I had to opportunity to talk to a former senior executive of a multinational food chain a while back. This chain was actually very successful in moving in to China as far as American companies go, but it took a while. They were so successful that Walmart came to them for pointers, which they gladly provided. Essentially, the plan was to move in to friendlier SE Asian countries around China and create partnerships with Chinese businessmen in those countries. They would then have built successful and fair relationships, on neutral ground, with select Chinese nationals for their jump into China. Leveraging the Chinese businessmens' knowledge of the market and savvy in their home country allowed this food chain to be very successful. Walmart then went straight in to China and, well...