Investing in China

If you still think of China as a third-world economy, think again. It's a country of 1.3 billion people who are increasingly well-educated and worldly, and who are preparing to compete at the high end of the business world. Name an industry, and there's a good chance the Chinese will soon be battling for a piece of that pie. And the biggest population in the world holds a certain allure for companies from around the globe who'd like to get behind the still-Communist walls.

The problem for investors--and for companies that want a piece of China--is that the business landscape is still littered with landmines. The fact that businesses operate under the thumb of China's government should give pause. It's easier to track a company's financial results than its adroitness at keeping Communist bureaucrats satisfied. The calculus remains complicated, at best.