By deviating from the West's democratic orthodoxy and emerging as an economic superpower nonetheless, China is worry to the West because it fears that Chinese economic development and social progress, through a different, non-Western style, may be right for Africa, writes Prof Kwaku Atuahene-Gima, a professor at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) based in Shanghai, China

If CEIBS Management Professor Per Jenster had followed his own theories taught in his EMBA course Strategic Management, he would have thought twice before entering the wine business - a sector he describes in lectures as a 'structurally unprofitable industry' in which ease of entry is only rivaled by the difficulty of exiting with success.

While most of the world's vintners-and many economists-agree that it is becoming increasingly difficult to turn a profit making wine, china's wine industry is growing by about 39 percent on the expected value for 2007 (ISIEmerging Markets Database, 2006). In his research paper entitled Dragon Wine: Developments in the Chinese Wine Industry, CEIBS Professor of Management Per Jenster outlines why. the paper has been accepted by the International Journal of Wine Business Research and is tentatively scheduled for publication later this year.

Last year, Mindray Medical founder and chairman Xu Hang (CEIBS EMBA 2002) made his company China's first U.S.-listed medical equipment supplier. This year, he is taking on global rivals including GE and Philips - on their own turf.

Countless anti-Chinese business articles have been published around the world this summer. For readers, it looked like a contest to see which writer could use the most aggressive headline.

Over the last two years there has been a considerable increase in the interest shown by Chinese companies to acquire Western businesses. This trend stems from the need to acquire new markets, technology, know how, brand recognition and other capabilities from abroad faster than they can be developed domestically. It is also being encouraged by steps the Chinese Government is taking in recognition that failure to acquire these missing elements could slow down China's rapid economic pace. However, acquisition of foreign businesses presents many new challenges for Chinese companies.

The overriding theme of 2004 was "macro-regulation" for China. Despite worries and panics, the nation seemed to have a safe voyage. But what perplexes us most is why this happens repeatedly since the reform and opening-up whenever we try to speed up the economic growth but have to slow down due to the bottleneck of resources and the pressure of inflation. Will such a problem become a lingering nightmare? Will the labor-intensive growth pattern featuring high investment and low efficiency ensure sustained industrialisation and modernisation? The nation is developing its "Eleventh Five-Year" Plan, and at this critical moment, we must discover a new and proper road to industrialisation and economic growth pattern.