I'm traveling to Beijing and bringing a small gift to a business associate - should I wrap the gift?

The gift is a small book.

No. Not in Bejing. What you do want to do is present it formally. Hand it to him with both hands holding it and extending it directly forward from your body.

i'd give a bottle of wine. people don't read so much, which is just too bad. unless you know the person very well, give a bottle of wine. or gin. a bottle of Q would be nice.

I think wrapping it will be nice. Maybe not with anything too colorful since it's a business associate. A book is a good idea....I always enjoy receiving one, especially one called The Present. :)

You can wrap it but you may need to unwrap when customs is suspect.

wrapping is okay in some pretty american print paper.
they will treasure and keep that paper for a very long while.

I think that a small book will always be welcome. You'd better wrap it to make it more formal. If the book is small in size or in pages, please choose some thick paper to wrap it. That will make you gift look better :-)

The thing about customs possibly opening it is correct... Be sure you do not give a book about politics or religion because sometimes those are not allowed into the country (aside from the obvious possiblity of offending the person)... Wait til you get to China and ask some people at your hotel what they think... (make sure to ask native Chinese, not tourists who don't have a clue).

Yes you should wrap the gift.

Don't wrap the book until after you get to your hotel. If you take it through customs wrapped, don't be surprised if they rip the wrapping to pieces to see what is in side! Just pack some wrapping paper in your suitcase, it's flat and wont' take up much space. Red is a good luck color, so red paper with maybe a little gold ribbon would be good. You could also find some paper that looks American. Don't wrap it in white or black paper, that's for funerals. Like someone above said, hand it to them with both hands, and do not expect them to open it in your presence. They usually wait until after you leave to open gifts.