Book excerpt: China is the second-largest economy in the world, and it stands poised to become the largest. China s geopolitical power is also developing at a stunning pace. It has been predicted that China will have more impact on the world over the next 20 years than any other country. The world order as we have known it is changing, and China is becoming its leader. But, contrary to the belief that China's economic miracle is solely due to its government, the reality is that it has been fuelled by its people's pent-up ambition and entrepreneurial spirit. Private-owned companies account for about 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and about 75 percent of the country's jobs. The real secret to the Chinese economy s outstanding development had most to do with the nature and attitude of the Chinese people. This book is about models of Chinese entrepreneurship. It tells the stories of fifteen women entrepreneurs, but dealing with them just as entrepreneurs. They have been chosen because in today's China, women are closer to the junzi ideal of Confucius. The book shows that Chinese entrepreneurs' good performance is based on principles and values shaped over the millennia. It sheds light on the approaches and rationale of the entrepreneurial paths Chinese follow. A striking feature of Chinese entrepreneurs is how they all seem to go with the flow of things. So, they are not afraid to face risks or to start all over again. They do not panic when adversities arise, for they know that success will always follow adversity. For Chinese entrepreneurs the world is a place where anything is possible. This makes them creative and able to persevere, willing to try what for others may seem impossible or unrealistic. They are brimming with a unique inner strength, self-motivation and self-control. Chinese entrepreneurs have a tremendous emotional intelligence and are experts at generating new ideas and strategies. They regard their employees and the building of an internal corporate culture as the soul of their business. For them a crisis is an opportunity to improve and learn, to focus on working hard and being efficient today in order to succeed tomorrow. Chinese entrepreneurs operate in the Chinese Paradigm, a paradigm which overlaps very little with our Western paradigm. But, while the Chinese are very familiar with Western modes of business, we Westerners are unaware of how they operate. This book is aimed to shine some light on this.