CHINA’S CULTURE OF DISHONESTY IN BUSINESS
Troy Parfitt’s Why China Will Never Rule the World explores the myopia and deceit inherent in Chinese business practices, arguing such features are part and parcel of a culture of dishonesty, a culture that permeates society and will likely prevent China from ever attaining true power and influence in the global marketplace.
As Parfitt travels across China in order to illustrate precisely why China will never rule the world, he visits Stalin Park and the adjacent Songhua River in the northeastern industrial province of Heilongjiang. There, he reflects on a recent chemical spill (which locals don’t seem to know about) and the “industrial tragedies” that have become “commonplace” in China’s Northeast, “largely the result of neglect and corruption.” Although the central government has made attempts to revitalize the area through funding and privatization efforts, growth remains slow because of corruption.
Parfitt discusses the “pervasive lack of business ethics” that has “scared away” many foreign direct investors. Among the numerous fraudulent business practices in the region, land deeds are transferred without the foreign partner’s knowledge, identical plants are established across town from funds siphoned off by managers, and business accounts are sometimes completely emptied by managers who “head for the hills,” often with the bank managers who permit the withdrawals. When foreign investors attempt to remove corrupt managers, strikes and riots result, and any attempt to investigate by utilizing China’s anticorruption bureau will “necessitate bribes.”
Why China Will Never Rule the World offers detailed descriptions of Chinese business practices; a warning to business people, but a comfort to those who fear China’s pending global domination in business and beyond.
The tone of this narrative is both entertaining and objective. In describing China, Parfitt cuts through the mystique and takes off the kid gloves, reasoning that if China is finally going to integrate with the West, it is going to have to be subject to the same sort of scrutiny the West often applies to itself.
As Parfitt travels across China in order to illustrate precisely why China will never rule the world, he visits Stalin Park and the adjacent Songhua River in the northeastern industrial province of Heilongjiang. There, he reflects on a recent chemical spill (which locals don’t seem to know about) and the “industrial tragedies” that have become “commonplace” in China’s Northeast, “largely the result of neglect and corruption.” Although the central government has made attempts to revitalize the area through funding and privatization efforts, growth remains slow because of corruption.
Parfitt discusses the “pervasive lack of business ethics” that has “scared away” many foreign direct investors. Among the numerous fraudulent business practices in the region, land deeds are transferred without the foreign partner’s knowledge, identical plants are established across town from funds siphoned off by managers, and business accounts are sometimes completely emptied by managers who “head for the hills,” often with the bank managers who permit the withdrawals. When foreign investors attempt to remove corrupt managers, strikes and riots result, and any attempt to investigate by utilizing China’s anticorruption bureau will “necessitate bribes.”
Why China Will Never Rule the World offers detailed descriptions of Chinese business practices; a warning to business people, but a comfort to those who fear China’s pending global domination in business and beyond.
The tone of this narrative is both entertaining and objective. In describing China, Parfitt cuts through the mystique and takes off the kid gloves, reasoning that if China is finally going to integrate with the West, it is going to have to be subject to the same sort of scrutiny the West often applies to itself.
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