Do We Really Know China?

Do We Really Know China? PDF

Author: Iris Efthymiou-Egleton

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2016-06-23

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1514499762

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Different cultures and civilizations have different perception of a history context and ideas. The Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, Demosthenes, Aristotle, etc. shaped Western thought, Western logic and built our thought systems. Nowadays we need historical pluralism and to form a cohesive whole, especially in an increasingly multipolar world. It is said that Western people, from a European philosophical perspective, are only capable of addressing alternate philosophies using our own mindset. China historically saw its civilization as self-evident universal and did not feel the need to justify this in European terms. Despite the difficulties in comparing different cultures and civilizations, this text summarizes the influence between China and the West, Chinas soft power as well as the current situation of China and its way up the global ladder of power. The concept of Chineseness and the identity with the Sinosphere, a brief presentation of Chinas history, geopolitical influences, and industrial aspects, the foundation of Chinese thought, language and writing system as well as technological achievements, traditional medicine, arts, and cuisine are only some of the topics covered in the next pages. In addition more subjects are analyzed that provide an overview of the current global position of China, the countrys efforts for reform and global influence as well as its future potentials. These subjects dont fall far from discussing various economic and industrial facts like the integration of Chinese and European renewable energy markets, the made in China phenomenon, foreign policy, and the countrys position as a rising aid donor. After reading this book, it should become obvious that China sees herself as Chung-Kuo; that means the Middle Kingdom, the centre of the universe, and the worlds oldest culture and society. So one could say that this is what they are trying to do so they can make their country again the centre of todays world. But during their rise, which they characterize as peaceful, they need to maintain global balance and escape from potential unpleasant events, for example one could think of an analogy of US-China relations and the Thucydides trap. Its seems so far that all the odds are with them, their soft power in combination with political strategies, their ability to evolve and follow global trends in addition with a huge internal market brought China to its position today. But will China hold this place? Will the country rise to worlds number one, and in Chinas way to global dominance, are we expected to see any more reforms? It seems that all these are in the hands of the Chinese.

The Troubled Empire

The Troubled Empire PDF

Author: Timothy Brook

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2013-03-11

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0674072537

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The Mongol takeover in the 1270s changed the course of Chinese history. The Confucian empireÑa millennium and a half in the makingÑwas suddenly thrust under foreign occupation. What China had been before its reunification as the Yuan dynasty in 1279 was no longer what it would be in the future. Four centuries later, another wave of steppe invaders would replace the Ming dynasty with yet another foreign occupation. The Troubled Empire explores what happened to China between these two dramatic invasions. If anything defined the complex dynamics of this period, it was changes in the weather. Asia, like Europe, experienced a Little Ice Age, and as temperatures fell in the thirteenth century, Kublai Khan moved south into China. His Yuan dynasty collapsed in less than a century, but Mongol values lived on in Ming institutions. A second blast of cold in the 1630s, combined with drought, was more than the dynasty could stand, and the Ming fell to Manchu invaders. Against this backgroundÑthe first coherent ecological history of China in this periodÑTimothy Brook explores the growth of autocracy, social complexity, and commercialization, paying special attention to ChinaÕs incorporation into the larger South China Sea economy. These changes not only shaped what China would become but contributed to the formation of the early modern world.

Beijing Payback

Beijing Payback PDF

Author: Daniel Nieh

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2019-07-23

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0062886665

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“Propulsive. . . . Highly enjoyable. . . . It sets up a sequel, one that I very much look forward to reading.” —The New York Times Book Review A fresh, smart, and fast-paced revenge thriller about a college basketball player who discovers shocking truths about his family in the wake of his father’s murder Victor Li is devastated by his father’s murder, and shocked by a confessional letter he finds among his father’s things. In it, his father admits that he was never just a restaurateur—in fact he was part of a vast international crime syndicate that formed during China’s leanest communist years. Victor travels to Beijing, where he navigates his father’s secret criminal life, confronting decades-old grudges, violent spats, and a shocking new enterprise that the organization wants to undertake. Standing up against it is likely what got his father killed, but Victor remains undeterred. He enlists his growing network of allies and friends to finish what his father started, no matter the costs.

China's Economy

China's Economy PDF

Author: Arthur R. Kroeber

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-06-05

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0190946490

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China's economic growth has been revolutionary, and is the foundation of its increasingly prominent role in world affairs. It is the world's second biggest economy, the largest manufacturing and trading nation, the consumer of half the world's steel and coal, the biggest source of international tourists, and one of the most influential investors in developing countries from southeast Asia to Africa to Latin America. Multinational companies make billions of dollars in profits in China each year, while traders around the world shudder at every gyration of the country's unruly stock markets. Perhaps paradoxically, its capitalist economy is governed by an authoritarian Communist Party that shows no sign of loosening its grip. China is frequently in the news, whether because of trade disputes, the challenges of its Belt and Road initiative for global infrastructure, or its increasing military strength. China's political and technological challenges, created by a country whose political system and values differ dramatically from most of the other major world economies, creates uncertainty and even fear. China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know® is a concise introduction to the most astonishing economic and political story of the last three decades. Arthur Kroeber enhances our understanding of China's changes and their implications. Among the essential questions he answers are: How did China grow so fast for so long? Can it keep growing and still solve its problems of environmental damage, fast-rising debt and rampant corruption? How long can its vibrant economy co-exist with the repressive one-party state? How do China's changes affect the rest of the world? This thoroughly revised and updated second edition includes a comprehensive discussion of the origins and development of the US-China strategic rivalry, including Trump's trade war and the race for technological supremacy. It also explores the recent changes in China's political system, reflecting Xi Jinping's emergence as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. It includes insights on changes in China's financial sector, covering the rise and fall of the shadow banking sector, and China's increasing integration with global financial markets. And it covers China's rapid technological development and the rise of its global Internet champions such as Alibaba and Tencent.

Do We Really Know China?

Do We Really Know China? PDF

Author: Iris Efthymiou-egleton

Publisher:

Published: 2016-06-23

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 9781514499757

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Different cultures and civilizations have different perception of a history context and ideas. The Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, Demosthenes, Aristotle, etc. shaped Western thought, Western logic and built our thought systems. Nowadays we need historical pluralism and to form a cohesive whole, especially in an increasingly multipolar world. It is said that Western people, from a European philosophical perspective, are only capable of addressing alternate philosophies using our own mindset. China historically saw its civilization as self-evident universal and did not feel the need to justify this in European terms. Despite the difficulties in comparing different cultures and civilizations, this text summarizes the influence between China and the West, China?s soft power as well as the current situation of China and its way up the global ladder of power. The concept of Chineseness and the identity with the Sinosphere, a brief presentation of China?s history, geopolitical influences, and industrial aspects, the foundation of Chinese thought, language and writing system as well as technological achievements, traditional medicine, arts, and cuisine are only some of the topics covered in the next pages. In addition more subjects are analyzed that provide an overview of the current global position of China, the country?s efforts for reform and global influence as well as its future potentials. These subjects don?t fall far from discussing various economic and industrial facts like the integration of Chinese and European renewable energy markets, the ?made in China? phenomenon, foreign policy, and the country?s position as a rising aid donor. After reading this book, it should become obvious that China sees herself as Chung-Kuo; that means the Middle Kingdom, the centre of the universe, and the world?s oldest culture and society. So one could say that this is what they are trying to do so they can make their country again the centre of today?s world. But during their rise, which they characterize as peaceful, they need to maintain global balance and escape from potential unpleasant events, for example one could think of an analogy of US-China relations and the Thucydides trap. Its seems so far that all the odds are with them, their soft power in combination with political strategies, their ability to evolve and follow global trends in addition with a huge internal market brought China to its position today. But will China hold this place? Will the country rise to world?s number one, and in China?s way to global dominance, are we expected to see any more reforms? It seems that all these are in the hands of the Chinese.

China's Gilded Age

China's Gilded Age PDF

Author: Yuen Yuen Ang

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-05-28

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1108802389

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Why has China grown so fast for so long despite vast corruption? In China's Gilded Age, Yuen Yuen Ang maintains that all corruption is harmful, but not all types of corruption hurt growth. Ang unbundles corruption into four varieties: petty theft, grand theft, speed money, and access money. While the first three types impede growth, access money - elite exchanges of power and profit - cuts both ways: it stimulates investment and growth but produces serious risks for the economy and political system. Since market opening, corruption in China has evolved toward access money. Using a range of data sources, the author explains the evolution of Chinese corruption, how it differs from the West and other developing countries, and how Xi's anti-corruption campaign could affect growth and governance. In this formidable yet accessible book, Ang challenges one-dimensional measures of corruption. By unbundling the problem and adopting a comparative-historical lens, she reveals that the rise of capitalism was not accompanied by the eradication of corruption, but rather by its evolution from thuggery and theft to access money. In doing so, she changes the way we think about corruption and capitalism, not only in China but around the world.

Knowing China

Knowing China PDF

Author: Gregory C Chow

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2004-02-13

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9814483745

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' This invaluable book offers an insight into China through its history, culture, people, economy, education, science and technology, as well as government and political system. The author also compares the “twin” cities of Hong Kong and Shanghai, and describes places of interest in the world's most populous country. In addition, he offers a glimpse into the delicate China–US relations, highlighting partnership opportunities between the two giant economies. The book is based on the author's knowledge accumulated over five decades of research, teaching, traveling, directing projects on China, and working with Chinese government officials, educators, academics and entrepreneurs. Contents:Some Facets of China's HistoryCulture and Daily LifeThe EconomyThe Chinese PeopleEducation, Science and TechnologyGovernment System and PerformanceHong Kong and Shanghai: Two Modern CitiesA Country for TouristsUS–China Relations Readership: Undergraduates, graduate students, academics, business people and general readers. Keywords:China;Culture;History;Economy;US-China Relations;Tourists;Confucius;BeijingReviews:“Gregory Chow enlivens this authoritative and lucid survey of China — its history, its current condition, its future prospects — by drawing on his own experience as a native born Chinese who has spent more than half a century as an academic in the West and has been active in mainland China as teacher and advisor since the early 1980's.”Milton Friedman most influential economist in the last half century and recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences “I have read the manuscript by Gregory Chow on China with great interest. As one who is working in China, I find it most effective in its scope and depth and in its direct style. Generally I find it GREAT.”Robert Venturi most prominent architect and 1991 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate “Gregory Chow has once again written an excellent and very readable book on China, covering history, culture, population issues, governmental system, and other topics besides the economy. I strongly recommend the book to any one who wants a good introduction to China.”Gary Becker 1992 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences “China 's path of development is a fascinating story, and the future development of that immense country will touch people throughout the world. Gregory Chow gives us a thoughtful, authoritative, and readable book that will inform us and deepen our understanding of these portentous developments.”George P Shultz former U.S. Secretary of State “This is an excellent book. I enjoyed very much reading it and learned enormously from it.”Samuel C C Ting 1976 Nobel Laureate in Physics “I highly recommend this book. It will be an important addition to the library of readers interested in gaining valuable insights into a culture and economy that has only just begun to impact our nascent international order. During these times of commercial globalization and international political turmoil, Professor Chow's central message and reminder that the best way to understand another country is to keep in mind the other country's interests and needs, is an important one. There's an old Chinese expression that states that all long journeys must start with a first step: Professor Chow's book is an essential first step for anyone thinking about a short or long voyage to China.”Bryan Bachner Associate Professor of Law City University of Hong Kong “Written in a manner readily accessible by the general public, ‘Knowing China’ provides an insightful view into the complex world of China.”Futurecasts '

The World According to Xi

The World According to Xi PDF

Author: Kerry Brown

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-03-12

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1838609679

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China is now the most powerful country on earth. Its manufacturing underpins the world's economy; its military is growing at the fastest rate of any nation and its leader - Xi Jinping - is to set the pace and tone of world affairs for decades. In 2017 Xi Jinping became part of the constitution - an honour not seen since Chairman Mao. Here, China expert Kerry Brown guides us through the world according to Xi: his plans to make China the most powerful country on earth and to eradicate poverty for its citizens. In this captivating book we discover Xi's beliefs, how he thinks about communism, and how far he is willing to go to defend it.

The Long Game

The Long Game PDF

Author: Rush Doshi

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-06-11

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 0197527876

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For more than a century, no US adversary or coalition of adversaries - not Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, or the Soviet Union - has ever reached sixty percent of US GDP. China is the sole exception, and it is fast emerging into a global superpower that could rival, if not eclipse, the United States. What does China want, does it have a grand strategy to achieve it, and what should the United States do about it? In The Long Game, Rush Doshi draws from a rich base of Chinese primary sources, including decades worth of party documents, leaked materials, memoirs by party leaders, and a careful analysis of China's conduct to provide a history of China's grand strategy since the end of the Cold War. Taking readers behind the Party's closed doors, he uncovers Beijing's long, methodical game to displace America from its hegemonic position in both the East Asia regional and global orders through three sequential "strategies of displacement." Beginning in the 1980s, China focused for two decades on "hiding capabilities and biding time." After the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, it became more assertive regionally, following a policy of "actively accomplishing something." Finally, in the aftermath populist elections of 2016, China shifted to an even more aggressive strategy for undermining US hegemony, adopting the phrase "great changes unseen in century." After charting how China's long game has evolved, Doshi offers a comprehensive yet asymmetric plan for an effective US response. Ironically, his proposed approach takes a page from Beijing's own strategic playbook to undermine China's ambitions and strengthen American order without competing dollar-for-dollar, ship-for-ship, or loan-for-loan.

You Don't Know China

You Don't Know China PDF

Author: John Grant Ross

Publisher:

Published: 2019-10-14

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9781788691710

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Informative, entertaining, and sometimes controversial, You Don't Know China is a welcome antidote to the schizophrenic hyperbole surrounding China's supposed rise to global supremacy or, conversely, its eminent collapse. The book is an amusing, eye-opening, and ultimately uplifting shortcut to understanding this complicated country.