Key Operation

Name: Key Operation
ISBN: 9787515404974

Xu KaizhenContemporary China Publishing House · ChinaSep 2023

3.3

Word count: 247K words
Chapters: 21
ISBN: 9787515404974

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Summary

After the 500,000-copy success of his novel In the Provincial Party Committee, Xu Kaizhen spent three years in quiet study of the relationship between government and business. This book tells all about a bond that is at once indispensable and impossible to rely on. Li Yuanqing, chairman of Hong Kong's Haoliqi Group, partners with Dongzhou Pharmaceuticals to operate the famous herbal tea brand Baofengyuan, quickly capturing the mainland market. But the powerful Huaren Group, backed by district governor Shen Xinyu and armed with capital from Hong Kong's Shenggao Group, storms into the herbal tea trade, devouring Haoliqi's channels and distributors. Shen, plotting to build his own power base and challenge district party secretary Lu Shaobo, sees his secrets unravel when Li's brand license—originally obtained through his ties with municipal party secretary Gu Yuantao—is exposed. As crisis looms, CEO Wen Qigang steadies the company and wins back the market.

Editor's review

Key Operations is another major work by Xu Kaizhen, following Provincial Committee and Taking Down, in which he turns his pen to the field of state-owned enterprise reform. After systematically checking and studying the book's Douban rating (6.3), content summary, and material about the author, my overall judgment is that this is a work with relatively obvious strengths and weaknesses. Its greatest value lies in offering, through literary technique, an internal perspective for observing and understanding the difficult predicament of state-owned enterprise reform in a specific period of China (mainly the late 1990s to the early 2000s). The author blends his own experience as a senior state-owned enterprise executive into the story, creating the figure of Xia Mingliang, a central enterprise leader who is an 'outsider leading insiders,' and meticulously depicts how he seeks balance and breakthroughs amid upper-level pressure, internal friction, market challenges, and personal principles; the difficult maneuvering and complex human nature are portrayed with relative authenticity. However, the book's literary quality does not reach the general height of the author's previous works; the dramatic handling of plot and some character portrayals feel somewhat stiff, which may be one reason it has not received higher recognition in mainstream literary evaluation.

Yet it is precisely this 'imperfection' that gives it unique documentary and cognitive value. For readers who wish to understand how large state-owned enterprises carried out 'key operations' (involving core issues such as property rights, personnel, debt, and strategic transformation) against that historical backdrop, this book offers a kind of 'sense of being on site' beyond textbooks or news reports. It is a novel with a threshold; its 'readability' lies not only in the rises and falls of plot but also in a certain revelation of institutional logic, the ecology of power, and the pain of reform. Therefore, although from a purely literary standpoint it is not a top-tier work, as an industry-depth novel closely tied to the pulse of the times and carrying specific historical memory, it still deserves attention and reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of Chinese state-owned enterprise reform from the late twentieth to the early twenty-first century
Observers who want to understand the internal political ecology and rules of power operation in large enterprises
Loyal readers of Xu Kaizhen who wish to systematically read his 'officialdom' and 'state-owned enterprise' series
Professionals in management, economics, or public policy research who hope to gain different perspectives from literary narrative

Not a good fit for

Purely entertainment-seeking readers looking for light entertainment or fast-paced, plot-driven stories
Pure literature enthusiasts expecting highly innovative literary language or poetic expression

Reading tips

It is recommended to read this book alongside the author's works from the same or earlier period, such as Provincial Committee, to gain a more complete grasp of his creative trajectory and focus
While reading, pay appropriate attention to descriptions of details such as 'meetings,' 'conversations,' and 'documents'; they are often the key to understanding the logic of operation within the system
It may be worthwhile to compare the reform difficulties depicted in the book with the current state of state-owned enterprise development; the reflection between history and reality can bring deeper understanding

About the publisher

Contemporary China Publishing House China · Founded in 1991

Contemporary China Publishing House is known for its titles on national history, biography, and the humanities and social sciences. Judging from the 73 books in our database, its publishing focus centres on biography, documentary literature, essays, Eastern philosophy, and cultural and social science works. These range from military biographies such as The Road to Generalship, which profiles Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley, to documentary works like Countdown to Hiroshima and a biography of the filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. In essays, it offers a series of collected editions of Ji Xianlin's prose, autobiography, and writings on life, mentors and friends, and reading and scholarship. Representative authors include Jonathan W. Jordan, Stephen Walker, and Ji Xianlin, along with translators such as Xiaoxiao Bingren and Wang Zuning. It should be noted that, apart from the information in our database, publicly available details about its full publishing programme are limited.

版权信息
第一章好力奇高层“艳”变
第二章区长的“金创意”
第三章了解对手就是了解自己
第四章女人的“软”斗争
第五章凡是能给企业开罚单的，都得尊为“神”
第六章财富和力量是男人的武器
第七章权力是“通行证”
第八章没有永远的朋友，只有永远的利益
第九章做企业，杜绝不了“内幕”
第十章做人不能太有浪漫情怀
第十一章挫折与失败是警醒我们的镜子
第十二章声东击西，黑手现形
第十三章玩火不一定会自焚
第十四章背水一战，统一内部
第十五章手握“撒手锏”
第十六章大戏该收场了
第十七章商人间的小儿科
第十八章重拳整肃内部环境
第十九章市场有波折，机会来了
第二十章游戏结束了，得有人背黑锅

FAQ

Is this book documentary literature or a novel?

It is a novel based on the author's personal experience and extensive real-world observation. The characters and specific events are fictional, but the state-owned enterprise reform background, the common problems faced, and the internal operating logic it reflects have a high degree of real-world reference.

I haven't read other works by Xu Kaizhen—can I read this one directly?

Absolutely. The story in this book is independent and complete and does not depend on the plots or characters of other works. However, understanding the author's overall style will help you enter his narrative context more quickly.

The book's Douban rating is not very high—is it still worth reading?

The rating reflects more its relative shortcomings in literary aesthetics. But for specific readers (such as the 'suitable audience' above), the industry-insider perspective and historical cognitive value it provides cannot be summed up by a simple rating. Whether it is worth reading should be based on your specific reading purpose and interests.

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About the author

Xu Kaizhen Author · China · 1966

Xu Kaizhen, born in Gansu in 1966, is a contemporary Chinese novelist and a contracted writer with the Gansu Provincial Literature Academy. He previously served as a government secretary and a deputy general manager of a state-owned enterprise before resigning from public office in 2002 to devote himself to writing, an experience that gave him close insight into the workings of officialdom and state-owned enterprises. His works are mostly drawn from real social life, commonly categorized as social fiction, fine fiction, and war and military fiction. Representative works include The Political and Legal Secretary, The Provincial Party Committee Team, Crackdown on Organized Crime, and Past Events in Liangzhou. In 2011 he ranked 22nd on the sixth Chinese Writers Rich List, and several of his works have been adapted for film and television. The library holds 30 of his works, noted for their realistic observation and narrative tension.