Enodo Summer Reading List 2023

Dive deep into China’s recent past, with many lessons for the present and future, by enjoying the books recommended by members of the Enodo Economics team.

? “Stilwell and the American Experience in China: 1911-1945”, by Barbara W. Tuchman

It’s rare to come across a non-fiction book on US-China relations so engaging, well-written and brilliantly researched as this extraordinary work focused on the period 1911-45, and told through the life story of General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” W. Stilwell.

? “Red Star Over China”, by Edgar Snow

Snow was the first Western journalist to spend time in the Communist base area in Yan’an, during the early days of the Sino-Japanese war, and have extensive conversations with Mao Zedong and other senior Communist leaders. Snow’s stay was carefully stage-managed, and he saw nothing of the factional infighting taking place behind the scenes. But his account provides a vivid and sympathetic description of the extreme circumstances that gave rise to the Party and hence provides an understanding of why the Party sees the world as it does.

? “The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping’s China”, by Kevin Rudd

Rudd is a former prime minister of Australia and the current Australian ambassador to the US. As a Chinese-speaking, former diplomat, Rudd has personal, on-the-ground experience of what Chinese officials and ordinary citizens think about.

His impeccable connections in Washington also stand him in good stead in fathoming America’s goals of “containing” China. The Avoidable War offers sage advice to both Beijing and Washington on boosting cooperation despite their systemic differences – and on avoiding the slippage to a 21st century Cold War which would serve no country’s interest.

? “The Great Decoupling: China, America and the Struggle for Technological Supremacy”, by Nigel Inkster

For much of recorded history, China was a leading science and technology power. But just as the West rose, China turned in on itself, and missed the Industrial Revolution. Today, technological innovation has returned to the core of national pride and ambition.

Enodo’s Nigel Inkster examines how the reforms of recent decades have transformed China into the world’s second largest economy and a major global power.

? “Xi Jinping: The Hidden Agendas of China’s Ruler for Life”, by Willy Lam

Enodo’s Lam sets out the ambitious and multi-faceted agendas that Xi has laid out taking China up to the early 2040s. Hidden Agendas examines the policy, ideology and politics of this “ruler for life.”

? “Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future”, by Ian Johnson

A book from the future, about the past, with urgent things to say about both and China’s present day. Veteran journalist Johnson has crafted what looks an unmissable account of how writers, filmmakers and artists have overcome crackdowns and censorship to challenge the Party on its most sacred ground – its monopoly on history. A decade of investigation has highlighted one of humanity’s great struggles of memory against forgetting, a battle “that will shape the China that emerges in the mid-21st century”.

? “The Perils of Interpreting’’, by Henrietta Harrison

Harrison’s book is set in the late 18th century when Britain, rapidly emerging as a global superpower, was seeking to expand trade with China, then perhaps the world’s largest, best-governed and most prosperous country on the planet. The two powers’ world views and aspirations could not have been further apart. And efforts at engagement were complicated by an almost total lack of ability to communicate.

This book tells the story of Sino-British engagement from the perspective of two young interpreters, one a Chinese educated by the Jesuits in Rome and the other the son of a senior member of Lord Macartney’s 1793 embassy to China.

? “Butterfly Changes in Big Banks: The Road to Revival of China's Large Commercial Banks”, by Pan Gongsheng

Looking for insights into how China’s new central bank boss thinks?

In July 2023, veteran banker Pan Gongsheng was appointed Party chief and governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Pan joined the PBOC in 2012 after stints in senior positions at state banks including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China, where he was a key architect of reforms and IPOs. He also authored this book, published that year, which focuses on the hidden stories behind policymakers and bankers’ push for reforms and the breakthroughs achieved throughout the process.

A decade on, the book may still inform the reader about Pan’s possible plans for further financial reform and opening up.