ABSTRACT

As mentioned earlier in this book, the beginnings of entrepreneurial migration to Eastern Europe in the early 1990s were accompanied by press reports in China that conveyed something of the amused contempt of European conquistadores finding that they could trade glass beads for gold nuggets. The idea that any old thing could be sold to Eastern European consumers, long deprived of the blessings of the market, sent many hopeful entrepreneurs abroad. Those mythical times didn’t last long: markets became more mature, consumers more picky, regulations more strict, and Chinese officials began worrying about the negative impact on the image of Chinese products.1