Here's a bold prediction: the 2008 Olympics will not be an Orwellian creep show or Fellini film gone bad.

In the end, the people of Beijing will relax and have fun.

High Anxiety. Granted, the signs to date have not been good. In fact, they point to failure....

When 500,000 foreign visitors descend on Beijing during the Olympics, they will roam about a land that both inspires and frustrates. Their emotions will likely swing from admiration and awe to rage and then back again. They will experience a kaleidoscope of contrasts -- some maddening, others glorious -- that...

China has long been Clinton Country. Bill, during his presidency, was seen as handsome, charismatic and virile. His efforts to build a "strategic partnership" with the PRC were embraced by a population aching for acceptance as global player. He was able to articulate an American world view -- a moral...

Read more HuffPost coverage of China and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Lenovo, a Top Olympic Sponsor and one of JWT's clients, graciously invited me to be a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing games. A few days ago, I ran 100 meters in Minghan, an outlying...

2008, China's "glory year," has not been kind. The news has been chockablock with train wrecks, bus explosions and mining disasters. Freak snowstorms paralyzed half the country, stranding millions in dingy, dank train stations. And, last week's earthquake in Sichuan province, the largest natural disaster to strike the mainland in...

The Chinese character for "man" (男) depicts "power in the field." Angular and bold, the pictogram celebrates testosterone-fueled masculinity; it also suggests that men, while ruling the roost, are fully responsible for the material well being of the clan. Confucianism, the Middle Kingdom's cultural blueprint, is rooted in double-edged patriarchy;...

After a recent posting in which I argued against an Olympic boycott, the anti-China blogosphere let out a primal scream, accusing me, and other expatriates within the China-based business community, of "coddling dictators" and "selling out to totalitarianism." One hot-tempered netizen went so far as to suggest we were "worse...

All the strategic insight in the world is useless if multinational corporations (MNCs) fail to understand the operational realities and business potential in China. So, when we assess the viability of long-term partnerships with MNCs, we force ourselves to ask six handy questions:

Has the China volume potential been overstated?...

I have been working in Shanghai as an ad man since 1998. I have also been privileged to enjoy a courtside seat as China gears up its infrastructure and emotions for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. I am also a "official" torch bearer, slated to carry the Olympic flame 200 meters...

A New Threat

Western multinationals have long approached the Chinese landscape tinged with both fear and titillation. The perceived upside of aggressive investment is simple and has remained the same for a decade -- the promise of dominating the world's largest market of the future. The risks, however, are many...

Even the savviest marketers are amazed at how deeply China's new generation is engaged with the internet. Americans tend to have a relatively "functional" relationship with the web -- finding cheap flights, researching medical conditions, day trading and so on. On the other hand, Chinese netizens, particularly logged-on youth, are...

Here's how two quintessentially Chinese behavioral traits, hierarchical regimentation and nervous self-protection, impact Chinese cultural and business mores. If appreciated in the context of the Middle Kingdom's timeless world view, a Western manager can leverage empathy to win big.

First, Hierarchical Regimentation

It is no secret that China...

China is now the world's third largest luxury goods market, but even for companies with mid-level products to sell, the opportunities are enormous, particularly in the climate created by this year's Beijing Olympics.

Three decades of economic restructuring - 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's Special Economic...

China's leaders are not the only ones struggling to reconcile the needs of the urban elite and the masses. Marketers are too. The most pressing challenge marketers face is how to position brands for lower-tier and rural consumers. Any successful product must have both high margins and broad scale, lest...

In order to "succeed" in China on both personal and professional levels, the Chinese worldview and Chinese behaviors must be explored with archeological rigor and a ruthlessly open mind.

What is ChineseCulture?

What is this so-called Chinese "world view." Everything that distinguishes China from any other country -...

China experts generally fall into two polarized camps: starry-eyed optimists and self-righteous pessimists. The former are convinced that China will become a peaceful superpower and a pillar of the global economy. The latter survey the PRC's unproductive industry and morally ambiguous commercial terrain with premonition of disaster. Oligarchic dictatorships and...

The Chinese are not into snap, crackle and pop. Food consumption reflects a Taoist worldview in which the universe is divided into masculine ("heating") and feminine ("cooling") forces, and everything needs to be balanced accordingly. As a result, chocolate is eaten only as an occasional indulgence, not a daily reward....

The largest luxury manufacturers are salivating at the prospect of striking it rich in the world's fastest-growing market. Trend lines dazzle. China is now the third largest consumer of luxury items; the PRC boasts more millionaires than Japan; diamond engagement ring penetration now exceeds 70% in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou;...

China's cityscape and business environment have improved dramatically over the past 10 years, but its commercial topography is not yet familiar terrain.

The country still has few if any institutions designed to guarantee--even protect--the basic interests of individuals and shareholders, directly affecting both macro and micro commercial environments. The...

Thomas Friedman, the esteemed New York Times columnist, says the world is flat. Every day, it seems, we are losing manufacturing, and now service, jobs to the emerging giants in the East. Is there a new Godzilla ready to tear its teeth into our economic fabric? China and India represent...