The China Nightmare: The Grand Ambitions of a Decaying State

Blumenthal (An Awkward Embrace), a foreign policy analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, examines the tensions between China’s international ambitions and domestic struggles in this well-informed and alarming study. Blumenthal details President Xi Jinping’s program of “national rejuvenation” through strategic partnerships with countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; aggressive territorial claims along the border with India and in the South China Sea; harnessing of new technologies to create a “world-class military”; and fostering of discord in the U.S. and Europe. But these grand global strategies mask a wide range of “political, social, and economic weaknesses,” according to Blumenthal. He cites evidence that China’s rapid economic expansion—driven by policies that have burdened the country with massive debt—has halted, and documents turmoil caused by Xi’s anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on the country’s ethnic minorities. Western influences have also made it more difficult for Chinese leaders to maintain cultural hegemony and stifle political dissent, according to Blumenthal. He carefully situates his geopolitical analysis within the context of Chinese history and draws incisive conclusions about the dangers that a political or economic crisis in China might pose to the rest of the world. General readers may get lost in the technical details, but those with a background in the subject will gain fresh insights. (Nov.)