I've seen what rising prosperity can do. In the shopping arcades people have money to spend, and they're spending it - on consumer goods, computers and toys. Meanwhile, China is preparing to join the World Trade Organization, which would bring greater access to the country in the form of lower tariffs and increased transparency. China's WTO entry would also allow foreign companies to take higher stakes in local companies that operate in restricted sectors. Many early entrants stumbled into joint ventures in which the Chinese partners were corrupt or incompetent, but a process of natural selection is weeding out failed companies.
New investors are more cautious, and survivors are more seasoned.
Half of all new investment is in wholly owned foreign companies that are not shackled by incompetent joint-venture partners. Several kinds of companies tend to do well in China, especially those that provide products or services that help China grow, such as telecommunications and insurance companies and Internet providers. Also prospering are companies that provide consumer goods suited to Chinese tastes. Another profitable business is manufacturing inexpensive goods for export. China produces a growing share of the world's computer motherboards, keyboards, and monitors, along with huge quantities of consumer items, including shoes, toys, textiles, sporting goods and packaged food.