The Next China is Still China

An Insider’s Playbook for Winning in the New Era

De: Joe Ngai, Nick Leung

Both a revelatory, insight-filled playbook for doing business in China and a probing look at why the country, despite the challenges it faces, still possesses unrivaled prospects for growth and entrepreneurial opportunity—by two leaders who, over the course of decades, have taken turns helming McKinsey’s China-based management consulting.

In just forty years, China has transformed from a closed economy into a global powerhouse. Riding the tailwinds of its massive labor supply, aggressive infrastructure investment, and ingrained work ethic, the nation became a haven of opportunity. However, more recently, shifting demographics, less torrid growth, and an increasingly complex geopolitical environment have caused some to wonder: Where lies the next China? The authors of this book have a bold and unequivocal answer: the next China is still China.

There is no substitute for the Chinese market. China accounts for a staggering 30% of global manufacturing and 18% of global GDP, surpassing the European Union and trailing only the United States. Even if China’s real GDP only grows at a modest 2% annually over the next decade, it would still contribute nearly 30% to global growth. With 4.7 million STEM graduates each year (more than the total number of US degree graduates across all fields), China is well-positioned in an era of technological automation, artificial intelligence, and data-powered innovation. However, the strategies that once propelled businesses to success in China are no longer sufficient. A new playbook is needed.

The Next China Is Still China will answer a range of provocative questions, including:

• Will China with its aging population fall into a Japan-style stagnation, or can it maintain its superpower trajectory?
• What is unique about China’s supply chain and how has that uniqueness contributed to Chinese companies’ global competitiveness?
• What makes profitability in China uniquely challenging, despite its scale?
• Considering the United States’s massive investment in cutting-edge technology and AI, can China’s fast-adapting innovation ecosystem keep up?

The Next China Is Still China upends conventional wisdom, providing fresh actionable strategies for winning in the years ahead.