James McGregor says in his 2005 book One Billion Customers: "[i]f you think about the last decade of China's economic and social development in terms of comparable changes in the history of the United States, you can feel the wind on your face." This is a vivid description of the high speed that characterized the economic and social development in China since the economic reform started in the late 1970s. 

I am fortunate to have witnessed the drastic changes in China in the last three decades. In 2004, I began to give lectures to executives and business students from all over the world. I see how eager they are to learn about China and how easily China is misunderstood. This small book in front of you originates from the lectures that I have been delivering to foreign executives and MBA/EMBA students at Beijing International MBA at Peking University (BiMBA).