THE BOOK (Written by Houghton Mifflin)
From the politics of censorship to the outsourcing of American jobs, items about China blanket the media every day. China's emergence on the world stage has been building for the past few decades, and the shock waves of its awakening are clearly felt across the globe. But what explains China's dramatic, unprecedented rise — and how much longer can it continue?
China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future — and the Challenge for America, by James Kynge, is a powerful and unique look at the people and politics behind China's burgeoning influence on the United States and around the globe. Kynge, the former China bureau chief of the Financial Times, examines China's current successes and problems, how its transformation — for better or worse — affects Americans right now, and what the future will hold for China and the United States.
The power of the Chinese people is an undeniable force: The country's hunger for jobs, raw materials, energy sources, and food, along with its export of goods, workers, and investments, is drastically reshaping world trade and politics. Kynge uncovers the surprising ways this explosion of growth is intertwined with our politics, our health, and our economies — essentially our entire lives. From China's work force gobbling up American factories in the Midwest to an industrial boom spreading pollution to American shores, China's actions halfway around the world have immediate impact here at home. And while China's economy is no house of cards, not all of its economic graphs point up. Kynge forecasts a bleak future for both China and the United States if China doesn't address her many internal weaknesses, from appalling environmental conditions to murky banking systems to inept government institutions.
Kynge also gives us remarkable personal stories of ordinary citizens at the center of this new revolution. Liu Chuanzhi, a survivor of the Cultural Revolution and chairman of Lenovo, which recently bought IBM's PC division, and Yin Mingshan, an ex-convict and former bookseller who built China's first and most successful motorcycle company, are examples of the extraordinary Chinese entrepreneurs driving the nation forward. But intertwined with these success stories are those of unfortunates like Qi Yuling, a peasant girl whose identity was stolen by her friend's wealthy father, depriving her of a university education, robbing her of a future. Qi's story speaks to other weaknesses China faces: the breakdown of social trust and the corruption and fraud practiced by peasant farmers and the highest government officials alike.
An expert and lively account of China's presence on the global stage, China Shakes the World provides a completely new perspective on the China we think we know. Kynge shows clearly how and why China has become so influential in nearly every aspect of our lives, and perhaps, more importantly, how the future of global politics, economies, ecosystems, and more depend upon the precarious relationship between our two nations.
THE AUTHOR (written by Houghton Mifflin)
A journalist in Asia for two decades, James Kynge was the China bureau chief of the Financial Times until 2005. During his tenure at the Financial Times, and as a Reuters reporter before that, Kynge covered many significant events in the region from the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing in 1989 to the China-Taiwan missile crisis of 1996, and Taiwan's first presidential election. Fluent in Mandarin, he has visited every Chinese province and is the recipient of numerous journalism awards.
Kynge has spoken at the World Economic Forum and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and has appeared on CNN, the BBC, and National Public Radio. Based in Beijing, he currently works as a chief representative of the Pearson Group, promoting its business interests throughout China.