This book examines China at the cross roads. As China grows in strength, and looks set to be a dominant player in this century, the author looks at several aspects of Chinese political life. This encompasses everything from China's dizzying rates of economic growth, to its relations with the rest of the world.
China's rates of growth are dizzying, but there are two problems. Firstly, this growth is destroying the environment as factories and power plants belch out fossil fuels. Secondly, this growth is only possible because China's autocratic regime has such total power over all aspects of the economy to drive this growth. Chinese thinkers are debating - should they allow more political freedoms first even if this costs them some economic growth, or retain their autocracy until they achieve their wealth goals, and then relax the regimes controls. For the time being, the latter is prevailing. This is largely because of the Soviet example. China believes that the Soviet/Russian collapse was due to them opening up political freedoms too early, and thus is not going to make the same mistake.
Concerning the problem of pollution, Chinese cities are increasingly filthy. Not helping the situation is China's need for a constant supply of oil, coal and other fossil fuels, which, with China's massive and growing energy needs, threatens to simply make the situation worse. Whilst relatively low down their list of priorities, Chinese leaders are slowly realising the need to clean up the air. They are also aware that loose environmental standards could impact on their trade with nations concerned about toxic materials in their exports.
This book, like most of Leonard's work, is a pleasant, easy read and not overly academic. Therefore, it will be enjoyed even by people who are only casually interested in politics. For those who study politics in detail, it is an excellent introduction to Chinese thought processes.
