#2. Microsoft's strategy began by allowing China to pirate its software as a means to build market share. Eventually, the company hoped to collect earnings from this market share. The company then began to work with Chinese firms and to set up joint ventures and local subsidiaries. These tactics aided with the missions of the Chinese government, so Microsoft eventually found that the government's actions were becoming more favorable to Microsoft's interests over time as the result of its strategies.

I feel that the joint ventures and local partnerships worked best, because these created opportunities for technology transfer in particular. Chinese firms benefitted significantly,...

Going forward, these tactics remain strong, but Microsoft needs to stand more on its own in China, having now gained the trust of the Chinese government.
#3. Lower levels of government in China are a challenge for two reasons. One is that they are more corrupt, which is a serious issue among lower-level bureaucrats. The other is that these lower levels do not always operate with national strategies in mind. While the motivations of the PRC leadership are easy to understand, local levels might not have the same motivations, and might not be seeking the same highly-coordinated strategy that the national-level leadership is.