THE ENTREPRENEUR’S HAVEN

Deepening reform and opening-up, innovative tech ecosystem, and astonishing success of domestic startups inspire foreigners in China to unleash their entrepreneurial energies

Editor's Note: There is an old Chinese saying that a coward can’t be an entrepreneur. Potential big rewards go hand in hand with risk. If you try and fail, at least you will have learnt something. As it transpires, many foreigners in China who started up are not only learning but earning rich experiences and fat profits too. They, like their Chinese counterparts, would testify that the People’s Republic of China has come a long way since its founding 70 years back, and turned a corner over the last 40 years, on the back of reform and opening-up. Business environment has improved, and so has the ease of doing business in China, thanks in no small measure to the advent of cutting-edge technologies developed domestically. On this page and the next, your newspaper records 11 success stories of foreigner-founded businesses in China, spanning a range of sectors or segments: manufacturing, public relations, outdoor products, beer, fitness, food, catering, human resources and tea. Based on exclusive interviews conducted by China Daily’s reporters, these real-life stories capture the essence of China’s technology juggernaut – no matter which industry you choose to excel in, China is the place to be in, if you are a global entrepreneur. This special package is as much a tribute to the gutsy foreign business people succeeding in China as it is a wake-up call for the hesitant others to boldly take the entrepreneurial plunge.