The Consumer Revolution in Urban China (Studies on China) Review

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The Consumer Revolution in Urban China (Studies on China) ReviewThere are some definite highs and lows in Deborah Davis' book (lows being the very first chapter on housing developments and an entire chapter devoted to greeting cards), but the book gives a very in-depth analysis of the effects rapid consumption in urban areas has had on the daily life of urban Chinese citizens. Davis selects essays that show changes in culture, like the essays regarding McDonald's, discos, and bowling. Davis even shows us consumption patterns in the more marginal cultures of China. For instance, there is an essay devoted to the Hui (an Islamic minority in China) wedding tradition. Since rapid consumption has happened in China, these Hui women are starting to wear more Western-style wedding dresses. These dresses greatly resemble the dresses we see everywhere in America, with the exception that the Hui women's dresses are brighter in color (coral, pink, red).
Davis also devotes much of the book to showing changes in eating traditions. One chapter on outdoor food markets explains the shady side of economics in China. Food vendors will cheat Chinese so much that some Chinese will bring their own scales to weigh the food. Also, in the chapter dealing with the influx of McDonald's into urban China, we can see that the push for modernity can sometimes win over Chinese tradition. For instance, some people will go into McDonald's and just sit by the window so they can have a sense of superiority over the people walking by on the street. Many Chinese people don't even like the food at McDonald's, but feel the need to go to express their modernity.
Davis' book shows us many different effects of the consumer revolution, both good and bad. I recommend this book for anyone interested in studying China. Just don't get discouraged when you come across a dry chapter!The Consumer Revolution in Urban China (Studies on China) Overview

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China Transformed: Historical Change And The Limits Of European Experience Review

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China Transformed: Historical Change And The Limits Of European Experience ReviewThis interesting book is an attempt to look at Chinese history in an unbiased manner. Professor Wong notes correctly that interpretations of many scholars are distorted by judging Chinese history by its deviations from what is presumed to be the normative, or desired, course of development. The normative standards, of course, are derived from European history. Wong makes the very good point that using European history in this way is damaging not only to the study of Chinese history but also imposes distortions on the study of European history. Wong is concerned particularly with examining Chinese economic development and state formation. This book covers a very wide sweep of Chinese history, roughly from the Ming to contemporary China. The book is divided into 3 components; one comparing China and Europe in the pre-industrial period of the 17th and 18th centuries, one looking at the response of the Chinese state and society to the great challenges of the 19th century, and one looking at the response of the Chinese state and society to social unrest. The first third of the book is the best. The analysis of pre-industrial China is really interesting and Wong makes a set of very interesting points. He demonstrates well that the economic differences between China and pre-industrial Europe have been exaggerated. He then examines the unique character of the Chinese state. Again, the comparison with European political development is illuminating. This section achieves Wong's goal of treating Chinese history as an autonomous phenomenon but maintaining a useful comparative perspective. The second part of the book is quite good and the discussion of the problems faced by the 19th century Chinese state and its responses is interesting. Again, there are interesting comparisons with European states. The final section is the least interesting. It adds little to carrying forward Wong's basic project of establishing the autonomy of studying Chinese history. Indeed, I see little that departs from prior conventional interpretations. This section in particular suffers also from Wong's attempt to cover such a broad range of Chinese history and at times has a superficial quality. Wong is generally a clear writer but sometimes slips into what might be called post-modernist academic jargon. For example, the narrative (used to mean analysis) appears often, as does discourse (ditto), and privilege appears as a verb. This is not a major defect but is irritating.China Transformed: Historical Change And The Limits Of European Experience Overview

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Living With Reform: China Since 1989 (Global History of the Present) Review

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Living With Reform: China Since 1989 (Global History of the Present) ReviewCheek covers a number of trends in a way that's acceptable, and accessible to anyone interested in China's recent economic transformations. Clear writing style that avoids the cliche's of the popular press and the myopia of some other scholarly writers-Living With Reform: China Since 1989 (Global History of the Present) Overview

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Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World's Prosperity Depends on It Review

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Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World's Prosperity Depends on It ReviewI have been interested in China since 1998 when a good friend married a Chinese national and encouraged me to visit and make up my own mind about the Middle Kingdom. I have read 15 books about China and visited three times in the last 14 months. Zachary Karabell is the first author to put together a comprehensive historical and financial framework that explains what has been going on in China for the last twenty years with on-the-ground personal experiences and portfolio management insights from his several years as running a successful China mutual fund. He explains how Kentucky Fried Chicken, Avon and Federal Express achieved success but I was more interested in his not-as-well known company examples which included [...], [...], China Life Insurance, and Huawei Technologies.
Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms in China have been going on for thirty years. Everywhere I went and talked to young Chinese (through an interpreter who spoke Mandarin) they mentioned Deng's remarks "to be rich is to be glorious" and "Black cat, white cat, what does it matter as long as it catches mice?" The well educated twenty to thirty-five year old Chinese men (and women) know that the 21st century is their century. These "Chuppies" - Chinese yuppies - were everywhere in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Their internet phones and laptops were ubiquitous and more advanced than mine. The only thing I did not understand was the fascination with massively multi-player online role-playing games in internet cafes.
My only quibble is that the term "Chimerica" (which was coined by Niall Ferguson) would have worked better in the title instead of "Superfusion".
I highly recommend this book. Also, if you haven't been to Asia, go to Hong Kong and Shanghai. Those skylines with their new 100 story buildings put New York City to shame.
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The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China Review

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The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China ReviewThe Ming dynasty in China does not receive much attention since it mostly lacks the bloodshed or philosophical grandeur of the Qing, the Tang or the Han. Brook is one of the leading authorities on this era, and this book is, I believe, his most accessible. Beginning with documents written late in the dynasty, Brook shows how the elite of that time feared the collapse of the imagined golden past into what was then considered an immorally secular present. The massive economic changes in the globe in this era (14th to 17th centuries) changed the Chinese society and the Confucian elites place in it. Obviously less exciting to laymen than his work on Tiananmen, 1989, this is a clear book for students who have a general grasp of Chinese history and want to begin to grab details without losing the easy flow found in well written introductory books.The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China Overview

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globalization: n. the irrational fear that someone in China will take your job Review

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globalization: n. the irrational fear that someone in China will take your job ReviewThis book provides a thought-provoking summary and analysis of the economics of globalization. It is a quick read and the authors don't intend to provide substantial depth, but it is refreshing as one of the few texts willing to argue that globalization is not only not new, but not worth all the angst it has generated.
The authors' thesis: much of the fear associated with globalization is misplaced, because there is much more local control over economic success than either pro or anti-globalizers are willing to acknowledge. Or as they title one of their chapters: "Countries Control Their Fates." They support this thesis with an analysis of the factors they believe underlie the economic success of China, India and other successful developing countries. They emphasize sustained increases in productivity growth brought about by continuous improvement in efficiency--akin to what the Japanese term kaizen (though they don't call it that). They reject the projections by economist Alan Blinder and others that offshoring may threaten tens of millions of US jobs.
Subsequent chapters analyze trends in employment, wages, and a theory of the firm that concludes that local dominance, supported by a keen knowledge of local consumers and markets, is the way to profit. They correctly note that business formulas often do not translate from one culture to another (remember WalMart's failures abroad) and that an irony of globalization is that markets generally become even more competitive as they become global, reducing profits to firms stuck in commodity businesses. Their analysis of employment data are compelling.
The most valuable chapter in the text is Chapter 6, which analyzes the challenges that befall the country that happens to issue the global reserve currency, now the US dollar. This is the best short explanation anywhere of the process by which this country initially benefits but is likely to eventually face the challenge of chronic current account deficits. Their suggested solution is worth considering.
I'm glad I read the book, but it is minimally successful at dispelling anxiety about the rise of China as a manufacturing power. Their explanation of the country's success is too simplistic, and will do nothing to dissuade anti-globalizers who believe-with justification-that low wages, lack of regulation, cheap capital and poor working conditions fueled the country's boom years, enticing manufacturers away from high wage countries in the process. (See Huang's Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics for a provocative analysis of China's economic transformation). But their arguments that competition in services is less likely than Blinder and others believe are more persuasive.
And a major omission of the text is its failure to even mention energy. Sustained increases in the price of oil eventually will blunt trade in goods.
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Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures--and Yours Review

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Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures--and Yours ReviewThis is a curious book, not really about entrepreneurship but rather about a broad range of cultural, social, historical and economic subjects involving and contrasting China and India, from 1.5 billion village dwellers to urbanites in Beijing and Mumbai. Tarun Khanna's text is part travelogue, part reflection, part history and part speculation about the future. Anyone who has read to any depth about China and India will not find all that much that is surprising here. However, getAbstract recommends this book with enthusiasm because of its nearly unique richness of anecdotes, variety of perspectives, color and range.Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures--and Yours Overview

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Paths to Development in Asia: South Korea, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia Review

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Paths to Development in Asia: South Korea, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia ReviewWhy have some states been more successful at facilitating rapid economic growth than others? "Paths to Development in Asia" compares the experiences of Korea, Indonesia, China, and Vietnam to help provide answers. Many had thought that the end of the Soviet Union meant that the states' role would now be greatly limited. Instead, it turned out that in developing Asian nations, controlled mobilization and suppression of the populace had a positive effect on state cohesion and subsequent economic development, while mass incorporation (democracy) and laissez-faire policies did not. Vu also points out that the 'big-bang' mode has been the prevalent mechanism of state formation in recent years - a mode that facilitates wholesale change.

Vu's examination begins with South Korea. Vu contends that several elements helped create a foundation of strong societal cohesion in Korea prior to its economic rise. One of the first was that both prior to and after the Korean War, the populations of both South and North Korea tended to sort themselves out - supporters of Kim Il Sung went north, while those favoring Rhee stayed or went South. Syngman Rhee, South Korea's first leader after the end of WWII, had initiated land reform in that nation over the 1949-54 period. Peasants were required to pay landlords in installments for land received, a requirement that the Korean Communist Party opposed. In return, Rhee violently suppressed that opposition group, and others. Prior to Rhee, the Japanese had built a cadre of efficient officials and a large police force to replace the corrupt, inefficient monarchy that had existed. The Japanese had also aligned themselves with wealthy Korean entrepreneurs using subsidies, loans, contracts, and strict controls over workers - providing a history of stable industry and work relations. Rhee's government had also used propaganda and coercion to eg. get peasants to replace thatched roofs with composition or tile (eliminate a major fire hazard) - laggards had their roofs torn off by local officials. Rhee's resignation, however, was forced by student protests over 1960 election violence, fueled by the preceding rapid expansion of its education system, and a declining economy. General Park then seized power, declared martial law, and dissolved the National Assembly - leaving himself solely in charge with little/no viable opposition force.

Rhee had contributed decisively to building a unified development structure, but failed to use it to pursue development. The country was in economic decline - lagging even North Korea. General Park seized power after Rhee's abdication, declared martial law, and dissolved the National Assembly - leaving himself solely in charge with little/no opposition force. However, Park was still facing that same spectre of economic decline, as well as potential rivals in the military. Thus, he quickly proceeded to use the nation's cohesion to focus on building South Korea's economy.

Switching to China, Vu observes that when Mao declared the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he had a cohesive core of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders already well imbued with the 'correct line,' plus a loyal four million-man military. CCP administrative power extended down to the village level, and its strength so impressed Stalin that he provided Soviet aid (men, materials, money). Campaigns against 'anti-revolutionaries' and former loyalist followers of Chiang Kai Shek further unified the society. Then came land-reform cooperatives (resisted at first) which eventually seemed to further unify the peasants and destroy opposing elites, but left smoldering resentment.

Mao then made three more successive major errors that undermined cohesion. First came the 1957 campaign ('Let 1,000 flowers bloom') that was supposed to allow mild criticisms of government leaders; when the criticisms turned into an unexpected torrent, Mao's 'Anti-Rightist' campaign followed - again aimed at solidifying support. Mao's 'Great Leap Forward' followed in 1958, and was his next major mistake, directly responsible for an estimated 20 million deaths due to starvation and the loss of Soviet support (they thought he was 'crazy'). Mao's fourth major error was launching the Cultural Revolution' (1965-68) to stomp out thinking resentful of CCP leadership up to that point. Mao's death in 1976 left a populace highly resentful of CCP leadership to-date; that leadership, in turn, realized that it needed to quickly implement economic improvement to stay in power. Their first act was to free the peasants from major government dictates (what to grow, etc.), as well as the requirements and limitations of communal living and farming. These steps quickly eliminated a major source of peasant discontent and boosted food supplies (a major concern for the entire nation). Soon after came the leaders' decision to continue linking CCP officials' career paths to performance - only now it would be that of their area's economic progress. China had again become unified, cohesive, and ready for major change.

Similarly, with other Asian nations, per Vu's accounting. He also points out instances when Asian nations' ability to grow was limited by lack of unity - India (a number of castes, multiple political parties) offers a prime example.

Summarizing, Vu concludes that "all states are not born equally - some are better endowed with cohesive structures" than others. However, he also quotes Chalmers Johnson's observation that though authoritarianism is the most common regime type, it rarely is accompanied by high-speed, equitable economic growth. Apparently, cohesion is a necessary but not sufficient requirement.Paths to Development in Asia: South Korea, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia Overview

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Praying for Power: Buddhism and the Formation of Gentry Society in Late-Ming China (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph) Review

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Praying for Power: Buddhism and the Formation of Gentry Society in Late-Ming China (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph) ReviewThis is not a book for those new to Chinese studies. While Brook's Confusions of Pleasure and Quelling the People are both written to be easily understandable, this book grew out of his Harvard dissertation and, though fascinating, is not readily accessible to everyone. Those familiar with Ming or ancient world history will know of the monetization of the world economy in the 1500's due to massive amounts of precious metals coming from the Spanish New World.
Much of this money flowed into China, 'freeing' wealth from land ownership and allowing merchants to become truly powerful in China for the first time. The gentry, the level of Chinese society that controlled land and society through the law, symbolic support of cultural keystones and government service, were suddenly in competition with merchants' sons for these bureaucratic posts that defined a large portion of their self-image. Brook's book looks at the mid- to late-Ming defense of status undertaken by the gentry through support of the Sangha, or Buddhist church.
Their monopoly on education, government service and wealth undermined, the gentry connected themselves to 'the people' through the support of the Sangha and to each other through cultivation of artistic tastes. While Craig Clunas is the expert on the latter phenomenon, Brook explains the former in this book. Exploring the gentry culture, dispelling ideas of conflicts between Confucianism and Buddhism and summarizing huge socioeconomic shifts in China, Brook has written an important book. Any reader who has read through the long sentences and generalizations in this review can make it through Brook's work, which is no more unclear and is far more interesting than my review. All those versed in basic history and interested in social shifts should read this work, but those trying to begin a study of China or of the Ming should not begin with this complicated work.Praying for Power: Buddhism and the Formation of Gentry Society in Late-Ming China (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph) Overview

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China in Africa: Partner, Competitor or Hegemon? (African Arguments) Review

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China in Africa: Partner, Competitor or Hegemon (African Arguments) ReviewThis book contains a wealth of information concerning: China's new foreign policy towards Africa; the perceptions (both positive and negative) of the Africans towards the Chinese and their activities in the region; the current tendency of African nations to turn their support away from the U.S. and the West and towards China; and Western reactions to Chinese involvement in Africa.

This is a relatively short book (136 pages) that is easily read and understood. In my opinion it is very balanced in its presentation of the topic - not making a judgment of whether increased involvement in Africa by China is a positive or negative trend, but simply stating the facts as the author sees them.
Highly recommend this book for anyone looking for detailed information about China's increasing involvement in Africa.
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Hommel: China at Work (Paper) Review

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Hommel: China at Work (Paper) ReviewHello Dover Publications: republish this! (or MIT Press).
China at Work: An illustrated Record of the Primitive Industries of China's Masses, Whose Life is Toil, and Thus an Account of Chinese Civilization. Originally 1937; 366pp; $3.95 [oh those incredible 1970s prices . . . ]
Pre-industrial Chinese tools. Photographs said to be sometimes fuzzy but always readable. Includes tool-making tools and descriptions of how to make and use all. Nothing was wasted, especially metal; stress on how to use recycled materials. Examples:
- Firewood cleaver with piece projecting at top which prevents the blade from striking ground, making chopping block unnecessary.
- Bellows with feathers used as gasket to seal piston. Pumps on both push and pull strokes, producing a nearly constant air output.Hommel: China at Work (Paper) Overview

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The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us Review

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The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us ReviewI have read a number of books in the last 6-9 months that deal specifically with the economic rise by China and correlating threat for the US ("China Shakes the World" comes to mind). "The World Is Flat" also is in the same vein.
In "The Elephant and the Dragon" (245 pages), Robyn Meredith, a Hong Kong-based journalist for Forbes magazine, does an excellent job setting the table of what is going on these days in China (some of it was a repeat for me) and also in India, which I am less familiar with, and hence that peaked my interest. Meredith makes the point that "It is easy to see why India has not yet attracted many new factories. India's developing-world infrastructure prevents companies from exporting their goods cheaply and quickly." The author also demonstrates how "Creating vast numbers of jobs for India's poor is critical, literally a matter of life and death". The environmental problems of China (but also India) are well documented. Observes the author: "China already has environmental regulations on its books. But it is less zealous about protecting its air and water than about protecting economic growth."
The real pay-off for this book, however, comes in the lsat chapter, "A Catalyst for Competitiveness", in which the author addresses the challenges for the US head-on, and then makes a number of suggestions. The author demonstrates in a clear fashion how disastrous it would be for China to reevaluate its currency by 20-40 percent (or for the US to slap an import duty on that magnitude on Chinese imports), and that even if it happened, it would have little impact on the US job market, and furthermore how Americans are directly benefitting from the cheaper Chinese currency. Meredith dryly observes that of course we wouldn't be dealing with this, if consumers simply stopped shopping at Walmart (which, incidentally, as a single company imports more from China than all of Canada COMBINED.) Here is the author's bottom line: "[W]hat the United States must do is clear: it must strengthen its educational and economic foundations and foster the innovation that will keep the United Staes ahead in the technology that underpins so many parts of the nation's culture and the global economy". The author then expands on that in the book's final pages. Must-read!
I can only hope our policy makers in Washington and elsewhere are reading this book, and start acting in the best economic interest of our country, rather than acting out of short term elections-driven positioning! Because of the impending impact all of this will have on today's youth, this book should be required reading for all high school seniors and for college kids. Highly recommended!The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us Overview

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The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future Of Our Economy, Energy, And Environment Review

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The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future Of Our Economy, Energy, And Environment ReviewThere are a limited number of good books that cover this very important topic - the relationship between population size, resource scarcity, and the competition that ensues from this struggle. And when this "struggle for existence" is tied together with major advances in medicine and relative world peace; the effect has been low fertility rates in democratic countries, people living much longer lives, and an unprecedented world wide population surge. Without what had been the traditional population checks in place (war, disease, and famine) the consequences will be devastating. The first person to have achieved any understanding of, and notoriety for articulating, this reality was Rev. Thomas Malthus with his, An Essay on the Principle of Population (Oxford World's Classics). And that was first published in 1798! The complete and total lack of those in political power to develop mechanisms to deal with this problem is the single greatest tragedy to befall the civilized world. Now, I simply said that to say this: Chris Martenson's book, The Crash Course, is the best book pertaining to this dilemma I have ever (yes, ever) read - and the most important book published since Garrett Hardin's, Living within Limits: Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos, or Jared Diamond's, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: Revised Edition. I believe this for two primary reasons. First, everything I read in this book is factually accurate, sincerely delivered, and vitally important. Secondly, and what is honestly more important, the presentation is magnificent. Perhaps it is from Dr. Martenson's experience with developing the material, and making presentations over the years, but as Randy Olsen pointed out in, Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style, presentation is (practically) everything. Here are some great quotes (from just the first twenty pages!):
- "In truth, our predicament goes far deeper than even these recent, disquieting economic events might suggest. It's time to face the facts: A dangerous convergence of unsustainable trends in the economy, energy, and the environment will make the "twenty-teens" one of the most challenging decades ever. The Crash Course explains this predicament and provides sufficient context to support the idea that it is well past time to begin preparing for a very different future."
- "The big story is this: The world has physical limits that we are already encountering, but our economy operates as if no physical limits exist. Our economy requires growth. I don't mean that growth is "required" as if it's written in a legal document somewhere, but it is "required" in the sense that our economy only functions well when it's growing. With growth, jobs are created and debts can be serviced. Without growth, jobs, opportunities, and the ability to repay past debts simply and mysteriously disappear, causing pain and confusion...It is only when we assemble the challenges we find in the economy, energy, and the environment - which I call "the three E's" - into one spot that we can fully appreciate the true dimensions of our predicament. The next 20 years are going to be shaped by fundamental resource scarcity in ways that we have never experienced in history. The developed world is entering this race economically handicapped, with no one to blame but itself."
- "The mission of this book is larger than helping people build more resilience into their lives and portfolios. At our current pace, we are on track to leave behind more than a few predicaments for our children, as part of a substantially degraded world with fewer opportunities than we ourselves were granted. If we make the right choices from this point forward, we have the opportunity to leave a very different legacy. This is what The Crash Course is about - helping us to individually and collectively understand that our choices matter significantly and that the time to make the right choices is running dangerously short."
- "We cannot beat around the bush on this "third-rail" topic any longer: We need to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained. If we don't, then nature will do it for us, and not pleasantly, either. This means stabilizing world population in perpetuity, not only for a little while longer. We may not know what this stable level is just yet, and more study is certainly needed, especially in light of declining energy resources. But we should do everything we can to avoid badly overshooting the number of humans that can be sustainably supported on our planet while carelessly avoiding an examination of the role of petroleum in supporting those populations." (actually, this quote came from page 253)
- "To me, a world worth inheriting is one where the inhabitants are living within their economic and natural budgets. It is a stable world where people and businesses can plan for the future because they can trust what will be there when they arrive. It is a world in which the brittle architecture of our just-in-time food systems and businesses is replaced by robust, sustainable, locally focused operations. In this world worth inheriting, communities take on more responsibility for their destinies, and stronger and more fulfilling relationships develop among neighbors."
In sum, this book is a must-read for anyone who cares one iota about their own future. Everything everyone needs to know is in this one book. I really could go on-and-on extolling the benefits and advantages of this book - compared to others - but I won't. Some people just won't be convinced...and that's really their problem. I know that may sound harsh, but the fact is: it's time to get serious. Some further evidence can be found in: Nafeez Ahmed's, A User's Guide to the Crisis of Civilisation: And How to Save it, Ellen Brown's, Web of Debt, or John Greer's, The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age.The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future Of Our Economy, Energy, And Environment Overview

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Source Code China: The New Global Hub of IT (Information Technology) Outsourcing Review

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Source Code China: The New Global Hub of IT (Information Technology) Outsourcing ReviewI read this as an attempt to learn more about technology outsourcing in China. Source Code China by Cyrill Eltschinger explores how to take advantage of China's educated workforce. The books reads a lot like one of those "For Dummies" books. Topics are covered superficially with many generalities. The book fails to be a very interesting read or even an adequate reference for those looking to outsource in China. I wouldn't recommend this book.Source Code China: The New Global Hub of IT (Information Technology) Outsourcing Overview

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Heavy Storm and Gentle Breeze: A Memoir of China's Diplomacy Review

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Heavy Storm and Gentle Breeze: A Memoir of China's Diplomacy ReviewFew countries have a longer history of civilization than China. No other country looks to history in shaping its foreign polcy than China. In a rare public account of China's entanglements with the world, former foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan explains why China sees history as the mirror to the future. Presenting a close and personal account of various major diplomatic issues Tang writes in a gentle, but firm tone, how China dealt with Japan's former premier Koizumi's persistent and - to the Chinese - provocative visits to the Yasukuni Shrine which houses the memorial to the war dead including the war criminals of world War II. He shows the patient yet firm and restrained approach by the Chinese government that led to the eventual thaw in the chilly Sino-Japanese relationship. He also describes the Chinese position in maintaining peaceful means to the resolution to Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction in the face of a determined US-UK belligerence. The strong but restrained approach to the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia resulted in an apology from clinton and a US$28 million compensation. He describes the patient and cordial negotiations with Putin that resulted in resolving the territorial dispute with Russia over Heixiazi (Black Bear island). He also explains China's stand in the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan and their implications on nuclear proliferation. This is a rare and valuable book that any China watcher will want to read. In the light of a rising China and the discussions of US-China relationship today, it provides an insight that cannot and must not be overlooked.Heavy Storm and Gentle Breeze: A Memoir of China's Diplomacy Overview

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Becoming Your Own China Stock Guru: The Ultimate Investor's Guide to Profiting from China's Economic Boom Review

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Becoming Your Own China Stock Guru: The Ultimate Investor's Guide to Profiting from China's Economic Boom ReviewI do not recomment this book. I am coming from a biased view as I have a degree in East Asian Studies and have lived and traveled extensively throughout the region.
I was anticipating some juicy inside info on China, but instead got a pretty standard view that I could find pretty much anywhere. The author actually lists his favourite places to go in Beijing?!?! Is this a book on travel or investment? If it is the latter, it fails miserably.
Near the end of the book, Trippon does review some strategies for China which I found woefully inadequate. I am sure he does more in depth research, but he mentions that he only looks at 3 ratios for initial evaluation. What?!?!?
If you are serious about investing in China, read Robert Hsu's "China Fireworks". Also, dig deeper and find your info. If you would like a very general overview, then perhaps this book may be OK. Otherwise, save your money.Becoming Your Own China Stock Guru: The Ultimate Investor's Guide to Profiting from China's Economic Boom Overview

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Chinese Justice: Civil Dispute Resolution in Contemporary China Review

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Chinese Justice: Civil Dispute Resolution in Contemporary China ReviewThe editors carefully confine the discussion in the book to civil disputes in China. Largely left unsaid are political related cases. But within these parameters, the overall tone of the chapters is positive. In the large cities, we see that Chinese and foreign observers have seen an increasing professionalism of the judiciary. The World Bank that noted that for countries at China's level of per capita income, the amount of corruption in civil disputes is minimal. Though the book also says that corruption is indeed existent.
One cause of the impartial rendering of verdicts in many civil cases is that as China's economy expands internationally, cities and judges are more inclined to have verdicts respected overseas. This affects future business dealings by foreigners who might be wary of arbitration in a Chinese court.
The book does show that in rural areas, many several problems persist in civil disputes. The disputes are mostly between Chinese parties. And with foreign companies less likely to be involved in business in the countryside, international opinion is less of an inducement for change. Another factor is that experienced Chinese judges and lawyers from the cities are less inclined to move to small towns. So reforms in the cities take time to trickle down.Chinese Justice: Civil Dispute Resolution in Contemporary China Overview

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Six Myths that Hold Back America: And What America Can Learn from the Growth of China's Economy Review

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Six Myths that Hold Back America: And What America Can Learn from the Growth of China's Economy ReviewThis book doesn't hold back. The views challenge common economic claims - that China can 'cut off the spigot' to America, that America must rush to reduce debt - without resorting to cryptic formulas.
Takes some thinking to digest, but I can't fault the logic. Genuinely thought-provoking.Six Myths that Hold Back America: And What America Can Learn from the Growth of China's Economy Overview

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China and India: Prospects for Peace (Contemporary Asia in the World) Review

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China and India: Prospects for Peace (Contemporary Asia in the World) ReviewIn the last six decades China and India fell into war once (1962), and tottered on the edge five other times. No serious progress has been made on their underlying border dispute. The author believes that the two will not grow without additional conflict with each other, though hopefully it will not be military.
Half their labor forces (about 660,000) has to survive on what their owned/assigned farmland yields. Five decades ago both were reclusive, had comparable-sized economies ($239 billion for China in 1947, vs. $222 billion for India), and the world's two largest populations (536 million in China, 346 million in India). The lack of any strong personality available to fill the post-Mao leadership void left the CCP to focus instead on economic development to legitimize CCP leadership and provided an outlet for nationalism via economic development. Commercialization's increasing importance in China brought decentralization of economic authority to the provinces. The 1995 official visit of Taiwan's president to the U.S. led to belligerent proposals from China's military and Jiang's need to 'prove' his leadership via military exercises and missile salvos near Taiwan.
Natural labor force growth obliges China to create 55 million more jobs between 2010-2020, while India must add 316 million by 2045. About 54% of China's industrial output in 2007 was exported (and employed 75% of those in industry), compared to India's 28%.
The author sees continued growth in both nations creating competition in autos, agriculture, software, energy resources. Growing commercial ties will also pull states like Nepal out of India's sphere of influence; India's nuclear deal with the U.S. is viewed suspiciously in China, as is China's relationship with Pakistan viewed by Indians.China and India: Prospects for Peace (Contemporary Asia in the World) Overview

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Six Sizzling Markets: How to Profit from Investing in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, and Mexico Review

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Six Sizzling Markets: How to Profit from Investing in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, and Mexico ReviewWhile the outline for this book is intriguing, the content contained within is much less so. Setting investment ideas within a historical context is indeed a useful and necessary strategy, but unfortunately, in this book, neither the history nor the investment thinking bear sufficient depth to provoke any substantial thought. The pages contain the beginnings of insights, which lack even a modicum of elaboration, consequently becoming empty statements strung together in what might be better placed within a Powerpoint presentation. There is neither sufficient rigor for experts, nor adequate explanation for beginners. If the book were moderately priced, I might be a bit less harsh, but at $50, people thinking about buying this book might be much better served reading a few issues of the Economist.Six Sizzling Markets: How to Profit from Investing in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, and Mexico Overview

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