Customer Reviews
Ideas from China's leading political theorists - By: Dennis Littrell, 30 Apr 2008 
To get a perspective on what some Chinese political theorists are thinking, consider this. While Westerners "anguish" about how to manage China's rise, Chinese think-tankers debate about "how to manage the West's decline"! Wang Yiwei, from Fudan University, shares this worry, & asks, "How can we prevent the USA from declining too quickly?" (pp. 115-116)
What this book attempts to provide is a Chinese perspective on the rise of China & its place in the world as it has grown from a largely agrarian society in the days of Mao to a superpower of the 21st century. To do this, Mark Leonard, who wrote "Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century," traveled in China & interviewed many of China's leading thinkers on politics & economics. A number of these scholars have advanced degrees from American universities. They have taken Western ideas back to China & incorporated them into traditional Chinese ways of thinking, consistent with the dictates of the ruling Communist Party. Leonard shows that within this unique political culture there have arisen various points of view, from the "New Right" of, e.g., Zhang Weiying, to the "New Left" of, e.g., Wang Hui, from ideas about the "peaceful rise" of China to notions more in keeping with the thinking of the so-callled "neo-comms." Part of the debate is about the use of military power, part of it is about how to influence other countries, & part of it is about how to manage its own people.
Since Deng Xiaoping opted for a market economy within the political dictatorship, the growth of China has been extraordinary. But with this growth have come problems: pollution, growing economic inequalities, the yearning for political democracy, & the infusion (perhaps one might even say the "invasion") of ideas foreign & inimical to the perceived interests of the communist state. To fight the disagreeable ideas from without, the government has trained "an e-police force of 100,000 people employed to scour the net, blocking sites & checking e-mails."
Leonard alllows that this number may be exaggerated, but the point is clear: China wants to modernize, & to do so, must learn from the West, but at the same time it must not alllow Western ideas to ferment dissention at home. Just how this delicate tightrope walk works in the public forums for China's leading thinkers is part of what makes this book interesting.
The "New Right" which led the change from Mao's soviet style economy to what the Chinese calll "Yellow River Capitalism," which ushered in the gargantuan economic growth, has come under fire from various quarters, including the "New Left" which unlike the "old left" supports market reforms. However, as Wang Hui sees it, "China is caught between the two extremes of misguided socialism & crony capitalism...."He adds, "We must not give total priority to GDP growth to the exclusion of worker's rights & the environment." (p. 33) "Princeling" Pan Yue (as some of the privileged & talented members of the younger Chinese generation are callled) "has talked of `China's environmental suicide,' & in an interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, predicted that `China's economic miracle will end soon because the environment can no longer keep pace.'" (p. 42-43)
Cui Zhiyuan, who is professor of Politics & Public Management at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, sees Chinese politics in Machiavellian terms: "For Machiavelli power was not divided between two levels: the state & the people. Florentine politics was split between three groups, the prince (the `one'), the nobles (the `few') & the people (the `many'). In today's China, the `one' is the Communist Party, the `few' are the super-rich, & the `many' are the people." (p. 47)
There have been some experiments in "deliberative democracy" at the village level to alllow some input into central party decisions. The Chinese have learned from the experience of the Soviet Union that ignorance of what people at the grass roots level think can lead to not just inefficiency but to disaster. However this token gesture toward political reform is not likely to replace the "deliberative dictatorship" that current holds sway. Nonetheless, "The government seems to realize that developing institutional ways of dealing with grievances can make the state more stable." (p. 74)
I think this last point is one that we in the West & especiallly in the United States need to understand. For most people in the world the first responsibility of the state is to provide security & stability. After that perhaps political freedom can evolve. China, learning from the failed Soviet experiment, has put economic reform first & political reform later.
In international relationships, China is trying to develop "soft power" as a means to further its interests. The US, until the recent rise of George W. Bush & the neocons, exemplified the use of soft power to influence others through its culture & its economic strength. China wants to avoid the recent mistakes of the US such as invading other countries & is pursuing a policy of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other nations. Unfortunately it is also indiscriminately supporting dictators such as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Leonard asserts that "China will never be supportive of multi-party elections & human rights: why would it promote rights for foreigners that it denies to its own citizens?" (p. 126)
Leonard provides a "Dramatis Personae" near the end of the book identifying some of China's leading political & economic thinkers. There are endnotes & an index. All things considered, this is a good, albeit short, introduction to contemporary Chinese political thinking.
Economic success at what cost? - By: J. Taylor, 27 Apr 2008 I found this book in many ways an eye opener. China is portrayed as a bit of a dark horse, acheiving wealth & power as the result of very carefully thought out rationale. The methods China has used to achieve success is possibly the most interesting aspect of this book, which is an examination of Chinese politics & the global consequences.
I applaude the authors balanced arguements, despite his self confessed opinion that Europe will prevail enventuallly (see his previous book.)I found it a disturbing read, (as a non religious person), to observe the achievements of a non religous state putting human rights &
the environment as an after thought. The European concept of interdependance to regulate selfish interest would appear to be a morallly
superior secular arrangement.
The author makes the valid point that a sudden change to democracy would create many problems itself, it is interesting to entertain the idea that autocracy can compete. However, this is unlikely to endear the reader to such a prospect.
The thing that prevented this book from getting five stars was the neglect of the issue of population. After the boom came the single child policy, what does China think about pensions? (Not mentioned) This book, however, remains a sound, if brief introduction to a completely different way of working a society.
An important and beautifully written book on China! - By: A cross-cultural trainer, 24 Apr 2008 
"Since the time when French & British missionaries first travelled to the East, the West has focused on what it wanted from China - & how to convert the Chinese to a Western way of life. People wrongly assumed that as China grew richer, it would also become more like us."
If you want to know what future the Chinese are dreaming of for their country, or the world it is shaping, read this very concise & enjoyable book.
Argueably the most accessible & current work on where China is heading - which is principallly dependent upon what China thinks rather than what the West thinks.
First-class book; highly recommended.
To understand China from a business point of view, I also recommend The China Executive.
