China Dawn: The Story of a Technology and Business Revolution

China Dawn: The Story of a Technology and Business Revolution
David Sheff | 2002-03-01 00:00:00 | HarperBusiness | 320 | Business

Imagine living through the breakthrough moments of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the other icons of today's new economy. The kind of technological revolution that they led in Silicon Valley is now sweeping through China, but with much more dramatic implications. The dynamic entrepreneurs who are using technology to radically transform business and cultural life in China are fighting not only outdated business models and a tumultuous economy but also an unpredictable government that has a love-hate relationship with the Net, at once pushing its expansion at a feverish pace and censoring it. As Duncan Clark, cofounder of BDA, an Internet consulting company in Beijing, told author David Sheff, "This environment -- the regulations, the competition, the political uncertainties -- makes these the fastest, most courageous, nimblest-thinking people globally. To deal with this level of risk and still sleep is no small accomplishment. But they're hooked on it like some Chinese are becoming hooked on Starbucks cappuccino."

In this irresistible, groundbreaking book, Sheff takes us into the trenches of the Chinese technology revolution, introducing the major and minor players who are leading China into the twenty-first century. Players like Bo Feng, the charismatic former sushi chef who is now one of the leading venture capitalists in China. And Edward Tian, a national hero who has been described as China's Steve Jobs and Bill Gates combined, who left his own start-up on the eve of its IPO in order to lead the government's attempt to bring broadband to the entire nation, in the process leapfrogging the United States, Europe, and the rest of Asia with the longest and fastest network in the world.

As the U.S. technological revolution wanes, business leaders will be looking to the billion-plus potential customers in China for new growth. In addition, the world's newest member of the World Trade Organization will no longer be a bystander in the global economy; it will be a fierce competitor. And when hundreds of million Chinese have access to unprecedented information and communication, China itself will be profoundly altered. Jay Chang, an analyst who covers China for Credit Suisse First Boston, sums the seismic nature of the changes: "What happens when China successfully transforms from a mainly agrarian/industrial nation into one that has significant input from the information technology industry? What happens when eighty percent of the state-owned enterprises in China are able to link economically to the global Internet on fast pipes? What happens when China's engineering talent pool is able to gain access to high-end computing resources and exchange ideas and information easily with their global peers? What happens when fifty percent of the Chinese population gets wired in ten years -- six hundred million people, the largest number of Internet users in the world?" With its compelling, character-driven story, researched over the course of three years, China Dawn will be the definitive book on the subject.
"In China, I feel the explosive combination of forces aligning to create the kind of change that alters the course of history," writes David Sheff in the introduction to China Dawn, his book on the entrepreneurs who are trying to spark a social transformation and make a mint as they bring the latest information technology to the planet's most populous country. The idealistic heroes of this story are Bo Feng and Edward Tian, both friends of the author. Feng is a Marin County busboy who becomes one of China's top venture capitalists; Tian is the cofounder of AsiaInfo, the first private Chinese firm to go public in the West. Like so many others, Feng and Tian were deeply affected by the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, and they believe the Internet can set their country on an irreversible course toward freedom. At bottom, though, China Dawn is an engaging business book that chronicles the "unlikely group of revolutionaries" who hope to become the Bill Gates and Andy Groves of their country. It is difficult to know whether they will succeed, but hard not to wish them luck. --John Miller
Reviews
This book gives us an insight into the brave, opportunistic, patriotic entrepeneurs who decided to have a run for their money investing in the IT industry in China. The author happened to be intimate friends to the entrepeneurs (venture capitalists and founders of IT companies) mentioned and suffice to say that this is like a documentary as we were brought into the environment where they sought for opportunities, negotiating and bargaining for their positions, keeping the "ship" afloat by ensuring the new enterprises are making money and ensuring that they are keeping the Chinese Government and shareholders happy at the same time. This is easily said than done as Chinese government is cautious about relinquishing too much contol to the public (stock options to the staff wasn't heard of before) and that opening up China to the world would mean free attainment of information. As Chinese firmly believes, information is power, a power that can change the destiny of a nation. This book is written when China was working hard to be inducted into the WTO and before China was announced to be the country to host the next Olympics. Suffice to say that this book is like a time capsule or a yardstick to see how much China has gone since and asking if China is progressing any further. Whilst this is a business book, it is also a book touching upon issues of self-sacrifice as the entrepeneurs are forever on the road at the expense of spending quality time with their young family and also dwelled upon the past of Cultural Revolution and other presecutions that created or formed the personalities and traits of the present Chinese generations that would move mountain and ocean to do what needs to be done to actualise their vision. The old adage of "if the experience doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger" is very relevant in this instance. A contagious book to read, a book about humanity and a book that reminds us how quick China has grown in so little time. Napoleon was right to say that when the dragon wakes up, the whole world shall shudder. Highly recommended!
Reviews
This book was a fascinating read, and presents a personal take on the growth of technology and the rise of entrepreneurship in China. However, at points in the book, it seemed that the author is a bit too optimistic and overlooks some of the major challenges against China becoming a high-tech superpower.
Reviews
The characters in this book are not what the book described since the author is the personal friend of the characters. This is purely free publicity for them. Search the web and you will find other comments about the auther. The latest story is the VCs have splited since they can't really get along, and the politics in the VC firm was unbearable with just a few people. Most of the portfolio companies are in bad shape. The VC's website has not been updated since 2001, wonder why. If you really want to know about IT in China, then you should learn from other sources. Most of the IT companies in China are not making money. This book only gives you a picture of the early dotcom years and we all know what happened. Don't judge the book by the cover or the content. It is only a perspective from one person.
Reviews
This book was awesome, I highly recommend it as a great introductory book into the business revolution in China, however it does not go too much in depth into the complexities of China's evolution in the past 20 years. But Sheff tells a great story and it is definitly a page turner!
Reviews
One of the best business books I have ever read. It is an inspiring story, written with insight and passion. I'm ready to pack up and head to China.

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