The China Dream: The Quest for the Last Great Untapped Market on Earth

Book Description
In the 1990s, China astounded the world with double-digit annual growth rates while attracting over $300 billion in foreign investment capital -- an amount greater than any other country received in this period, except the United States. Politicians, economists, and business leaders the world over hailed China's astonishing achievement and foresaw a future for the juggernaut nation to develop into the world's largest economy within a generation, creating a market for goods and services that would dwarf all others. In The China Dream, acclaimed business journalist Joe Studwell takes to task these predictions -- and instead foresees an economic crisis. He argues that since the days of Marco Polo Western nations have seen the vast population of the Middle Kingdom as a fantastic opportunity for expanding trade, investing time and resources again and again in the hope of developing it, only to see, century after century, its economy crash and their dreams turn to dust. Studwell traces the most recent developments in China, from Deng Xiaoping's "liberalization" of its market in the 1980s and the opening of its economy to foreign investment in the 1990s, and sees the end of the cycle coming around once more. In his rigorous analysis of the Chinese economy, government, and culture, Studwell also shows the roadblocks to the continuation of its unprecedented expansion and why its economy is destined to stall once more -- but this time, harder than ever before, and with potentially catastrophic results that will be felt around the world. Provocative, flawlessly researched, and endlessly engaging, The China Dream is a book that will have the business and political worlds talking about what's really going on in China -- and what we can do to prepare for the coming crisis.

From Publishers Weekly
For more than 2,000 years, China's enormous population has tempted export merchants and investors from around the world.In the 1990s, over $300 billion in foreign investment capital poured into China and expensive efforts were undertaken to sell such goods as airplanes, luxury retail items, beer and cheap cars. With very few exceptions, these ventures were disastrous, beginning with attempts dating from Roman times (the author does allow there was some success during the first T'ang dynasty [A.D. 618-907], but even this was accompanied by periodic massacres of foreign merchants). Political leaders, international agencies and analysts have also been misled many times by the apparently unlimited opportunities in China. While this observation is not entirely novel, it has never before been argued so forcefully and with such extensive, solid documentation. Studwell, one of the most respected business journalists covering China, does not expect things to get better; he predicts a full-blown economic and political crisis for China and does not expect even that to wash away the basic cultural factors that make the domestic Chinese market so impervious to foreign penetration. Lacking only recommendations for a Chinese recovery, this book is a well-written, informative introduction to business in China, albeit from a relentlessly downbeat perspective.

From Library Journal
As a writer on foreign investment in China for the Economist Intelligence Unit and founder and editor in chief of the China Economic Quarterly, Studwell has numerous stories to tell about American and European businesses in China and especially about how they overspent in pursuit of the "dream" of making it big in China. This book is not a comprehensive account of international business ventures in China, but it does reveal significant negative aspects of China trade that Western businesses consistently fail to remember. That is, while China is able to develop as a global manufacturing base, it does not have a strong consumer economy. That businesses continue to be overwhelmed and undercompensated by the China market has inspired Studwell to reiterate that real economic progress requires fundamental change. Studwell does not go as far as, for example, Gordon Chang, whose The Coming Collapse of China predicts that the Chinese Communist Party will fall from power within a decade. But both Chang and Studwell point out that World Trade Organization membership will not have a significant impact on China's domestic economy. Recommended for libraries with general international business collections. Peggy Spitzer Christoff, Library of Congress

From Booklist
Studwell has written about foreign investment in China for six years as contributing editor to the Economist and is founder and editor in chief of the China Economic Quarterly. His detailed account of the many attempts to capitalize on "the last big market in the world," where for ages foreign interests have had their eyes on the buying power of China's masses, if only they could figure out how to get them to purchase their products, is an excellent examination of the political and economic history of China, fascinating and mostly unknown to Westerners. In the 1990s, the "China gold rush" went to unprecedented levels, but as usual there seemed to be more capital to invest than deals to be had. In the end the Asian "economic miracle" toppled in the crisis of 1997-98. Still, foreign investors to this day want to believe that dreams do come true, and China's export business, at least, has shown tremendous growth. Given the complexity of his subject matter, Studwell's prose is remarkably engaging. Expect this to become the standard reference on the topic.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　David Siegfried

Book Dimension :
length: (cm)21.4 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)18.4