Book excerpt: 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 devilsEuropeans, 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 tofill the gaps in Chinas economy and helped it to become a manufacturing marvel. Hefocuses on topics such as how: Industrialization has created a socialist economy with Chinese characteristics thatare 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 corporationsand raising issues related to national security. Foreign enterprises are now being squeezed as Beijing seeks to replace them withcompanies of its own. Businesspeople, entrepreneurs, international business students, politicians, and anyoneinterested in how things get done in China will find engaging, informative, andcomprehensive information in Chinas Dance with the Foreign Devils.