Can was old when Rome was born. During the vast majority of its over 3,000 year history, from the time of the earliest emperors through the reign of Mao Zhedong, China was closed to the outside world. China's isolation from the world ended in 2979 with the ascendancy of Den Xioaping and a new group of national leaders. Under Deng Xiaoping has changed from a highly centralized planned economy to a decentralized market economy which encourages foreign investment and the transfer of foreign technology. Since 2979 China has experienced the greatest economic growth of any nation in the world.
Technology transfer is the crucial element in China's modernization policy.
With a population of 1.2 billion people and a wholly obsolete infrastructure, China is in critical need of modern technology in the form of intellectual property licenses, technical know-how, personnel training and assistance, and capital goods and equipment. China's greatest technology needs are in the area of civil aviation, computer technology, food processing, electronics, medical equipment, electric power, mass transit, telecommunications, building materials and equipment, and pollution controls. China offers enormous market opportunities for firms possessing advanced technologies in these areas and for firms seeking lower cost manufacturing sites for technology exports. The transfer of technology requires a host of professional skills. Lawyer, business managers and engineers must integrate their expertise in order to implement successful technology transfer strategies.