Book Description
"Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world." Napoleon's words seem eerily prescient today, as the shock waves from China's awakening reverberate across the globe. In China Shakes the World, the former China bureau chief of the Financial Times, James Kynge, traces these tremors from Beijing to Europe to the Midwest as China's ravenous hunger for jobs, raw materials, energy, and food -- and its export of goods, workers, and investments -- drastically reshape world trade and politics.
Delving beyond mere recitation of by-now-familiar statistics, Kynge's on-the-ground reporting provides alternative explanations for China's explosive transformation, revealing many of the usual reasons given for its growth to be myths. Most important for the future, he details China's deep, systemic weaknesses -- rampant fraud, crippling environmental crises, a corrupt banking system, faltering government institutions, a rapidly aging population -- that threaten even greater global disruptions. And he demonstrates the profound consequences of those weaknesses for American manufacturers, oil companies, banks, and ordinary consumers.
Through dramatic stories of entrepreneurs and visionaries, factory workers and store clerks at the heart of this global phenomenon, China Shakes the World explains how China's breakneck rise occurred, the extraordinary problems the country now faces, and the consequences of both for the twenty-first century.
Customer Reviews:
It is shaking me up now.......2007-10-16
I am Chinese, and of course I am attracted by the title. Finally, China get to shake the world a little too, what an accomplishment. Well, as I read the book, it is making me less and less proud of my motherland. The counterfeit product, the stealing of high-tech information, degradation of environment and the insitutionalized corruption are making my stomach turn. When 1/2 of the population is going at 80 miles an hour in the globalized world, the other half is being left behind by their own country. It makes me wonder, what will happen if the economy slow down in China? What will the people who had already tasted the fast world will do, and what will the ultra-dictatorship of the Ruling Communist party do, and what will the other half of the population that had been left behind do. This is a question worth pondering. Maybe, China is not as rosy as it projected to the rest of the world, and maybe people, or investors should listen to not just the official talking head, but what the people are doing. This is a good read, it will help with my school project too.
An enormous shift in geopolitical power.......2007-10-08
James Kynge analyzes and illustrates brilliantly the emergence of China as a major geopolitical power. He shows that the drastic shift in economic policies under Deng came from rural farmers who used creatively the concept `collective' to found private capitalist companies. The result is now a schizophrenic one party communist State with a capitalist economy. Its social stability can only be maintained with fast economic growth and job creation for its enormous population created by Mao's demographic policy.
The actual industrialization process causes massive population and gender shifts (urbanization resulting in a higher status for women), colossal energy demands (one Italy every year) and huge environmental problems (water, air). In a one party State, corruption and nepotism (with stolen identities) cannot be eradicated and provoke a declining trust in government.
Economically, corporations are mainly concerned with market share, not profits. They continue to (over) produce for the next surge in demand after every dip. They are also beginning to build consumer loyalty by branding their own products.
Internationally, the Chinese voracity created energy and commodities price surges worldwide. The end is not in sight. On the other hand, the bulk of the profits made with China's low cost factory army (no welfare) goes into the pockets of Western retail giants and their shareholders, leaving only 10 to 15 % for their Chinese counterparts. In the meantime, the deindustrialization of the Western world continues with massive job losses in the textile, car, computer and even the service industry.
Overall, however, China's economic development continues to benefit enormously world trade, notwithstanding the regularly surfacing accusations of protectionism, currency manipulation and rampant piracy. Politically, the problem of Taiwan is still not solved.
Mencius''ren' (benevolence) is not a basic ingredient of Chinese foreign policy, but the author believes that ultimately pragmatism and flexibility will have the upper hand.
This book is a must read for all those who want to understand the world we live in.
MBA Mom.......2007-07-15
I am full time Mom and just recently visited Beijing with my 2 young children and husband. As a result of our travels, all the news in the media regarding China, and my own personal experience with respect to my shopping purchase power and selection in the last many year, I was very interested in the "China story." This book is an easy read, and provides a good big picture. It reminds me of the center column in the Wall Street Journal... Too boot, well written, and excellent use of vocabulary.
Mom
Well written, informative book.......2007-06-01
This book is money and time well spent if you're interested in a contemporary survey of China.
Kynge really does an outstanding job with a complex topic. He has a journalist's nose for a story, is well connected in China, and the length of time he lived in the country allows him to really portray his observations in a sophisticated cultural and historical context. He nicely weaves in statistics and facts throughout the book without distracting from the narrative.
A Journalist's Eye.......2007-05-24
I've loved the lyrical quality of this book. It looks at the many problems facing China from the ground up and individual journalist's eyes. For a big picture view that is based more on economic analysis, see my own book: The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won
Product Description
By the early 90s, a raging bull market was delivering spectacular returns, causing some to believe that a market collapse and subsequent depression would soon appear. As a result of these fears, some exited the capital markets altogether. Thereafter, the Internet took off causing the market bubble to swell, many high-tech stocks with seemingly limitless valuations. Over the course of its 13-year stretch, the market appreciated by over 600 percent, with average annual returns in excess of 18 percent. And we all remember what happened at the start of the new millennium. Even after the deflation of the Internet bubble, cautious investors who pulled out of the market a decade earlier missed out on spectacular returns since then. Many investors who entered the market near its peak suffered devastating losses. But most who remained invested since the early 90s are still much better off today. While this correction revealed the most recent illusions embedded within the economy, it s only a small part of what will be a larger correction in the coming years. Despite the scandals in corporate America and Wall Street, many investors fail to recognize that the post-bubble period is quite different from the Bull Run in the 90s. But today, the capital markets have been realigned with authenticity, and economics now control the investment cycle rather than hype generated by Wall Street. Accordingly, Wall Street and the U.S. Government can only hide the realities of America s decline for so long. Unfortunately, America entered the free trade paradigm as a losing participant from the start. While America remains as the centerpiece for the global economy, it relies on record debt to maintain its status as the world s strongest consumer marketplace. But this cannot last much longer. America s vulnerable role in the new economy threatens to erode the strength of its empire. Already, America has witnessed a gradual disappearance of its core citizens; the middle class. As well, poverty continues to grow while America s wealthiest quintile increases their wealth. These trends have been masked by record levels of credit-based spending and manipulation of economic data. For over two decades, several nations have benefited at the expense of America s job base and living standards. This led to a long period of excessive consumption relative to productivity. When the economic boom from the post-war period began to lose steam in the 60s, consumption began to exceed productivity, as Americans refused to acknowledge a decline in living standards. Up until the 70s, America fueled this consumption-production disparity using the surplus wealth generated during the post-war boom. During the 80s, America s growing consumption was compounded by massive government spending and a devastating oil crisis. Shortly thereafter, the consumer credit industry grew to meet the demands of a nation experiencing large productivity deficits. And today, America is vastly different than the post-war period. Rather than increases in net wealth, America s growth over the past two decades has been fueled by credit spending which has created the illusion of impressive productivity, while serving to mask declining living standards. As a consequence of these changes, America s financial industry is now one of its biggest and most profitable. Today, America is more dependent on foreign nations than anytime in its history. Declining oil reserves and a foreign-funded credit bubble have positioned the fate of this nation in the hands of the world. Soon, America will face the economic burden of 76 million aging boomers. Beginning in 2011, mandatory expenditures for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will start to grow rapidly. By 2025, these expenses will have swelled to unthinkable levels.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent presentation of data, some mistakes.......2007-10-11
The author did an excellent job compiling data that is extremely important to understand if one is to thrive in America in the next 2 decades. There will no doubt be sweeping changes to rectify our current account deficit and aging boomer population. The author shed light on the politics behind Greenspan & Co's delay when our country needs to address these problems now. Other topics include: the .com bubble, real estate / credit bubble, free trade, health care, social security, energy crisis, and education.
Yes there are typos and some minor implications that are incorrect, but I don't believe they affect the overall concepts presented. I have also read "The Dollar Crisis" and find both books to be honest presentations of America's current economic state. I would have enjoyed even more information on developing nations, but the title of the book focuses on America, so be it. Overall, I felt this book was an excellent read that is neither conservative nor extreme but simply a presentation of data and well-thought hypothetical analysis of what is to come for America. Only the typos keep it from getting 5 stars.
Riddled with inaccuracies.......2007-07-30
This book manages to cover all major problems faced by the United States in the next 20-30 years - trade deficit, healthcare crisis, education crisis, etc. - and it does so in a fairly comprehensive way, with large numbers of facts and graphs.
The reason why I can't give it more than 3 stars for this achievement is that the number of mistakes it contains (from misspellings to factual errors) is absolutely incredible. It seems that no one (other than the author) so much as read the book before it went to the printing press.
First of all, there are spelling errors. English is not my native language, yet I've been able to notice one spelling error every 20-30 pages. "Notices in-lue of gold" (p.2). "Right to bare arms" (p.25). "America will loose its technology edge" (p.61), and so on. There are factual errors as well. According to the author, Statue of Liberty was erected on Ellis Island (p.27), Berlin Wall fell "a few years" after 1991 (p.10), and Albert Einstein immigrated into the United States in 1940. He thinks that women who give birth after entering the United States illegally are guaranteed citizenship because their newborns become U.S. citizens (p.32) - but he either does not know or fails to mention that they have to wait for their child to turn 18 before they even have a shot at legalization. He frequently claims (or implies) that Chinese goods are cheaper because Chinese government and Chinese companies do not provide healthcare or retirement benefits to their workers (p.41), when in fact they do. All these problems make me wary of any other claims he makes in his book.
There are many interesting graphs and charts in the book, but at least some of them were "cooked up" by the author from third-party data, so they are not always reliable. One rather puzzling chart is located on p. 113. It is a pie-chart labelled "Factors Driving Rising Costs in Healthcare (2001-2002, in $ billions)". However, pieces of the pie are labelled with percentage values and clearly add up to 100% (e.g. "Increased Consumer Demand, 15%"). Author comments, "Someone explain to me the economics of increased consumer demand leading to a 15% increase in healthcare costs in one year". It's clear that he has no idea what's really shown on the chart.
The book is heavy on portrayal of various weaknesses in modern U.S. economy, but rather light on attempts to predict the future. There is almost no discussion about the impact of American crisis on the rest of the world. Author predicts major revaluation of the dollar, but does not provide any macroeconomic analysis of consequences of this revaluation. He seems to think that collapse will not occur at least until 2012, but he's not very clear why he thinks it won't be triggered by deflation of the real estate bubble.
Overall this is an interesting and comprehensive book that's worth reading for anyone who thinks that U.S. economy is doing well, but it's not scientific or reliable enough to be of real value for an investor.
I recommend "Dollar Crisis" as a complementary treatment of the U.S trade deficit / credit bubble problem.
A chilling but accurate expose of how we came to be in such economic peril as a capitalist nation.......2007-06-10
In writing "America's Financial Apocalypse: How To Profit From The Next Great Depression", the author draws upon his many years of experience and expertise as a business, financial, and investment consultant for two of Wall Street's largest investment firms and elsewhere in private financial markets. Strathis provides an impressively analytical explanation as to how the liberals on the left and the conservatives on the right are working in differing ways to destroy America's fiscal and economic well-being; how the federal government in Washington is dominated by corporations; how China has taken total advantage of America's trading policies to our nation's detriment. Readers will be shocked to learn how America is legally bankrupt; how today the 'American Dream' cannot be achieved by most American citizens; the truth concerning the future of Social Security; the inevitable and looming consequences of the present pension plan crisis; and why most Americans working today will not be able to retire as their parent were able to in the past. "America's Financial Apocalypse" also addresses just how the American government manipulates economic data; how the Bush administration is responsible for the worst economic recovery in American financial history; how the real estate bubble could cause the stock and bond markets to collapse; how America's political and economic fate is in the hands of foreign countries; why the American government is really allied to the Saudi Arabians despite the established identities of the 9/11 attack; the looming global oil crisis; Alan Greenspans dismal performance as a Fed Chairman; the plummeting value of the dollar in the international currency markets; and the continuing rise in value of precious metals and oil. After laying out all of these 'inconvenient truths' about America's economic future, Strathis also lays out how the wise and savvy investor can still profit from an inevitable depression that will collapse America's economy in the very near future. A chilling but accurate expose of how we came to be in such economic peril as a capitalist nation, "America's Financial Apocalypse" is especially recommended reading for its clear and methodical explanation of just how the individual investor can survive what will prove to be the 'Next Great Depression'.
This Book Has NO Comparable!.......2007-04-05
Finally, an insightful, detailed, and massive compilation of America's economy and investment markets. This book is HIGHY recommended.
The reviewer below is actually wrong in his simplistic assumption that deflation is the exact opposite of inflation. While deflation tends to cause a relative increase in buying power, this effect is only when deflation is modest and in the early stages. During a more prolonged period, deflation creates a decline in GDP and therefore purchasing power due to the relative effects on currency exchange rates.
I find it amazing that a person could give such a bad review over one statement that he thinks is wrong (when in fact it is not) despite all of the massive data and extensive coverage of material. If a reader chooses to cherry pick from within a massive resource such as this book, they will miss the forest from the trees.
Hold on there...........2007-04-05
After spending $55+ for this book, I started to leaf through it and promptly came across the following comment: "...rising gold prices usually result from a deflationary economy not an inflationary one, as investors seek to minimize the loss in buying power of their currency." So far as I know, a deflationary environment INCREASES the buying power of one's currency, as prices generally decrease during a deflationary episode. In other words, one can buy more loaves of bread per dollar in the bank. Gold is generally a hedge against inflation or fiat currency collapse, not deflation. Given what seems to me a basic error of this nature, I will be skeptical of other information in the book.
Amazon.com
China has the world's most rapidly changing large economy, and according to Ted Fishman, it is forcing the world to change along with it. "No country has ever before made a better run at climbing every step of economic development all at once," he writes, in China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World. China is currently the largest maker of toys, clothing, and consumer electronics, and is swiftly moving up the ladder in car production, computer manufacturing, biotechnology, aerospace, telecommunications, and other sectors thanks to low-cost, high-tech factories. China is also where the world is investing. In 2004, for instance, the city of Shanghai alone attracted over $12 billion in direct foreign investment, roughly the same amount as all of Indonesia and Mexico received. In tracing China's ascendancy over the past 30 years (with annual growth of an astonishing 9.5 percent), Fishman presents a flood of facts, figures, forecasts, and anecdotes and examines the implications of this unprecedented growth for China, the U.S., and the rest of the world.
Calling China's huge population "arguably the greatest natural resource on the planet," Fishman details how hundreds of millions of peasants have migrated from rural to urban areas to find manufacturing jobs, providing an unlimited, low-wage workforce to power China's economy. In the process, this shift has changed both Chinese culture and the global business climate in significant ways. Simply put, American companies can't compete with wages as low as 25 cents an hour and lack of regulation and oversight, so are forced to move their operations to China or completely change the focus of their business. And it's not just a problem for the U.S.--even Mexico is outsourcing to China. Though it remains to be seen whether this will truly be the "Chinese Century" as Fishman asserts, China, Inc. is a brisk and informative look at why so many American corporations, and American jobs, are heading to China. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
China today is visible everywhere -- in the news, in the economic pressures battering the globe, in our workplaces, and in every trip to the store. Provocative, timely, and essential -- and updated with new statistics and information -- this dramatic account of China's growing dominance as an industrial superpower by journalist Ted C. Fishman explains how the profound shift in the world economic order has occurred -- and why it already affects us all.
How has an enormous country once hobbled by poverty and Communist ideology come to be the supercharged center of global capitalism? What does it mean that China now grows three times faster than the United States? Why do nearly all of the world's biggest companies have large operations in China? What does the corporate march into China mean for workers left behind in America, Europe, and the rest of the world?
Meanwhile, what makes China's emerging corporations so dangerously competitive? What will happen when China manufactures nearly everything -- computers, cars, jumbo jets, and pharmaceuticals -- that the United States and Europe can, at perhaps half the cost? How do these developments reach around the world and straight into all of our lives?
These are ground-shaking questions, and China, Inc. provides answers.
Veteran journalist Ted C. Fishman shows how China will force all of us to make big changes in how we think about ourselves as consumers, workers, citizens, and even as parents. The result is a richly engaging work of penetrating, up-to-the-minute reportage and brilliant analysis that will forever change how readers think about America's future.
Download Description
"China today is visible everywhere -- in the news, in the economic pressures battering america, in the workplace, and in every trip to the store. provocative, timely, and essential, this dramatic account of china's growing dominance as an industrial super-power by journalist Ted C. Fishman explains how the profound shift in the global economic order has occurred -- and why it already affects us all. How has an enormous country once hobbled by poverty and Communist ideology come to be the supercharged center of global capitalism? What does it mean that China now grows three times faster than the United States? That China uses 40 percent of the world's concrete and 25 percent of its steel? What is the global impact of 300 million rural Chinese walking off their farms and heading to the cities in the greatest migration in human history? Why do nearly all of the world's biggest companies now have large-scale operations in China? What does the corporate march into China mean for workers left behind in America, Europe, and the rest of the world? Meanwhile, what makes China's emerging corporations so dangerously competitive? What could happen when China will be able to manufacture nearly everything -- computers, cars, jumbo jets, and pharmaceuticals -- that the United States and Europe can, at perhaps half the cost? How do these developments reach around the world and straight into the lives of all Americans? These are ground-shaking questions, and China, Inc. provides answers.Veteran journalist and former commodities trader Ted C. Fishman paints a vivid picture of the megatrends radiating out of China. Fishman's account begins with the burgeoning output of China's vast low-cost factories and the swelling appetite of its 1.3 billion consumers, both of which are being driven by historically unprecedented infusions of foreign capital and technological know-how. Traveling through China's frenetic landscape of growth, Fishman visits the factories, markets, streets, stores, towns, and cities where the story of Chinese capitalism is being lived by one-fifth of all humanity. Fishman also draws on interviews with Chinese, American, and European workers, managers, and executives to show how China will force all of us to make big changes in how we think about ourselves as consumers, workers, citizens, and even as parents. The result is a richly engaging work of penetrating, up-to-the-minute reportage and brilliant analysis that will forever change how readers think about America's future. "
Customer Reviews:
Lacks critical analysis, nothing more than a collection of (incomplete) stories .......2007-09-04
Half of the book is like a PR campaign for Shanghai, saying how fascinating the city is without really critically examining its glories. It seems like the author has not ventured far away from Shanghai (even Zhejiang Province is bordering Shanghai) and to really delve into the rest of China. It is just like reading a book on U.S. economy while all it talks about is New York. Projecting New York for the rest of the U.S. is laughable, so is thinking Shanghai epitomizes the entire China.
Shanghai's success, at least in the past, critically relied on the extremely favorable national policies steered by Jiang Ze-ming, the former mayor of Shanghai who became the president after 1989 Tiananmen. Such biased national policies are highly questionable, and its impact on Shanghai long-term economic sustainability is also open for debate.
It's also weird for a book on China's economic transition to exclude meaningful discussion of the economic reforms in the Pearl River Delta area where all of the initial economic reforms started, and which is still one of the most important economic regions in China. Also, China's attempts to balance economic development between the coastal region and the inland region are largely ignored in the book (except some very light discussions here and there).
The second half of the book is not very organized and it is not clear what message the author was trying to get across. Overall, the book is nothing more than a collection of stories you can easily find in Economist. A better book for a quick intro and analysis of China's rise is The World is Flat, side by side is an analysis of India as a bonus...
Could have been at least 100 pages shorter.......2007-07-15
A lot of insights from the book but at the same time a lot of non-insights.
The book covers the movement of Chinese people from the farms to the cities and the attitude towards rapid modernization including piracy. However, you cannot FEEL it from first person point of view. You feel very detached reading the book.
It could have been more straight to the point and a lot of pages bored me.
The Tom Wolfe of China.......2007-05-24
This a kaleidoscopic view of the most dynamic country today on the planet. Sit down, strap up, and read the Electric Kool Aid Acid Test of the 21st Century. For a harder analytical edge, read my own volume The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won
Please blame everything on China, is this a new trend to cover up American "disastrous" foreign policy? .......2007-05-11
So with all due respect:
1) If China is so bad, don't do business there, no one is forcing you
2) All American CEO who deals with China are unpatriotic Americans
3) All American CEO who outsource to China and India are immoral capitalist
4) All American CEO who deal with China should pay a fine or go to Jail. -But they are not! And as matter of facts, they are getting big bonuses.
5) Don't blame the Chinese, they are providing a service (cheap) but American consumers and executives are the ones knocking on their doors.
6) You can't have both ways; you can't try to use cheap labor in 3rd world countries and then turn around and point fingers at the people you are doing business with.
7) Stop bringing up the WWII theory on some of these comments, just because the USA fought and won WWI -which is GREAT! It does not mean the USA is correct FOREVER...common sense.
Excellent reference background............2007-04-11
My team at work does a lot of business with China and after one of the engineers read the book, we ordered about 15 copies for the entire department to read, we felt it was so worthwhile!
Book Description
It is well known that with a population of 1.3 billion people, China's market is moving quickly toward surpassing those of North America and Europe combined. Companies from the United States and around the globe are flocking there to buy, sell, manufacture, and create new products. But as former Wall Street Journal China bureau chief turned successful corporate executive James McGregor explains, business in China is conducted with a lot of subterfuge -- nothing is as it seems and nothing about doing business in China is easy.
Destined to become the bible for business people in China, One Billion Customers shows how to navigate the often treacherous waters of Chinese deal-making. Brilliantly written by an author who has lived in China for nearly two decades, the book reveals indispensable, street-smart strategies, tactics, and lessons for succeeding in the world's fastest growing consumer market.
Foreign companies rightly fear that Chinese partners, customers, or suppliers will steal their technology or trade secrets or simply pick their pockets. Testy relations between China's Communist leaders and the United States and other democracies can trap foreign companies in a political crossfire. McGregor has seen or experienced it all, and now he shares his insights into how China really works.
One Billion Customers maximizes the expansive knowledge of a respected journalist, well-known businessman, and ultimate China insider, offering compelling narratives of personalities, business deals, and lessons learned -- from Morgan Stanley's creation of a joint-venture Chinese investment bank to the pleasure dome of a smuggler whose $6 billion operation demonstrates how corruption greases the wheels of Chinese commerce. With nearly 100 strategies for conducting business in China, this unprecedented account combines practical lessons with the story of China's remarkable rise to power.
Download Description
"It is well known that with a population of 1.3 billion people, China's market is moving quickly toward surpassing those of North America and Europe combined. Companies from the United States and around the globe are flocking there to buy, sell, manufacture, and create new products. But as former Wall Street Journal China bureau chief turned successful corporate executive James McGregor explains, business in China is conducted with a lot of subterfuge -- nothing is as it seems and nothing about doing business in China is easy. Destined to become the bible for business people in China, One Billion Customers shows how to navigate the often treacherous waters of Chinese deal-making. Brilliantly written by an author who has lived in China for nearly two decades, the book reveals indispensable, street-smart strategies, tactics, and lessons for succeeding in the world's fastest growing consumer market. Foreign companies rightly fear that Chinese partners, customers, or suppliers will steal their technology or trade secrets or simply pick their pockets. Testy relations between China's Communist leaders and the United States and other democracies can trap foreign companies in a political crossfire. McGregor has seen or experienced it all, and now he shares his insights into how China really works. One Billion Customers maximizes the expansive knowledge of a respected journalist, well-known businessman, and ultimate China insider, offering compelling narratives of personalities, business deals, and lessons learned -- from Morgan Stanley's creation of a joint-venture Chinese investment bank to the pleasure dome of a smuggler whose $6 billion operation demonstrates how corruption greases the wheels of Chinese commerce. With nearly 100 strategies for conducting business in China, this unprecedented account combines practical lessons with the story of China's remarkable rise to power. "
Customer Reviews:
Plane reading enroute to China...should be on all flights to PRC.......2007-07-15
James MacGegor has lived the ongoing business evolution in China personally. Drinking jia pi (draft beer)outside of the JianGuo Hotel on his fortieth birthday,he could see evidence of the volitivity of that evolution. To the west, on the face of the SCITE Building were the pock marked bullets holes ,reminders of June 1989. The JianGuo was serving fois gras and competing with Maxim's for customers and to the east ;the beginnings of the third and fourth ring road extension were being buildt .
He has seen and lived this explosive ,volitile growth personally, and has captured the important ,basic "do's and don't when in china" in this book .
In the 21st century, all businesses from Paris to Dundee to Peoria to Osaka need to deal with the reality of the China manufaturing platform. A company will either be a partner or competitor with China ---little in between; and the knowledge in this book is a good starting point in dealing with this worldwide paradigm shift called China
A Business with China Must Read.......2007-06-07
Mr McGregor has a unique insight into the psyche of Chinese Entrepreneurs, Managers, Workers, and most importantly the "Powers that be" within the Government of China. His case studies of how things can go right as well as how things can go wrong provide the reader with a great road map as what TO do and what NOT to do while conducting business in China.
Excellent reference book for doing business with the soon to be biggest economy of the world.
Doing Business in China.......2007-05-08
This is a very good book to give you a general overview of business practices in China. I had to buy it since it was required for one of my MBA classes and I did enjoy reading it.
Insights into how modern China functions.......2007-04-06
This book is interesting and easily readable. A series of significant business ventures are described in enough detail to understand, but with the main focus on the forces that drive the events. The book helps the reader to see business ventures in China from the Chinese point of view. It seems to be written for senior executives that may be contemplating the establishment of business ventures in China. It will be interesting and useful also to readers who invest in Chinese companies or mutual funds, as well as to anyone who would like to understand more about how modern China functions.
The author, who speaks Mandarin, and who was previously the China Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, is well connected at senior levels in Chinese business, political and media circles. He is able to gain insights and learn details about how and why things happen or do not happen in China. For example, Chinese government officials avoid individual responsibility for decisions, preferring the political safety of group decisions, so it is vital for western business people to establish relationships with more than one senior official. Each chapter ends with a short summary of lessons to be learned from the experiences of others doing business in China.
Excellent Primer for Westerner's Negotiating in China.......2007-03-24
Great insight into the Chinese mindset and value matrix, with a disected case study of the Morgan Stanley-CICC first investment bank that reads like a flowchart in avoiding trouble.
Also some interesting tidbits on China-US politics, who the author thinks had a good grasp on Int'l policy and who sold the US out.
Book Description
From The New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Vulcans, an exploration of Chinese authoritarianism and Western capitalism
In The China Fantasy, bestselling author James Mann examines the evolution of American policy toward China and asks, Does it make sense? What are our ideas and hidden assumptions about China? In this vigorous look at China's political evolution and its future, Mann explores two scenarios popular among the policy elite. The Soothing Scenario contends that the successful spread of capitalism will gradually bring about a development of democratic institutions, free elections, independent judiciary, and a progressive human rights policy. In the Upheaval Scenario, the contradictions in Chinese society between rich and poor, between cities and the countryside, and between the openness of the economy and the unyielding Leninist system will eventually lead to a revolution, chaos, or collapse.
Against this backdrop, Mann poses a third scenario and asks, What will happen if Chinese capitalism continues to evolve and expand but the government fails to liberalize? What then and why should this third scenario matter to Americans? Mann explores this alternate possibility and—in this must-read book for anyone interested in international politics—offers a startling vision of our future with China that will have a profound impact for decades to come.
Customer Reviews:
stretched out magazine article, but some excellent information.......2007-09-04
I have read over a dozen books on China recently, and Mann goes into detail on one important aspect that no one else mentions: how our own government officials are being bought out and corrupted by China. He names names and dollar figures on the many American political leaders who have left office and gone directly onto the payroll of China as 'consultants' paid to use their US govt contacts to made introductions. No wonder our government is unwilling to take action re China's hold on our Treasury Bills and economy as a strategic threat or do something about all their predatory economic practices. For example, their economic miracle is based on undercutting the prices of their competition - but China has falsely set their currency exchange rate below actual market values. We complain and do nothing. Why? Could it be because every China expert in the State department retires and becomes a consultant in the pay of China? Some famous names who now work for China as 'consultants' - Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, Clinton's national security advisor Sandy Berger, William Cohen (Clinton's defense secretary), Republican Carla Hills (the US Trade Rep), REpublican Brent Snowcroft (national security advisor to Bush senior).
Other than this very interesting insight, I found Mann is a lazy researcher and this books largely reads like a padded magazine article. He tends to make assertions without going into the facts in enough detail to make them persuasive -even when he is correct. For example, he mentions China's harmful role in international politics, but doesn't give the actual stories - that they are the suppliers of missile technology to Iran for example, and are aggressively pursuing oil stakes in the Middle East by arming every despotic regime that more responsible nations are shunning.
If the thesis of China becoming neither democractic nor falling apart interests you, there is a highly intelligent in-depth analysis called China's Trapped Transition. The Limits of Developmental Autocracy.
Good for Chinese to understand American policy.......2007-09-04
I like reading articles of James Mann at Los Angeles Times, and this book gives me more understanding of American policy towards China.
Recently, the mayor of Pasadena, California used almost exact words as James quoted in his book to respond to the criticism by the human rights groups for his invitation of Beijing "Olympic float" in Rose Parade 2008.
I wish that Mr. Mann could have also commented on a new wave of movement in China of denouncing Chinese communist party which was trigured by an article in Epoch Times, "Nine Commentaries on Communist Party".
This book is high recommended.
serious food for thought.......2007-08-25
Mann's worry of an enduring repressive Chinese Communist Party leadership is well supported by his arguments and analysis. It is a must read for anybody with serious long-term interest in China.
My quibble is Mann's simplistic usage of the term democracy. I wish James had dived deeper into what he exactly means by "a democratic China". Even if China were embracing democracy today, it is a *tremendous* challenge to implement a democracy at China's scale and under the current somewhat fervent social conditions.
Concise Analysis of China's Future Direction.......2007-08-05
Author James Mann served as Bureau Chief for the LA Times in Beijing, China from 1984-87. With the China Olympics coming, this book is a timely, concise (112 pages), anlaysis of why we should beware the myth that commerce will eventually lead to political change and democracy in China from one who has lived there. Mann (The Rise of the Vulcans) has hit another homerun!
An extremely rationalized opinion without substance.......2007-06-23
This book begins by stating:
"This is not a book about China itself. It is about the China I have encountered outside of China."
And it delivers just that: after rationalizing "the views of China that prevail in Washington and the other leading capitals of Europe and Asia and in corporate headquarters around the globe" in just 144 pages, we are told that the single most important thing that Western decision-makers should do is push for democracy in China.
Indeed, you get the impression that the author cannot bear for China not to have an American-style democracy for a single day.
Is there anything new in his message? Absolutely not because every American knows that democracy is the most wonderful ideal for mankind.
But should we abandon other forms of engagement with China and simply tell the Chinese leadership, every time we meet them, that they should implement democracy immediately? Absolutely not because it is simply a recipe for disaster not only for the Chinese themselves but also for the world.
Read Roger Osborne's book Civilization: A New History of the Western World, you will understand why "the fundamental western belief that there are rational ways of organising the world which will bring benefit to all has been at the root of every human-made catastrophe that has overtaken us; yet many of us still believe that we have a bounden duty to bring our simplistic, universalizing, 'progressive' systems of government, economics, education, policing, judiciary and morals to every part of every society on the planet. The uncomfortable truth we need to face is that this belief is as dangerous to humanity as military conquest."
So, The China Fantasy is a cheap book offering a cheap message.
To begin to develop a sense of how we might move forward together with China, I recommend Will Hutton's The Writing on the Wall, which will give you a lot of useful background knowledge on both China and America. But above all, it demonstrates why a bilateral approach is so crucial to our policies toward China.
Book Description
C. Fred Bergsten, Bates Gill, Nicholas R. Lardy and Derek Mitchell are the principal authors of this investigative analysis, full of new information and perspectives on China, the result of a year-long task force jointly sponsored by CSIS and IIE, to which distinguished China experts have contributed. It is accessible, narrative-driven, filled with facts, but written for the general reader. The expert judgments presented in China: The Balance Sheet will inform policymakers in Washington, scholars and the business community for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Little, No Credibility!.......2007-01-11
Pg. 4: "China's average wage is one-thirtieth of the U.S. and its average productivity level is equally lower (and wages, in any event account for only 20% of the cost of producing textiles and 5% of the cost of producing semiconductors)." If so, manufacturers that offshore in China would be stupid; alternatively, "China: The Balance Sheet" has a serious credibility problem. I go with the latter.
Nonetheless, this is still some value to the book for its statistics. For example, the authors believe China's foreign exchange reserves reached $1 trillion in '06, far more than any other country's, and probably more than enough to make serious improvement in its pollution and poverty problems. By 2050, China's economy is projected to be the world's largest; foreign investment only accounts for 5% of its capital growth - the Chinese savings rate of about 33% is more than enough to handle China's growth with money left over.
As for social services, "The Balance Sheet" asserts a mid-90's adult literacy rate of about 80% (vs. 50% in India) and graduates 800,000 scientists and engineers/year, while spending only 2.8% of GDP on education. Healthcare accounts for about 6% - far less than the U.S.' 16%.
Only 16% of China's land is arable, and most of its population lives on it. China's leaders are pressured to improve employment to absorb those leaving rural China, as well as those 40% released from state-jobs (including 80% from state-owned manufacturers).
Bergsten et al are most concerned about the possibility of conflict between the U.S. and China re Taiwan, and they point out that China uses its political (U.N. Security Council membership) and economic muscle to "encourage" others to support it re Taiwan.
China Background.......2006-12-19
I haven't read this book but have read several others by Nick Lardy and studied with him at Yale. I disagee with several reviewers who characterize Nick and his colleagues as ignorant about China and are simply imposing a western view. Nick was studying China and the economy (in Chinese) long before it was a popular subject and is intimately familiar with the country's economy. In a country where data is often obscured by politics, he has done an excellent job of piecing together disparate facts to achieve a coherent whole. He may be skeptical, but he's often correct.
A book for politicians!.......2006-11-05
I find this book extremely dull because it is mainly made up of statements. But then I realise that, written by government think tanks, this book is for politicians.
If you are a general reader and want to understand how China is affecting the world, I recommend China Shakes the World or China Inc. And if are interested in the recent history of China (pre-1978), read Wild Swans.
If you are a business person and want to understand how to do business in China, I recommend The China Executive by Dr Wei Wang.
Another American type of arrogance.......2006-10-27
I can't agree with . Shih "M.Smith"'s review even more. I just can't stand the arrogance tone shown in this book. I got a feeling that the authors simply don't like the progress in China. It seems like the authors are simply trying to minimizing the progress China made and relishing the problems China has.
I seriously doubt the authors ever read any Chinese sources or talk to any Chinese scholar. The authors seem to imply that if the Chinese to follow the American way, then they will never succeed. True, China has a tons of problems. But the Chinese leaders and Chinese people are trying their best to solve them. What annoys me is that some of these authors seem to relish over the fact that China has so many problems
You won't get that much new info about China in this book. Yea, China has tons of problems. Who doesn't know. The authors are trying to answer the most complex questions of China with simplistic answers.
Typical American bias.......2006-10-26
Well, what can I say about this book? With a due respect to the authors, it's the same usual American bias toward developing countries. As an American living and working in China for the past 2 years:
1)It's hard for Americans/Westerners to understand how business is done in China? Well, my answer it's because China is NOT in the West and Chinese people are not westerners. Try learning the language first, be respectful, and don't be so obnoxious.
2)This is the same background noise that I hear from overeducated ideologues: If a country is not like the US, then it must be wrong. I guess the Chinese should have a 4th world healthcare system like the US?
3)I personally feel that some authors wish China to stay poor so Madonna can have a concert there and pretend that the rich countries care. Well, maybe Africa, but not China.
4)Just because you watch CNN, FOX, and NBC, it does not make you an expert.
5)Just because you went to an Ivy League school, it does not make you a genius about other countries and cultures. As matter of fact, it does not make you a genius (period)
6)US should comment less on China and worry about the pointless war in Iraq, the death of our soldiers for a pointless cause, broken US healthcare, outsourcing of the American jobs, broken borders, broken education system, children killing each other at schools...and the list goes on.
7)China has many societal problems; please tell me something I don't know. China is working on it, it takes time, and they are not magicians.
8)If China is so awful please don't do business there nor go visit there. For the fact that there are SO many foreign investments there, makes all business executives and companies from the West idiots.
Book Description
Since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002, China is now officially fully open for business and may soon be the biggest economy in the world. No one in, or embarking upon, a managerial career can afford to ignore a market that comprises one-fifth of the world's population. Doing Business in China is essential reading for the manager or firm setting up a business for the first time in this vital and complex market. Aimed specifically at Western and non-Chinese businesses and managers, this book offers a general framework for understanding Chinese business culture along with a guide for acquiring further knowledge on China.
This text is a practical guide to business practices, market conditions, negotiations, organizations, networks and the business environment in China. Alongside summaries of theoretical research, Doing Business in China provides a perceptual toolkit which will enable the businessperson or student to do business in China and apply that knowledge back in the West.
Building on the strengths of the first edition, this new second edition is fully updated to include new case studies as well as discussion of China's entry into the WTO . It is an invaluable resource for students of international business and management, and practitioners alike.
Download Description
This book is a general introduction to managing business ent
Customer Reviews:
How to do the business in China ?.......2002-10-26
Doing business in China!
Relation, Relation And Relation....
If you are using your American or European style to work and even partner with China's firms, you must be failure in the end.
Relationship with the Government and officials are the major concerns when you stepping into the door of China.
Think Global and hire Local Chinese people is the only way to have the final success with your partner in China.
China means: " Always in the historical culture "
So don't think about China with your American Standard !
Try to learn with your local Chinese people (doer)
Anyway, China is opened now and also needed to face the ways for WTO ! Reckon, China can learn from their European and American business partners from today.
This book is essential to appreciating the Chinese psyche..........2001-11-29
Particularly impressive is the author's approach at presenting the Chinese thought process in such a manner that Westerners can not only understand the Chinese psyche, but respect and learn from it as well. This book was perhaps one of the most enlightening books I have read in a while. There is a a concerted effort to show business protocol and potential avenues of entry, but more importantly this book addresses the fundamental social concepts that need to be FULLY understood before attempting to grow in China.
authorative and insightful.......2000-09-04
Of the vast number of books about China, this one is a very useful account of how successfully doing business in China. Western Managers at the forefront in China should read this book which brings together a lifetime of research and practice on China.
Book Description
The 50th title in the HBR paperback series highlights what every company must know to successfully enter and compete in the world’s fastest-growing economy
The potential opportunity in China is huge: it is home to a quarter of the world’s population, domestic consumer spending in China is growing by up to 10% a year, and relaxed regulatory restraints have opened China up to unprecedented levels of foreign investment.
This book will help multinational corporations and the managers who work in them understand the implications of China’s current stage of development and develop strategies for effectively competing in this environment.
Customer Reviews:
Havard Business Review.......2007-10-17
The collection seems dated; while several of the articles are helpful, the remaining bulk are consequently more misleading.
An excelent reading in my business trips.......2007-07-08
I have been in china for business trips over 7 times and I always use this reading during the air trip(many hours from Puerto Rico to China (22 hours).
And always find something new to apply to my visits for negotiations from this book.
Humberto Torres
Puerto Rico
Must do reading.......2007-02-18
This is a great complitation of HBR articles on China. A must do reading for anyone seriously interested in doing business in China
Typical HBR compilation..........2006-12-27
The articles are, in sum, quite dated and general. Nothing leading edge here as the content is published through the HBS grist mill that greatly enhances the publishing record of their faculty but adds little of current value.
Nevertheless, for the beginner in China, there is some knowledge here, but, again, keep in mind that the business environment in China moves fast and the information here was several years outdated when published.
Good but isolated perspectives.......2006-11-05
Like other HBR articles, the articles in this collection on Doing Business in China are well written and presented, with each examining a particular issue in a fairly coherent way.
However, as they are written by different authors, there is an inevitable lack of cohesion among the articles. For example, in article "Entering China: An Unconventional Approach" (pages 105-121), author Vanhonacker argues that since "Chinese companies...typically have a more immediate interest in profits than foreign investors do," "joint ventures do not offer foreign companies what they need to succeed in China." Yet, in article "Trouble in Paradise" (pages 141-161), authors Xin and Pucik present a case study, where the dilemma faced by the American general manager is such that while his US-based boss wants him to improve the joint venture's profitability from a 4% ROI to a 20% ROI, the Chinese deputy general manager wants to grow the joint venture by acquiring another local Chinese enterprise!
In my experience, the scenarios presented in the two articles are pretty academic because the reality is much more messy than that and hardly rests on such a simple black/white trade-off. Indeed, we now know that the China challenge is multifaceted. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an integrated framework that distills what it takes to succeed in China (how to think as well as what to do) by running a central, balanced theme across all these perspectives.
It is fair to say that although eight useful articles are put together in one volume, this book lacks the above mentioned central theme.
To find such a central theme, you will have to read Dr Wei Wang's The China Executive: Marrying Western and Chinese Strengths to Generate Profitability from Your Investment in China. In it, you will find a road map to business success in 21st-century China.
Customer Reviews:
Too Simple a View on A Complex Subject.......2007-10-20
I closed this book on the paradoxes of business in China wanting to know more. The book is quite accessible and not a difficult read about a difficult society for this Westerner to understand.
I was troubled by frequent references to Chinese policies as being 'amoral'. Amoral sounds better to me than immoral. The United States 'stands for morality' and regularly sets aside public values for political and economic interests. At least China is open about its attitude toward convenient deals.
I went clothes shopping last weekend and found myself really looking at the "made in" labels. I decided not to purchase anything made in China. That would increase our national debt and trade imbalance with the PRC. It was extremely difficult to find anything NOT made in China. And, to top that, the clothing items were department store, medium to upscale items. I could only imagine the scale of the profits between the laborer and the purchaser.
Informative, simplistic wake-up call.......2007-10-10
There is a great deal of useful and important information presented by the author. I did find him repeating certain information more than once in the book. I understand this is sometimes done to bring continuity to an argument but I found it to be a little overdone. His straight-forward writing style is easy to read and follow which, while a bit simplistic, makes the book accessible to a very wide audience. Additionally, while the author points out the many problems China's exploding industrialization is bringing to the world he offers very few solutions. The solutions that are presented are relegated to the last chapter with little detail.
In spite of these things it is critically important that the information in this publication get out to as many people as possible. I highly recommend this book as a wake-up call to the world.
Very Very bad.......2007-10-07
The book makes the most bad cases for the sake of sounding coherent.
Only people who think that America is being oppressed will like this book.
Not saying that there are no Environmental problems from China. Which country is the one that is still the world's leading polluter. The one that I'm in: USA.
Bad book. What a waste of time.
Simplistic and exaggerating.......2007-10-04
This book is written for the American far-rightists: it's preachy rhetoric of protectionist policies is a sure-fire sign to stay away.
China should be looked at objectively. There are positives and negatives to China's current policies; but hey, this isn't any different from US policies as well. If this kind of a book came out about the United States, I'd bet the same people praising this book would come out denouncing that one as destructive and evil.
As for this one, I suggest passing on it. There are many books and documentaries that better chronicle China's ascendancy to becoming a global superpower and the subsequent problems that accompany this transition. The world must learn to embrace China and its change, and not become scared off by it, because this will only encourage recoil and reaction. This author's dialogue is dangerous for Sino-US relations.
Eye-opening!.......2007-08-20
This book will give you a look at China you probably did not know. Other books you might have read praised China for its economic growth; but at what cost? The author will show you the evil side of China.
According to the author, China is using slaves. Some corrupt organizations are employing unpaid workers, satisfying them only with food and shelter. When such `slaves' try to rebel, asking for wages to be paid, they are quickly quieted down by corrupt police. The police also sometimes hire gangsters to threaten and scare these `slaves'. Over the past decade, the number of protests and riots in China has risen to nearly 100,000 annually. People are being pushed beyond tolerance as the Chinese countryside becomes a slave labor camp and dumping ground for every imaginable pollutant. The peasantry is being sucked dry by government tax collectors. Corrupt local government officials seize land on behalf of developers, pocket the monies that are supposed to compensate villagers, and then enlist local gangsters to quell protests. In the big cities, unpaid construction workers leap to their deaths in protest of wages that go unpaid. Furthermore, the Chinese government imposes few health and safety or environmental regulations on its corporations. What rules do exist are only weakly enforced, evaded, or simply ignored. These events might ignite an internal war within China; within its own people. After all, as the Chinese know well, it takes only a spark to ignite a field.
China has become the world's largest pirate nation. Chinese modern buccaneers, with the strong support of their government, are not just stealing software and Hollywood movies on DVDs. They are counterfeiting the entire alphabet of goods--from air conditioners, automobiles, brake pads, razors, refrigerators, and the world's most recognizable pharmaceuticals such as Lipitor and Viagra. This is posing grave health risks to hundreds of millions of people. The author asks the reader to consider the following: Your father almost dies from a massive heart attack because the "Lipitor" prescription he filled on the Internet was laced with Chinese fakes; and your mother breaks her hip because the phony medication she took for osteoporosis was nothing more than molded Chinese chalk. Counterfeit drugs kill people! Even Harry Potter novels are counterfeit. In one counterfeit version, Harry Potter gets turned into a fat dwarf! Furthermore, we've all heard of laptop batteries exploding. Those batteries were manufactured in China. China is destroying the global intellectual property law protections vitally needed to spur innovation, and is costing international corporations billions of dollars in lost revenue per year due to piracy. Is this fair? Should the world do nothing about this?
China has now emerged as one of the world's biggest dope dealers, exporting cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and Ecstasy worldwide. As a result, China's banking system is becoming an important hub for global money laundering. Americans are dying and committing crimes as a result of Chinese made hard drugs. The Chinese government knows about the drug manufacturing and trafficking, but overlooks this problem. Should the world stay quiet and nonreactive as tons and tons of Chinese illicit drugs are dumped worldwide?
With claim to 16 of the world's 20 dirtiest cities in the world, China is now the most polluted nation on Earth, with its toxic emissions now spreading well beyond its borders. Already, most Chinese cities make Los Angeles look like a Swiss village. Dust storms regularly rise up from China to the Mongolian desert and blanket Korea and Japan with tons upon tons of toxics-laden dust. Chinese smog regularly hitchhikes along the jet stream, and descends thousands of miles away in big cities such as Los Angeles and Vancouver and to pristine towns such as Aspen. With its coal plants and rapidly multiplying automobile fleet, China will soon eclipse the United States as the single largest contributor to global warming.
China has almost 100 cities with more than a million people each, and fully two thirds of these large Chinese cities fail to meet World Health Organization air-quality standards. China is the world leader in the sulfur-dioxide emissions--a key ingredient of photochemical smog. Smog kills by attacking both the heart and lungs. China produces the second highest CO2 emissions in the world, and it will surpass the world-leading United States over the next several decades. Furthermore, China releases 600 tons of mercury into the air annually, nearly a fourth of the world's non-natural emissions. Mercury is particularly harmful to the nervous system. China is also the world leader in substances that deplete the world's ozone layer--substances that also increase the likelihoods of cancer and acid rain, which severely damages forests, fisheries, and crops. As much as 50% of the acid rain in Japan and Korea is of Chinese origin. How should the world face this growing environmental problem that is affecting the whole globe?
China shipped ballistic missiles, sophisticated weaponry, naval cruisers, and transferred nuclear weapons technologies to the Iranian regime, used its diplomatic veto in the United Nations to sanction genocide in the Sudan, and facilitated the looting of public treasuries by dictators in oil- and mineral-rich African countries from Angola to Zimbabwe. From Brazil, Cuba, and Venezuela to Equatorial Guinea and the Ivory Coast, China dangles lavish, low-interest loans and sophisticated weapons systems as bait. It then uses its "weapons of mass construction''--a huge army of engineers and laborers--to build everything; from roads and dams to parliament buildings and palaces. After these countries are driven ever deeper into China's debt, China's quid pro quo is the rapid extraction of the country's raw materials--Bolivian tin, Chilean copper, Cuban nickel, Congolese cobalt, gold from Sierra Leone, Rwandan tungsten, and the vast mineral wealth of South Africa. As China's `new colonies' transfer billions in bribes to their Swiss bank accounts, the peasants these despots rule over slide ever deeper into poverty. Should the world take action and stop China from its imperialist motives?
China is the dam-happiest place on Earth. With far too little water and far too much of that water horribly polluted, and the once-mighty Yellow River dry for more than 200 days a year, China is facing a severe water problem. Already angry farmers pit against encroaching industrialists, millions of displaced 'peasants with pitchforks' against corrupt government officials, and downstream versus upstream provinces. China is constructing mega-dams on the Mekong River despite the strong protests of the downstream countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Will these disputes drag into a war with its neighboring countries that might pull the rest of the world into another World War?
Who hasn't heard of `The China Price'? They are the three scariest words in U. S. industry. Cut your price at least 30% or lose your customers. China's undervalued currency encourages undervalued Chinese exports to the U.S. and discourages U.S. exports because U.S. exports are artificially overvalued. Is this fair? Should the U.S. stand idle or take action against China on this outrage?
China uses an old Soviet base of operations in Cuba to eavesdrop electronically on the United States for both military and commercial espionage purposes. Equally troubling to U.S. defense analysts, China is helping Brazil develop sophisticated satellite and satellite-tracking technologies. Such capabilities can be used to track U.S. satellites and, in time of war, could assist China in destroying U.S. military satellites out of the skies. China has already successfully knocked-off one of its satellites in space by firing a missile at it. Is this a sign of an imminent war with China?
China might force Japan to become nuclear and arm itself, creating a nuclear hot zone in the area, with North Korea already a nuclear nation. Are we on the verge of a nuclear war?
This is really a fascinating book and I highly recommend it. But as a side note, replace all of the words `China' with `United States' in this review and ask yourself, "Is China an evil nation or are all nations just as evil?"
Book Description
The prevailing view of China is that the country is an economic juggernaut sure to become the dominant power of the twenty-first century. In this provocative and stimulating book critically acclaimed author Will Hutton warns instead that China is running up against a set of daunting challenges from within its own political and economic system that could well derail its rise, leading to a massive shock to the global economy. The United States, he argues, must recognize that it has a vital stake in working to assure this doesn't happen, for if China's political liberalization and economic growth collapse, the United States will suffer crippling consequences.
In today's highly globalized world economy, so much of the economic health of the United States -- our low inflation, high profits, and cheap credit -- rests upon China's economic growth and its massive investment in the United States. A great deal has been said about the economic and military threat China poses. But rather than provoking China with the military hawkishness of recent years and resisting Chinese economic supremacy with the saber rattling of protectionist antitrade policies -- twenty such bills have been introduced in Congress in just the last year -- the United States must build a strong relationship that will foster China's transition from an antiquated Communist state beset with profound problems to a fully modern, enlightened, and open society. Doing so will require understanding and engagement, not enmity and suspicion.
China's current economic model, Hutton explains, is unsustainable, premised as it is on the myriad contradictions and dysfunctions of an authoritarian state attempting to control an economy in its transition to capitalism. If the twenty-first century is to be the China century, the Chinese will have to embrace the features o
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In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India
China The Balance Sheet: What the World Needs to Know Now About the Emerging Superpower (Institute International Econom)
The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won
The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy
China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise
