It is difficult to overstate the importance of China to the world economy, and yet the majority of books either look at Chinese business by applying Western frameworks or models to the context of China or focus on a particular aspect of business in China.

Authored by an academic expert on China, this new, completely revised edition of Chinese Business offers its readers a comprehensive and systematic body of knowledge of Chinese business. It has taken a holistic perspective, intending to achieve a balance between the academic and practical, between theory and practice and between traditional and current (Internet-based) industry. The framework of this book subsumes all the major factors that should be taken into consideration when Western companies contemplate a China strategy, including history, philosophy, ancient military classics, strategy and marketing, innovation, Internet business and human resources. The discussion of these factors is supplemented with insightful case studies.

Chinese Business, Second Edition, can be used as a textbook for undergraduates and postgraduates at business schools and as a useful reference for researchers, senior executives, consultants and government officials involved in Chinese business.

Hong Liu is Founding Director of the China Business Centre at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK.

'All my life my Stradivarius had been waiting for me, as I had been waiting for her . . .'

At 7 years old Min Kym was a prodigy, the youngest ever pupil at the Purcell School of Music. At 11 she won her first international prize. She worked with many violins, waiting for the day she would play 'the one'. At 21 she found it: a rare 1696 Stradivarius, perfectly suited to her build and temperament. Her career soared. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned.

Then, in a train station café, her violin was stolen. In an instant her world collapsed. She descended into a terrifying limbo land, unable to play another note.

This is Min's extraordinary story - of a young woman staring into the void, wondering who she was, who she had been. It is a story of isolation and dependence, of love, loss and betrayal, and the intense, almost human bond that a musician has with their instrument. Above all it's a story of hope through a journey back to music.

'The hours fell away as I read this spellbinding tale of love, loss and above all devotion to art' - Susan Cain, author of international bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

1.The nature of Chinese business

2. History matters in Chinese business

3. Chinese philosophical systems and business implications

4. Ancient military classics and business implications

5. Strategy and marketing in China

6. Chinese innovation

7. Chinese Internet-based business

8. The war for talent

Epilogue