Six Things That Every Businessperson Should Know About China
11:00 a.m., Friday, Sept. 21, 2007
Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall
Admission: free

Books on how to do business in China have become something of an industry themselves.
Often, these books talk about handshakes, “face,” guanxi, and other rather superficial dimensions of the business relationship. In this talk, Professor Mertha cuts to the chase and describes the more fundamental aspects of the business relationship, and, specifically, on identifying where the real power lies. He says the conclusions may surprise you.

Dr. Andrew Mertha is an assistant professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis. He has a B.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and is the author of two books: Water Warriors: Political Pluralization in China’s Hydropower Policy (estimated publication date, March 2008) and The Politics of Piracy: Intellectual Property in Contemporary China. He has been a visiting scholar at Beijing University’s Research Center for Contemporary China and at Stanford’s Asia/Pacific Research Center.