This issue of The CBR was a hard one for us to produce. We, like others around the world, were stunned and saddened by the terrorist attacks in New York and here in Washington. Our thoughts are still with the thousands who lost their lives.

Fortunately, none of our friends or families were directly affected by the tragedies. But as residents of the Washington area, we are reminded daily of the events of September 11 and their aftermath. A drive down I-395, just over the Potomac River in Virginia, brings you to within a few hundred yards of the scorched, damaged section of the Pentagon — the gash left in the building's outer ring exposes a cross-section of once-inhabited offices for all to see.

Then, as we began to wrap up the issue, arose the anthrax scare. Again, no one in our offices has been affected, but most of us know someone taking Cipro just in case.

Meanwhile, of course, life — and magazine production — goes on. As Bob Kapp notes in his letter on page 6, the new political and military realities have overshadowed the news that China will soon be a World Trade Organization member. But China's successful integration into the global economy is suddenly even more important to global stability. Denis Simon's thorough survey of the latest developments in China's microelectronics sector reminds us that even as the global economic slump that preceded September 11 deepens, bu si-nesses are making long-term investment commitments in China. And Sheila Melvin and Annella Heytens discuss personnel topics that are sure to concern foreign companies in China for years to come.

The context of these discussions may have changed, but the discussions are just as important now as they ever were — if not more so.

Catherine Gelb
Editor