If you can’t communicate you can’t do business. Successful communication with Chinese needs more than a language in common. Good language skills—grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, idioms—in a common language are necessary but not sufficient. Besides a common language, communication success depends on a common way of using language.

The Preface from Greg's book, Wearing Chinese Glasses: How (not) to go Broke in Chinese Asia.

Has China changed? Companies bet millions on the answer, but it’s the wrong question. You should ask if Chinese have changed. China has changed; the Chinese haven’t.