Entering the Chinese e-Merging Market: Digital China and its Social Media Landscape

Over the past decades China gained the reputation of being the world's factory, focusing solely on manufacturing exports. This is about to change. The role of e-commerce is tremendously important in the context of the Chinese government's stated goal of relying less on exports to the recession-stricken West and focusing more on domestic consumption as a driver for further economic growth. China's online population is currently the largest online population worldwide. This book is aimed at assisting Western entrepreneurs, SMEs, investors and business students to understand and ideally enter the Chinese e-merging market. E-Commerce is an easy, fast, and cost-effective way of entering the Chinese market compared to more traditional ways of entry. It offers great opportunities for high profit gains to Western companies seeking to do business in China without the hurdle of heavy upfront investment. This book is designed to work as a step-by-step guide to the online marketplace environment in China. It provides a detailed overview of the Chinese online market and proposes different strategies available to foreign companies. It contains practical advice, the latest data and relevant links for further reference that Western SMEs, investors, and entrepreneurs can use to establish their online presence in China.