Boston Consulting Group - Knowledge@Wharton China Report: Studies in Operations and Strategy, May 2004

With a population of more than 1 billion and an immense supply of low-wage workers, China is coveted both as a consumer market and a superb location to manufacture and source products. But is the conventional wisdom correct? Experts at Wharton and BCG say it is essential that companies view China as a core component of their globalization strategy and not just a low-cost country for sourcing.

“China is a must-play place for any global company…inevitably you will be competing with Chinese companies, or with others who are leveraging China better than you are.”

“There has always been promise in China, but the promise hasn’t always been realized…China has somehow transformed what was a very poor society into a modern industrial giant.”

Sourcing: How China Compares With the Rest of the World

From machine tools to computer parts to home furnishings, companies in the U.S. and Western Europe see China as the producer of choice for components or finished goods. Among low-cost countries, China's industrial output is the largest—and it's growing the fastest. What makes China so attractive, and how should companies choose the right sourcing locations for different parts of their value chain? Experts from Wharton and BCG offer some advice for corporate decision makers.

Big Global Banks Want to Make Big Bucks in China - Wish Them Luck

When China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, it agreed, among other things, to begin liberalizing its rules for foreign financial companies. By 2006, it will have to give them full access. Rolling out financial products and services and helping China's banks with their transition to a market economy, however, is easier said than done, according to BCG consultants and Wharton professors.

Watch Out: Will China's Rising Upstarts Upstage Global Multinationals?

When Motorola arrived in China in 1987 with pagers and cell phones for trendsetting city-dwellers, it easily dominated the Middle Kingdom's market. Soon Finland's Nokia came along to claim the No. 2 spot. Recently, though, Chinese companies like Ningbo Bird have begun to fight back for market share, a prospect that frightens the foreign incumbents. Can the upstarts upstage the MNCs? Experts at Wharton and BCG weigh in on the battle.

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