Investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the mid-1970's found that more than 400 American corporations, including 117 Fortune 500 companies, admitted to making over $300 million in questionable or illegal payments to foreign government officials, politicians, and political parties. Congress responded by unanimously passing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), making the United States the first country to outlaw bribery of a foreign official. Two types of conduct are delineated under the anti-bribery section of the FCPA: the making of bribes directly and bribes paid by an intermediary. This paper summarizes the main components of the anti-bribery section. Through the FCPA, the United States not only changed the way American corporations do business overseas, it ultimately and unilaterally established a domestic model that slowly was and now more aggressively is being adopted by the international community. This paper describes the anti-bribery initiatives by the Organization of American States, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Chamber of Commerce, and Transparency International. In addition, this paper reports on economic parameters of foreign investment in China, factors that contribute to corruption in China, and the political dynamics of China's attempting to counter corruption through the rule of law. Other topics addressed are "red flags" for possible FCPA violations, internal FCPA corporate compliance measures, U.S. Attorney General opinions on FCPA compliance, and American business tactics for FCPA compliance in China.