Robert A. Kapp - Mark Dunn - Karen Sutter - Virginia Hulme
Cover by Benjamin Hurd
Robert A. Kapp is president of the US-China Business Council.
Mark Dunn is a research and publications assistant at The CBR.
Karen Sutter is director of business advisory services at the US-China Business Council in Washington, DC.
Virginia Hulme is associate editor of The CBR.
Same Bed Different Dreams: Managing US-China Relations 1989-2000
by David M. Lampton. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. 510 pp. $35.00 hardcover.
Where too many book-length critiques and exposes of the conduct of US-China relations in recent decades titillate, cast aspersions, pin blame, or spread nightsoil, David M. Lampton's important new book, Same Bed Different Dreams genuinely enlightens. In his wide-ranging analysis of the dynamics of the often tortured relationship between America and China since the Tiananmen meltdown, Lampton, former president of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, weaves explanatory threads together into a coherent interpretive analysis.
Put another way, this book will fail miserably with the many people who, whether out of sincere intention or opportunism, cannot afford to see the United States and China in any tones but black and white.Lampton's approach--closely juxtaposing Chinese and American perceptions and actions in a narrative of specific events over the past 12 years--may indeed earn the ire of the many observers and commentators in both countries who cannot countenance a serious attempt to discover why our two nations coexist so uneasily on the world stage. In the chapters "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" and "The Seamless Web," his absorbing analysis of the role played by the media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the political drama over China in the United States, for example, should enlighten us all, but will endear him to few in the media or the NGO community. He sees, it almost seems, too much, too clearly. He is too aware of the ease of self-deception and the power of political myth in both the United States and China.
That, of course, is exactly what makes Same Bed Different Dreams so indispensable. If only there were a way to boil this marvelous book down to a single briefing paper for every journalist and every US or Chinese policymaker. In its elucidation of the deeper structures that both define US-China relations and make them so laborious, Same Bed Different Dreams should stand as the authoritative roadmap for many years to come. I cannot recommend it strongly enough to Americans engaged in serious business--commercial or otherwise--with China.
--Robert A. Kapp
The Rise and Fall of Abacus Banking in Japan and China
by Yuko Arayama and Panos Mourdoukoutas. Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books, 2000. 181 pp. $59.95 hardcover.
The Rise and Fall of Abacus Banking examines the history of banking practices in both Japan and China and their recent transformations. The study broadly analyzes how the slowdown of the Japanese economy and a looming banking crisis in China have spurred, and will continue to spur, changes in banking practices. The book stresses that bankers in both nations, having long been protected by government regulations, are masters of abacus banking--managing and keeping track of money flows through various accounting methods--rather than masters of risk management. This, the authors contend, has resulted in banks that are unable to compete internationally.Separated into two main sections, The Rise and Fall of Abacus Banking first tackles Japan, then turns to China. In each section, the authors describe the origins of various banking practices before analyzing the events that have forced change. Arayama and Mourdoukoutas argue that banks in both countries need to stop acting as welfare agents and begin to maximize profits.
The book stresses the fundamentals admirably and offers a sound recommendation for future action, but fails to offer many new insights. The study may also be too straightforward for international bankers, but it gives the average reader a view of the financial sector of both countries and provides insights into how each government makes decisions regarding banking practices.
--Mark Dunn
China's Leaders: The New Generation
by Cheng Li. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2001. 285 pp. $74.00 hardcover, $24.95 softcover.
At a time when everyone is beginning to ask, "Who's Hu?," Cheng Li's new book, China's Leaders: The New Generation is particularly timely. Why should we care about China's emerging elite? Because members of the rising "fourth generation" are already ministers, provincial secretaries of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), governors, and regional military commanders, and are up for even more senior-level positions at the next Party Congress in 2002. During this meeting, China is expected to undergo the greatest generational change in Party leadership since 1949.
The cover of Cheng Li's new book is telling. It features photos of 10 Chinese leaders: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, Li Peng, Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong, Wen Jiabao, and Li Changchun. In an informal survey of colleagues who work on China-related issues, I found that no one could identify all of the leaders. Most could immediately recognize Mao, Deng, Jiang, Li Peng, and Zhu. Some successfully identified Vice President Hu Jintao. Many knew the last row of photos featured the new generation but could not identify Zeng, head of the CCP Central Committee Organization Department; Wen, vice premier of the State Council; and Li Changchun, Party secretary of Guangdong Province. To be fair, this exercise is a little like trying to pick out US governors from a series of college yearbook photos. But it nonetheless shows that most Americans lack even a superficial knowledge of this new generation of PRC leaders. Cheng Li's book goes a long way to providing information and in some cases correcting common misperceptions about these leaders.
There are different ways to define generations, and Li opts for a definition based on the formative experience of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Based on Li's definition, members of the "fourth generation" were between 10 and 25 years of age at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, and are now roughly aged 46 to 60. Li also examines the rise of the technocratic elite and clearly defines the three major qualities of a technocrat: technical education (including economics and finance), professional experience, and high position in the Party.
Li examines this generation from three main angles: hard biographical information (demographics, educational background, and career paths); case studies of formal and informal relationships; and a qualitative look at the values and policies of the new leaders. His examination of the role of school ties at Qinghua University, China's leading scientific and technical university, and the university's rise in political influence is a fascinating case study. And Li's analysis of the rise to power of Wen Jiabao and Zeng Qinghong via informal networks helps flesh out our understanding of these two personalities.
Li's analysis shows that regionalism is on the rise in China. He finds that the traditional practice of "avoidance"--assigning officials to posts outside of their native areas--has eroded, so that many provincial and municipal leaders are now serving in their native regions. Li also demonstrates how changes to China's nomenclature system since the 1980s are further fueling localism: Second-tier local officials (vice governors, for instance) are now appointed directly by their superiors, not the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CCP as used to be the case. Apparently Beijing is aware of this problem and moved to correct it in June 1999 by enacting the Regulation of Cadre Exchange, which mandates that Party secretaries, governors, and regional military commanders not be from the regions in which they serve.
Li is careful not to generalize about the new leaders. He readily admits the limits of generational analysis, noting that people had very different experiences during the Cultural Revolution. For example, Li notes that the Cultural Revolution generation also includes dissident Wei Jingsheng, Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi, and filmmaker Zhang Yimou. According to Li, this new generation is more diverse in terms of political solidarity, educational background, career path, and policy preferences than the previous three generations. Li also cautions readers not to fall into the trap of oversimplifying the divide between reformers and old guards by assuming that all new leaders are reformers just because they are technocrats. And finally, Li warns that we should not underestimate the power and capability of this new group of leaders, as many underestimated Jiang Zemin in the early 1990s. This rising generation is a competent and energetic group, and a regenerative force dedicated to the future of China at a critical juncture.
The author, a professor of government at Hamilton College and a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs, has carefully researched and documented his book. Its strong methodology and detailed data will appeal to academics, but it is also useful for China watchers in business and government.
--Karen Sutter
Made in China: Voices from the New Revolution
by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. New York, New York: TV Books, L.L.C, 2000. 320 pp. $27.50 hardcover.
Robert Lawrence Kuhn has pulled together a remarkable book in Made in China: Voices from the New Revolution. Based on a Public Broadcasting Service program, In Search of China, the book intersperses Kuhn's commentary and experiences with interviews and narratives of Chinese from all walks of life. Indeed, this is one of the book's great strengths--Made in China includes the voices not only of China's urban elite and governing classes, but also those of migrant and laid-off state-owned enterprise workers. One significant omission, however, are voices from China's more than 700 million rural residents.These conversations and commentaries reveal a great deal about China today. Many of the Chinese subjects speak frankly about topics many Westerners would assume are taboo, such as the foundation of underground churches, though some dodge questions on particularly sticky subjects, such as whether they can access Western news sites on the Internet. That Kuhn was often accompanied by camera crews from CCTV, China's state-run TV company, underlines the fact that many Chinese today are fairly comfortable discussing their lives and their country's policies, even with foreigners and even on national television.
Made in China covers a variety of topics, starting with two themes Kuhn regards as vital to understanding China: pride and stability. Kuhn discovered the first the hard way when talking to a professor who had criticized the Chinese government many times in Kuhn's presence. Kuhn thought the professor would agree with his expression of approval when Beijing was not chosen to host the 2000 Olympic games. Much to his surprise, the professor exploded at him in anger and disgust. Kuhn writes:
"It was my first lesson in what really counts in China.... Don't assume that derogations of communism (or the government) indicate a diminished patriotism. The pride of the Chinese people--pride in their country, pride in their heritage, pride in their history, pride in their accomplishments, pride in their growing international importance--is a fundamental characteristic that one encounters over and over again."
Of the second theme, Kuhn notes that Westerners may be familiar with the Chinese government's obsession with maintaining stability at all costs. What is perhaps less well known, he points out, is that most Chinese, having lived through periods of terrifying instability (most recently the Cultural Revolution), both agree with and support the government's position.
Having admonished readers to keep these two themes in mind as they read, the book delves briefly into modern Chinese history and then plunges into economic reform and the changes it has wrought. Kuhn and his crew visit several Chinese companies, both private and state-owned, including top performers Haier Group Co. and Legend Holdings Ltd., where they talk to a range of people, from the president of the company to ordinary employees. The book also covers science and technology, the emergence of charitable organizations, the stock markets, politics, and the Internet, among other topics, with brief commentaries, interviews, excerpts from the Chinese television program, and articles from the Chinese press. The result is an engaging collection of insights about contemporary China in the words of Chinese from all walks of life.
--Virginia Hulme
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