Doing business with a dictatorial government is akin to letting a pet tiger sleep at the foot of your bed. Most nightsit's OK. Until it isn't. Foreign-owned businesses working in Russia and China have heard the sounds of a stomach grumbling in the darkness, reminding them that despite appearances, the rule of law in those countries still bends to the whims of leaders who are not afraid to take what they want. Those hoping to make money in Russia and China should not allow assurances about globalization and the importance of international trade make them complacent about geopolitical risk. China is Texas' fourth-largest trading partner, and the state exported $10.8 billion of goods to the country in 2013. China's search for ways to produce oil and gas from the nation's enormous shale formations also presents an opportunity for Texas oil service companies. China, however, has a history of using foreign companies primarily to accumulate foreign capital and intellectual property, not to engage in long-term trade. Steve Lewis, a China fellow at the Baker Institute, said foreign companies are often squeezed out once Chinese companies acquire what they need. "There is not a tradition of a rule of law that says it doesn't matter if it's good for the country or not, these are investors who have certain rights," he told me. Last week the Chinese government fined Audi and Chrysler for setting minimum prices for their vehicles, and other recent prosecutions of foreign business people have led to 86 percent of expatriate executives to conclude the government is targeting them, according to a US-China Business Council survey this month. "Targeted or not, foreign companies have well-founded concerns about how investigations are conducted and decided," John Frisbie, the council's president, said in a statement. "Due process, transparency, and the methodology for determining remedies and fines all need improvement."