China Shakes The World: The Rise of a Hungry Nation

A recent book by James Kynge has been released charting the rise and rise of the Chinese economy.

There is a good review of this book by Martin Fagan (squaremile bookstore) from where the following quotes are of interest:

On the eve of the British industrial revolution some 230 years ago, China accounted for one third of the global economy. In 1979, after 30 years of Communism, its economy contributed only two per cent to global GDP. Now it is back up to five per cent, and rising. Although China is already a palpable force in the world, its re-emergence is only just starting to be felt.

So, in this book, Kynge charts not only the extraordinary rise of the Chinese economy, but what the future holds as China begins to influence the world. He shows China's weaknesses - its environmental pollution, its crisis in social trust (which is why the Chinese government vets heavily all the websites thrown up by Chinese search engines), its weak financial system and the faltering institutions of its governments - which are poised to have disruptive effects on the world. The fall-out from any failure in China's rush to modernity or simply from a temporary economic crash in the Chinese economy would be felt around the world.

The new China, the nation that in 25 years has changed beyond all recognition is becoming an industrial powerhouse for the world. James Kynge shows not only the extraordinary rise of the Chinese economy, but what the future holds as China begins to influence the world.