China shakes the world: a titan's breakneck rise and troubled future and the challenge for America

“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. Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world. Napoleons words seem eerily prescient today, as the shock waves from Chinas 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 Chinas 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, Kynges 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 Chinas 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 Chinas breakneck rise occurred, the extraordinary problems the country now faces, and the consequences of both for the twenty-first century. Cover......Page 1 Copyright page......Page 8 Contents......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction......Page 15 1 Rags to Riches......Page 23 2 The Future Is the Past (Except When It Isn't)......Page 45 3 The Population Paradox: Innovation, Piracy, and the Grail of Market Share......Page 67 4 The Ties That Bind: China Goes to Europe......Page 95 5 America Bought and Sold: Acquiring Technology for a Great Leap Forward......Page 123 6 Not Enough to Go Around: Natural Resources and Environmental Catastrophe......Page 151 7 The Collapse of Social Trust......Page 179 8 Communism vs. Democracy......Page 205 9 Can We Be Friends?......Page 235 1 Rags to Riches......Page 265 2 The Future Is the Past (Except When It Isn't)......Page 266 4 The Ties That Bind: China Goes to Europe......Page 267 5 America Bought and Sold: Acquiring Technology for a Great Leap Forward......Page 268 6 Not Enough to Go Around: Natural Resources and Environmental Catastrophe......Page 269 8 Communism vs. Democracy......Page 271 9 Can We Be Friends?......Page 272 Bibliography......Page 275 B......Page 279 C......Page 280 D......Page 281 F......Page 282 G......Page 283 J......Page 284 M......Page 285 P......Page 287 R......Page 288 S......Page 289 T......Page 290 W......Page 291 Z......Page 292 Journalist Kynge traces the shock waves from Beijing to Tuscany to the Midwest as China's hunger for jobs, raw materials, energy, and food--and its export of goods, workers, and investments--drastically reshape world trade and politics. As we become increasingly dependent on China's products and markets, the slightest change in the Chinese economy quickly reaches us. Drawing on his years in the country and his fluency in Mandarin, Kynge probes beyond the statistics to unearth the reasons for China's explosive growth. He sounds the alarm as China's systemic weaknesses--rampant fraud, crippling environmental crises, corrupt banking systems, faltering government institutions--threaten greater global disruptions. Through stories of entrepreneurs and visionaries, factory workers and store clerks at the center of it all, Kynge explains how this spectacular change occurred--how it affects our jobs, our communities, and our local department stores--and what it will mean for the twenty-first century.--From publisher description An account by the former China bureau chief for the Financial Times analyzes China's economic rise and its impact on global affairs, assessing China's weaknesses--environmental pollution, crisis in social trust, weak financial system, and faltering government institutions--in terms of their disruptive effects on the world. Reprint. Shows the extraordinary rise of the Chinese economy and what the future holds as China influences the world. Showing the rise then fall of China's economic status, now once again on the increase, its re-emergence is only just starting to be felt. Explains in depth China's weaknesses and how they would be felt around the world. Rags To Riches -- The Future Is The Past (except When It Isn't) -- The Population Paradox -- The Ties That Bind -- America Bought And Sold -- Not Enough To Go Around -- The Collapse Of Social Trust -- Communism Vs. Democracy -- Can We Be Friends? James Kynge. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 253-256) And Index.