Ratings4
Average rating4.3
The defining geopolitical contest of the twenty-first century is between China and the US. But is it avoidable? And if it happens, is the outcome already inevitable? China and America are world powers without serious rivals. They eye each other warily across the Pacific; they communicate poorly; there seems little natural empathy. A massive geopolitical contest has begun. America prizes freedom; China values freedom from chaos.America values strategic decisiveness; China values patience.America is becoming society of lasting inequality; China a meritocracy.America has abandoned multilateralism; China welcomes it. Kishore Mahbubani, a diplomat and scholar with unrivalled access to policymakers in Beijing and Washington, has written the definitive guide to the deep fault lines in the relationship, a clear-eyed assessment of the risk of any confrontation, and a bracingly honest appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses, and superpower eccentricities, of the US and China.
Reviews with the most likes.
I had already become more skeptical towards the United States still proclaiming itself “the leader of the free world” (that title rightfully belongs to Angela Merkel after all those years), but this book has changed my perception of China more favorably as well. Mahbubani dives deeply and with nuance into why either side behaves like it does, for better or for worse. China is a force to be reckoned with, hence Mahbubani (being Singaporean) is advocating balance and cooperation to live together peacefully on this tiny Earth.