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Executive Interviews: Interview with William J Holstein on Emerging Markets
February 2008
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By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary
William J Holstein Award winning Editor, Author and Journalist. He is a Columinst for the New York Times business section. 
Are there any laws / acts relating
specifically to IPRs in China? How
has been their enforcement? Any
recent evidences of an effective
enforcement?
There are many laws already on the
books. The question is one of
enforcement. The central government
in Beijing has surprisingly little
ability to enforce many of its policies
at the provincial and city level, where
governments may be investors or
partners in companies that steal or
copy the IP of foreign firms. What has been the impact of China
joining WTO (in 2001) and Chinese
companies going global on IPRs?
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I don't think either trend has had
much impact on the Intellectual
Property issue inside China.
What is your assessment of
Chinese companies going global? In
recent times, we have heard a few
successful Chinese companies
making at the global level Huawei
Technologies, Lenovo, Haier, etc.
However, the number of Chinese
companies, vis à vis their potential,
seems miniscule. What do you think
that Chinese companies should do to
go global in big numbers and in a big
way?
This is a really good question, and
one of the most important you've
asked. Indian companies such as
Tata, Infosys, Wipro and others seem
to be able to operate on the basis of
international standards. They can
overcome their Indian ness. But that's
much more difficult for Chinese
companies. Their managers are not as
culturally sophisticated and not as
well advised in the political and
social sense when they try to operate
internationally. I think the Chinese
companies should hire many
foreigners, including Indians, and
allow them to create more outwardlooking
corporate cultures. How far do you think China's
record on IPRs would affect Chinese
companies' plans to go global?
I don't think it's a significant
impediment. Huawei is accused of
stealing router technology fromCisco,
but is still able to compete
internationally. Chery is accused to
stealing auto designs from General
Motors, but that hasn't stopped it
from exploring distribution
arrangements with Chrysler. So far,
there's little evidence that China's
track record on Intellectual Property
is a significant drag on their dreams of
international expansion.
1.
Emerging market Case Study
2. ICMR
Case Collection
3.
Case Study Volumes
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The Interview was conducted by Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary, Consulting Editor, Effective
Executive and Dean, IBSCDC, Hyderabad. This Interview was originally published in Effective Executive, IUP, February 2008 . Copyright © February 2008 , IBSCDC
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or distributed, stored in a retrieval
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