Customer Rating:  
Summary: reflects worries of the West though not much new insights on what is really happening inside Chinese politics and society
Comment: This is one of those new books that aim to make new sense on the sudden surge of Chinese economy and international influence. Based on some personal experiences and interviews, Susan aims to shed some new light on a tough topic. Interesting read, but this book is far away from revealing the dynamics and inner workings of Chinese politics and society. Understanding how the rug is moving turns out no easy task. To get a more realistic picture, read: China and the new world order, by Chinese journalist George Zhibin Gu, which offers inside stories of changing Chinese politics and society, and more significantly, why things happen in the way as they do.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An excellent contribution to scholarship
Comment: Amidst a mountain of recent literature on China and its relations with the world, Susan Shirk's contribution stands out. The writing style is calm and easy, but her knowledge of Chinese diplomacy is very deep, based on first-hand experience as an US diplomat under the Clinton administration. The message is stark: that despite their phenomenal economic growth, Chinese leaders remain acutely conscious of their country's limitations, and China's inherent internal problems are much deeper and, perhaps, more intractable, than most commentators assume.
Ms Shirk is particularly good in her survey of China's current nationalism, fostered and encouraged by the regime in order to provide the Communist Party with a new legitimacy, but now turned into a beast which cannot be controlled, and which increasingly hampers Beijing's ability to conduct its foreign diplomacy.
One would have wished to see a more thorough examination of what the West can do in order to ease China's path, while guiding the country towards a more cooperative behaviour in international institutions. Ms Shirk is very good in explaining what the West should NOT do, but is fairly silent in advocating policies which SHOULD be pursued.
Nevertheless, there is no question that her book is a serious addition to the existing scholarship, and a very judicious, well-documented analysis of how the China's internal politics could still derail that country's "peaceful rise".
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