Since 1978 in China, foreign direct investment has served as a driver of change that has brought the country into the modern economic world.

Mao Zedong had shut out the "foreign devils"--Europeans, Japanese, Americans and other outsiders. He created chaos in an economy that was long on suffering but short on foreign currency, technology and capital.

In this detailed account, Dick K. Nanto explores how foreign companies came in to fill the gaps in China's economy and helped it to become a manufacturing marvel. He focuses on topics such as how:

• Industrialization has created a socialist economy with Chinese characteristics that are reflected in industrial policy, governmental institutions, state-owned enterprises, the push to climb the high-technology ladder, indigenous innovation, and the drive to create more national champion companies.

• Chinese are investing abroad, entering the home turf of multinational corporations and raising issues related to national security.

• Foreign enterprises are now being squeezed as Beijing seeks to replace them with companies of its own.

Businesspeople, entrepreneurs, international business students, politicians, and anyone interested in how things get done in China will find engaging, informative, and comprehensive information in China's Dance with the Foreign Devils.