China’s remarkable growth over the last three decades has been accompanied by its transition from a publicly owned to a mixed economy. Private enterprises now account for more than half of all industrial output in China. Chinese enterprises – both private and state-owned enterprises - have increasingly focused their investments abroad, with a rising trend of investments in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. This class will analyze the new emerging entrepreneurial class in China, their backgrounds, beliefs, motivations, and activities. It will also analyze the pull and push factors for Chinese companies to seek opportunities in developing countries. The regional focus will be on Europe, Africa and Latin America with particular attention on the energy, resources, agriculture and infrastructure sectors. The class will be divided into two parts: Part A: Entrepreneurial activities in China The course materials for the first part of this course examine the growth of domestic private sector in China and changes in the state-owned sector. Private entrepreneurship emerged in China’s rural areas in the early 1980s, but since the 1990s has begun to focus more in urban areas. The class will cover topics such as the changing characteristics and beliefs of private entrepreneurs; government-business alliances; and constraints to entrepreneurship in China, including availability of bank loans and venture capital. Part B: Chinese entrepreneurial activities in Europe, Africa and Latin-America The readings for the second part of the course focus on the globalization strategies of Chinese enterprises and drivers behind this new trend of Chinese overseas investments. Using case study analysis, the class will study recent Chinese entrepreneurs’ activities and investments in Europe, Africa and Latin-America. Many of these new ventures are driven by resource-extraction and China’s investments have been labeled as the “new scramble” in Africa. During the class, students will discuss whether these new investments make Africa/Latin-America better off and how Africans and Latin-Americans perceive and respond to the inflow of Chinese investment. The class will also analyze challenges for Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Africa and Latin-America, including difficulties arising from labour relations, trade networks, cultural perceptions, corruption, and political instability. The course gives students an introduction to the main concepts and most recent empirical developments in Chinese entrepreneurial activities at home and abroad. Classes will be a mixture lectures, debates, and group discussions. The debate will help students to sharpen their debating skills. close