Briefly compare the political regime type in China and India. Which of the two would you prefer to do business in and why?

The political regime of a country attempts to protect the interests of its citizens through social, environmental and economic goals. These objectives often have significant, yet varying impacts on organisations operating within the nation; depending upon the nature of their business and the political ideologies of the country in question. As a result, international companies looking to expand their operations overseas must carefully consider the nature of the political regime and the resultant factors which will impact their ability to conduct business and generate profits. The Peoples Republic of China and India are two vast nations which over the past several decades have undergone considerable development and economic growth and therefore represent substantial opportunity for international businesses to expand or outsource their operations. Despite their geographic proximity, China and India have very different political philosophies and regimes which have resulted in variations in their regulatory framework, taxation policies, stock exchanges, intellectual property rights and the consequential foreign direct investment and growth.

The Peoples Republic of China operates through a single party political system led by the Communist Party of China. Traditionally, Marxist ideologies dominated the nation’s economic regulation, however reform in 1978 led to more modern socialist values and policy. These changes have resulted in an ideology of “socialism with Chinese characteristics” (Fran & Morck, 2012) which consists of features from free markets, socialism and traditional Chinese political philosophy. Despite this modernisation, strict regulatory systems still exist and involve significant red tape for business as well as particularly