 200 to 300 employees. But there are exceptions. Some companies of a much smaller scale and some that focus on narrow directions have managed to be successful.

The topics you cover are quite ambitious and broad, and certain things, the legal system for example, can be highly complicated for an outsider. How difficult was it to research this book?

That may have been the hardest chapter to research. I think it’s hard, probably, being a lawyer here. I get all these newsletters and information sheets that law offices send out every month to their clients. Every month you get this long list with a lot of changes. And not small changes. The insurance industry, for example, was totally converted and everything you couldn’t do before, you can do now. There are changes all the time. I’m not a lawyer, and can’t give blanket legal advice to anyone. I repeat several times in that chapter that I give a basic idea about how the system works, and what the biggest issues in the Chinese system are. You really need good legal help when you are here no matter what you are doing. The good news with the legal changes, though it’s hard to keep up with, is that most of the changes are in the right direction toward a more open, more rational and more accessible situation.

What surprised you most during your research for this book?

I don’t know that I found any surprising new information about China as this is the stuff I have been dealing with every week and writing about for magazines over the past 18 years. The reason I felt conformable writing the book was because I have been very closely involved with the material. The surprises for me have more to do with the micro-aspects, like how it is different writing a book from writing a magazine article. I knew it would be different, but I didn’t know how exactly it would be different. I write magazine articles every week of