David M. Lampton

Although I had no real expectations when I picked up this book, I wound up putting it down feeling unsatisfied. Part of the issue is that, in as much as I had expectations, they related to the process of infrastructure creation. However, the writers are mostly interested in international relations, and trying to read the proverbial tea leaves on what Beijing really wants, and how much China's immediate neighbors feel they have to bend to circumstances. The big question at the time of publishing being how "inevitable" Chinese domination really is; the authors were quite clear-eyed about the issues of dealing with Xi Jinping's regime, but they tended towards increasing predominance.

However, even though this book only came out in 2020, events have already put a severe dent in the inevitability of Beijing's rise to prominence; the authors were lucky to get a quick mention of the COVID pandemic into their work. Never mind the looming Chinese demographic crash, the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and the rush for various players to disengage themselves from the Chinese economy as much as possible. At best this book felt like several strong magazine articles struggling to escape, at worst it feels instantly dated.… (mais)