The Economic Landscape

Abstract

China has been united for many centuries, but its provinces reveal significant differences in language, tastes in food, fashion, and purchasing power. China’s regions also manifest huge differences in their industrial focus. This can, in many ways, be attributed to the active government promotion of a specific industry, even to the extent that the entire vertical supply chains of these industries are located in such regions. Accordingly, a ‘One China’ company policy cannot be successful in a China 2.0 environment. Instead, managers will have to respond to local tastes through localized marketing, product development, and services.