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Given the recent peaceful turnover of power through a highly participatory democratic election, now is a good time to consider Taiwan and its political development.

The author reviews how, over two decades Taiwan has undergone a remarkably peaceful transition from what was essentially an authoritarian, one-party dictatorship by the KMT to a vibrant multiparty democracy, a sharp contrast to what has occurred during the same period in China.

When the traditional ruling party of a country–like the Kuomintang in Taiwan– finds itself completely out of power and wandering in the wilderness, yet still manages to conduct itself with grace and dignity, and in so doing, allows the country to prosper – that affirms the stability and progressive potential of the country’s politics.

Not only has Taiwan’s economy seen a sustained period of fast growth over multiple decades, but the economy has grown without seeing a substantial uptick in economic inequality, a feat many developed nations have failed to achieve.

Taiwan’s two decades of political stability makes is an attractive commercial partner.

The author presents practitioners with an overview of experts’ outlook for China econmic future. While some observers see the likelihood of a decade of continued rapid growth ahead, others see major economic challenges on the horizon.

To better understand the forces at play, consider the rationale underpinning three experts’ different perspectives on the future of China’s economy.

The author looks at the thinking underlying three vies: Confidence in steady growth: optimism based on China’s continuing “latecomer advantage” and its plentiful investment resources. Cautionary warning: pessimism based largely on his perception of China’s debt load and structural economic limits to consumer spending. Why you shouldn’t bet on pessimism: a rebuttal to much of the reasoning underpinning gloomy growth forecasts.

Taken together, a weak renminbi, low interest rates, and restrained wage growth would signal efforts to maintain the viability of China’s “latecomer” economic model.

The article helps practitioners understand the logic behind optimistic and pessimistic view of China’s economy so that as events develop observers can better understand which future is unfolding and what risks increasing or decreasing.

To chart the influence of politics on the future of China’s economy this article draws on the insights of four experts to delineate a range of possibilities.

To better understand the factors at work the author considers the logic and research undergirding four experts’ different views of the unfolding interplay of China’s politics and its economy.

The four vies of China’s political and economic future: (1) A post-democratic future: Eric Li, a venture capitalist, is optimistic that today’s Chinese Communist Party can successfully meet the country’s challenges going forward. (2) China’s trapped transition: Minxin Pei, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, worries that political inertia may be coupled with an extended period of economic stagnation. (3) Reform, innovation and growth: Yasheng Huang, a professor of global ei8conomics and management at MIT with deep knowledge of China’s economy and Chinese business, is relatively optimistic, seeing political reform as a potential springboard for continued economic dynamism. (4) The coming Communist Party crackup: David Shambaugh, a professor of international affairs and director of the China policy program at George Washington University, suggests the increasing possibility of a coup and worries about the potential political and economic turmoil associated with such an action.

To really take advantage of its R&D investments, China needs a stronger market-based economic system, a more open and democratic political system, and a rule-based legal system that offers strong intellectual property protection.

The diverse set of possibilities for China’s political and economic future provide executives with a guide for interpreting current events as they play out.

This case aims to examine how Taiwan's bicycle industry has persevered against increasingly severe competitive challenges from Chinese companies. The Taiwan firms have created innovative, high value‐added products and transformed the organization of production through a new version of cooperative competition. The case seeks to show how established producers may counter‐attack when faced with the strong challenges of low‐cost competitors.

The authors, all experts on Taiwanese manufacturing and business processes, examine the characteristics of an integrated, co‐innovative, cooperative supplier network, named the A‐Team.

The paper finds that, broadly speaking, integrated, co‐innovative supplier networks have two basic features that differentiate them from traditional modular, symbiotic supplier networks. First, whereas traditional supplier systems have emphasized cost control, integrated, co‐innovative supplier networks appear to be more focused on value creation through co‐innovation. Secondly, by adopting a more integrated network structure, such supplier networks appear to have a greater ability to resist imitation.

Based on Taiwan's bicycle industry, there seem to be five basic conditions for establishing a successful integrated, co‐innovative supplier network. There must be: a strong awareness of industry risks and/or prospects; trust among network members; long‐term interactive cooperative relationships; a desire to learn, and extensive communication, including substantial face‐to‐face communication.

For producers faced with the challenge of coping with the threat of low‐cost competition, co‐innovation within an integrated supplier network may be quite helpful. By working to coordinate the innovation efforts of assemblers and suppliers, Taiwan's A‐Team has laid a good foundation. While some initiatives are still in the early stages, as a result of the A‐Team's work to date, A‐team membership has increased and the group has received considerable recognition both at home and abroad.

The purpose of this article is to better understand Japanese manufacturing in mainland China and clarify how traditional Japanese subcontracting has changed and is changing to fit the economic environment there.

This article looks at the subcontracting practices of the Toyota Group along with the evolution of Shanghai Koito's operations in mainland China. The research for this study was conducted from 1995‐2003 and is based on visits to Toyota's China headquarters in Beijing and its technical center in Tianjin, Shanghai Koito Company, Sichuan Toyota, and Tianjin Toyota.

When Japanese style subcontracting in mainland China is compared with that of traditional Japanese subcontracting, a stark contrast is revealed. First of all, it is clear that Japanese‐affiliated enterprises in China are moving away from an insular, vertical subcontracting structure dominated by a single assembler. In the new subcontracting system, characteristic features – such as a broad customer base and localization – contrast with earlier features that included a substantial delegation of authority, regulated interfirm competition, and long‐term relations.

This paper is based on two case studies and so, while its findings may be accurate for the companies in question, helpful for understanding Japan's auto industry in mainland China, and may be more widely applicable, the findings are unlikely to be universally applicable.

With short‐term guidance corresponding to the needs of localization and the effective use of cheap labor coming to the fore, the examples of Toyota and Shanghai Koito may provide helpful illustrations of the kind of adaptation needed to succeed in mainland China. In particular, by moving away from a reliance on its traditional Japanese customers for sales, Shanghai Koito seems to have positioned itself well to avoid the hardship of dwindling sales that other more traditionally oriented Japanese suppliers have begun to face. Moreover, its growing independence may be an important indicator of what the future may look like for Japanese manufacturing.

Looking at the history of industrial development in East Asia, the adaptation of Japanese business practices to different economies in the region has been an important theme. This study provides an up‐to‐date review of a number of current issues facing Japanese automakers as they develop their operations in mainland China.