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Author: Allen, Bethany

China

Published on 11 April 2024 by John Murray Press (John Murray Publishers Ltd) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 336 pages
129 x 197 x 24 | 238g

LONGLISTED FOR FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDA FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR’Excellent . . . reveals an insidious matrix of spying, deception, censorship and repression . . . compelling’ Daily Telegraph’A timely read . . . Chilling . . . Startling . . . A powerful case for more coordinated western intervention’ Guardian’Brilliant’ Irish Sunday Independent

The remarkable story

of China’s two-decade quest for global dominance.

For several decades

China’s ascendancy has been supported by an astonishingly broad and deep

portfolio of quiet coercion. Stories of the Chinese Communist Party’s

authoritarian reach are breathtaking – the gagging of sports stars and huge

Western brands; Hollywood self-censorship; infrastructure deals in exchange

for political loyalty in multilateral organizations; and of course –

communications firms. But these are just the most visible examples.

Beijing

Rules exposes

the armoury of strategies with which China has exploited Western weakness to

position itself as leader in the game of nations: tying market access to

political acquiescence; punitive tariffs; online disinformation operations;

use of private companies to spy on global users; leveraging vaccines for

geopolitical gain; and the crushing of democracy in Hong Kong. With these

weapons and dextrous manoeuvrings during the global pandemic, China

positioned itself to take its place at the apex of world powers.

Bethany Allen, an internationally recognized investigator into China’s covert

power, shows Western institutions have bowed to and even enabled Beijing’s coercion. As we

come reeling out of a global pandemic and eyes are on a new war in Europe,

this revealing analysis sounds the alarm about the most significant shift in

the new world order, and what we must do to prevent the loss of freedoms we

take for granted.