In 1980, the city of Kunshan was mere countryside, registering neither on the Chinese government's nor the international business community's radar. By 2010, Kunshan had become the richest city per capita in China and a global technology powerhouse, home to companies such as Foxconn, Compal Electronics, and Wistron. Kunshan's entrepreneurial, self-starting development combined with strategic location and high levels of local government support had been responsible for Kunshan's tremendous growth and success. How could it continue to grow at a rate to maintain its leadership among Chinese entrepreneurial cities? And would the founding of an international, joint-venture campus with Duke and Wuhan University keep the city of Kunshan innovative and ahead of the curve?

Some of China's most successful entrepreneurs and founders of private enterprises naturally came together to share the insights and tactics that helped them and their businesses survive and thrive in China's rapidly changing business environment. Soon, the group's mandate expanded to include improving the environment for private business in China and conducting outreach to help spread the word about the important role entrepreneurs played in a modern market economy. How has the China Entrepreneurs Forum been an innovative business and social organization in modern China? What lies in the future for them?

As a joint-stock insurance company in China, with both state-owned enterprises and foreign firms as investors, Taikang Insurance was becoming a force in the industry. It not only competed with well-entrenched state-owned rivals but it was also seen as an entrepreneurial upstart. With the insurance landscape in China growing increasingly competitive, Taikang has had to be innovative and strategic in its ability to maintain its place as the fourth largest insurer in China. Chairman Chen Dongsheng laid a strong foundation when he launched Taikang in 2006, what will he do going forward to enable Taikang to continue to stand out in a crowded field?

As a second generation business leader, Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont took over the family agribusiness company and built it to become a major diversified conglomerate in Thailand and expanded the business in SE Asia and China. While growing the business, he and his brothers created a holding company to both maintain and separate the interests of the family with the growing business units. As a third and possibly fourth generation of Chearavanonts enter the company, how has Chairman Dhanin created a business culture that maintains the closeness of a family business with the strategic vision, innovations, and transparency of a professionally run company -- especially given the fact that many business units are public companies? This case seeks to outline the balance of a family business with the needs of a growing and competitive international conglomerate.

Despite widespread news of the incarceration of Gome Electronics' CEO, Huang Guangyu, Bain Capital felt they carefully undertook due diligence before making a significant investment in the company. The venture capital firm was confident that it and the current management could work together to revamp the fortunes of China's leading electronic retailer. However, it did not anticipate the power Huang had behind bars. As the majority shareholder, Huang has managed to manipulate shareholder meetings and current management decisions and structure. Was this typical of an investment in China or did Bain Capital just find itself in a unique situation? What can future managers learn from this situation about corporate governance and ethical rules of business in China?

The world's leading Thai agribusiness corporation and largest agribusiness investor in China, CP Group, is facing another crossroads in China as the country starts to undergo rural reform. The issues at hand for Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont is how CP can balance its place as a key investor in China's burgeoning agriculture market with its unstated obligation to also provide guidance and expertise in food safety, technology, as well as jobs for rural farmers while still competing against the growing cadre of international and domestic companies vying to grab share from its operations in China. Was rural reform going to help or hinder CP's position in China and was CP doing all it could to take advantage of these changes?

On July 5, 2004, Pfizer's China team received disappointing news. China's patent review board just invalidated the company's existing patent on one of its most successful drugs, Viagra. Making matters worse, a Guangdong-based pharmaceutical company laid claim to Viagra's street name "Wei Ge" (Great Brother), arguing that the term was not a well-known trademark in China. With two lawsuits related to intellectual property rights now pending in China, Pfizer wondered whether trade politics or the rule of law would prevail.

Relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC), on the Chinese Mainland, and the Republic of China (ROC), on Taiwan, had improved significantly since 2008. Taiwan investment in China had played a major role in China's economic boom in recent decades. Investments, partnerships, study, travel, and marriages across the Strait pointed to a future of ever-greater interaction between two parties that brought Asia to the brink of war three times in the last half-century (1954, 1958, 1996). But what does the future hold? Will Taiwan thrive and yet maintain its autonomy as a part of the broader economy of "Greater China"? Will economic integration lead, inexorably, to Taiwan's incorporation into the People's Republic of China? Or will the 2016 electoral backlash in Taiwan against integration with the Mainland embolden the new Taiwan leadership to seek a future for Taiwan separate from China?

Now into their third year at the helm of an Internet start-up in China, Ken Pao and Bill Li were managing a totally different company (with a new name) from the one they first founded in 2006. Having changed their business model from a social networking site to an online gaming business came with new challenges. They hired almost an entirely new staff, cultivated new partnerships, and most urgently sought new funding. However, with three years of experience, they were no longer a "start-up" and now faced the ramifications of mid-life. What would it take to remain a viable competitor in China in a new industry?

Huang Teng founded Xi'an International University (XAIU) as a private institute of higher education in 1992. Throughout its ensuing years, the school filled a niche and met the demand of students who did not test into one of China's public institutions. In 2008, it was seeking to grow by aggressively pursuing opportunities in other provinces and municipalities. Huang's plan was to franchise his university throughout China. However, in pursuing this strategy in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China's largest cities, Huang was not receiving warm responses. Local officials feared XAIU would jeopardize the survival of locally-run, private universities, and competition among private universities was heating up as institutions from the United Kingdom and Hong Kong partnered with public universities to form joint-ventured "independent colleges." Buoyed by the success of XAIU, Huang was confident that despite these setbacks, his franchise model would work. But was an alternative plan of expanding into second or third tier cities compromising too much of the groundwork that had already been laid, would it jeopardize XAIU's funding opportunities, and finally, would it hurt the academic quality and integrity XAIU had built up at home?

China Mobile was the world's leading mobile communications service provider with over 400 million customers. In some cities, its penetration rate was over 100%. With such huge successes, Chairman Wang Jianzhou was exploring ways to expand its customer base. Nearly saturated in the cities, China Mobile needed to broaden its base of subscribers. Wang believed that further investment in China's rural villages was a key strategy that would help the fuel growth for the future. Already deeply invested in the rural areas based on the company's participation in the government-mandated "Connect Every Village" project, China Mobile took advantage of this foundation and created new products and value-added services in order to make its mobile phone network more valuable to the lifestyles of China's rural population. However, the cost of connecting remote locations was high and was often not offset by subscriber fees or usage rates of these populations. Would this investment be relegated to a socially responsible project or would it pay-off for China Mobile in the future?

This note introduces the current corporate governance system in China, identifies its key problems and assesses recent improvements and future challenges.

HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines, was positioning itself to go global and make a mark for itself as the largest private airline in China. Positioned squarely behind the "Big Three" state-owned carriers, Hainan Airlines sought to create a world-class business. Following modern management practices, keeping sharp attention to cost control and capital operations, making aggressive entries into international markets, and maintaining a special corporate culture, Chairman Chen Feng was confident these factors were the engine that would drive HNA's continued growth.

With an almost forty-year history as a business in China, the Wanxiang Group has navigated through the significantly different political and economic changes in China to succeed as a global leader in the auto parts industry, and to develop into a broad business conglomerate. Beginning in 1994, when it first began its operations in the United States, Wanxiang started to expand its role as a parts supplier into a discerning acquirer of distressed companies in the U.S. While it saw acquisition as an exciting means for growth, company strategy at its Hangzhou, China headquarters also included vertical integration with a goal of developing a full-on electric car. Were these two goals divergent or complementary: mutually supportive or exclusive?

With a 10 year history of doing business in China, Sealed Air was now betting on the country to help propel its growth as a global company. The company identified China as one of the initial investments in the company's Global Manufacturing Strategy that aimed to create efficiencies in its operations across the globe. As Sealed Air's new Shanghai plant starts production in 2008, will its almost $50 million investment pay off? Is ten years of experience in China enough to know how China works?

Setting up the goal to become one of the top 20 enterprises in the world dairy industry by 2010, the Inner Mongolia Yili Group had ambitious plans. As one of China's biggest national dairy companies, its main challenge was competing as a local company against joint venture rivals who benefited from perks granted to "foreign" companies. To set itself apart, Yili focused on research and development and innovative ways to improve the industry. Proving that it could shift industry standards and lead a country not accustomed to dairy consumption, to a point where demand is outpacing supply, the Yili Group is making its mark to go global. As an Official Sponsor of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the Official dairy supplier of the games, it is betting that the brand can go further beyond China. Will the day that tykes from Topeka have a bottle of Yili milk in their hands be coming soon?

Supplements the A case [308027]. With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman, Zhang Chunjiang, began a program that sought to further develop the company's corporate governance practices to meet international corporate governance standards. The company hoped that its commitment in developing a globally-accepted governance structure would help the capital markets and potential investors understand that the company was true, modern corporation, even with the state as a majority owner.

With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York Stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman, Zhang Chunjiang, began a program that sought to further develop the company's corporate governance practices to meet international corporate governance standards. The company hoped that its commitment in developing a globally-accepted governance structure would help the capital markets and potential investors understand that the company was a true, modern corporation, even with the state as a majority owner.

Fiyta had long been on of China's foremost watch brands. However, as China's economy began to improve and the livelihood of many Chinese rose with it, their tastes began to change. Exposed to more luxurious foreign brands, many Chinese strived to purchase a Swiss or Japanese watch. How could Fiyta build up its brand image to a more sophisticated Chinese consumer? What marketing activities should it undertake to reinvigorate its brand? Is it meeting the needs of all segments of Chinese consumers? Should it?

Spreadsheet supplement for case 307077.