Most US companies that are relatively inexperienced in Chinese business transactions tend to follow the same negotiation strategy when they seek to acquire the assets of a Chinese company as they would in the acquisition of a US company. Buyers insist, at least initially, on terms and conditions that they would expect in a domestic transaction in the United States. Inevitably, such demands rarely align with what is standard or even possible in China. Therefore, buyers are forced to weigh the risks of unknown liabilities against the possible economic rewards of a particular...