Dr. Birgit Zinzius is a native German and has lived and worked many years in Asia, Europe, and the United States. She is founder and managing director of the Seminar for Intercultural Communication and International Management, an international consulting company on business, economics, human resources, management, and politics in China, Europe, and the United States. She received her doctorate in American Studies, and has published many books: Chinese America: Stereotype and Reality (2004), China Business (2000), China Entdecken (1999), Das Kleine China-Lexikon (1999), Der Schlussel zum Chinesischen Markt (1996), and Sino-Amerika (1996). Dr. Zinzius is currently living in Jakarta, Indonesia.

China's economy, despite recently weathered challenges, continues to prove attractive to foreign investors, expanding businesses, and entrepreneurs seeking global opportunities. This handbook has been written for anyone with an interest in doing business in China, including the consultants and specialists who work with global companies, but it is far more than an introduction to the Chinese market. Combining a deep knowledge of Chinese culture with her recent experience and continuing work with managers who do business in this sleeping economic superpower, the author brings out the nuances in everything she writes about, e.g., the distinctions among Chinese in income, target market, and geographic region. She demonstrates how Western notions of market segmentation, for example, may be fatally flawed when applied indiscriminately to the same demographically selected categories of Chinese consumers. Investing in China is not some "get rich quick" scheme. Only those who take the time to fully and thoroughly understand the Chinese market, and how that market is likely to interact with their products or services, will demonstrate the patience necessary to achieve success.