The Bamboo Network shows how a remarkable group of ethnic Chinese families has been the driving force behind China's transition from communism to capitalism: the "economic miracle" that took the Western business world by surprise. Murray Weidenbaum, a leading international economist, and Samuel Hughes trace the history of these enterprising leaders, who fled the mainland after the Communist takeover in 1948 and settled throughout Southeast Asia.

Following in the tradition of generations of expatriate Chinese merchants, they began establishing small family businesses. Today, the authors show, these have expanded into conglomerate business empires. Entrusting corporate divisions almost exclusively to relatives, and dealing extensively with fellow expatriates, these entrepreneurs have formed close-knit and formidable business spheres throughout Southeast Asia - a "bamboo network."

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Western investors and entrepreneurs seeking to enter the Chinese market are a step behind the members of the bamboo network. This book evens the score. Weidenbaum and Hughes show how private enterprise can thrive in China, providing unrivaled insight into the philosophy and culture that inform doing business there. The Bamboo Network will be indispensable reading for those who wish to crack the world's largest market and investment opportunity.

For, despite the serious domestic problems likely to arise within the region, overseas Chinese business families will no doubt continue to take advantage of changing threats and opportunities in the fastest-growing and most competitive economy in the world. Whether as friends or rivals of the bamboo network, Americans must learn more about this exotic sector of the global marketplace.