Red Capitalism The Fragile Financial Foundation of China's Extraordinary Rise

In the space of just a few short decades, China has transformed itself from a nation scarcely able to cover the cost of sending its highest-ranking dignitary to speak at the UN to one with financial reserves numbering trillions of dollars. In Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China's Extraordinary Rise, Revised Edition, Carl Walter and Fraser Howie, experts in Chinese finance, tell the story of China's incredible ascension, how it got to where it is now, and what the future holds.

Exploring how China's financial institutions¿from banks to corporations¿and most importantly, the national Communist Party, shape the country's economic choices, development, and reform and what this means within China and for the rest of the world, the book examines whether or not the twenty-first century really will belong to China, calling into question the sustainability of the current system. Going deep inside the Chinese financial machine to illuminate the social and political consequences of the unique business model that has transformed the country into an economic powerhouse, Walter and Howie investigate whether the incredible gains of the last thirty-plus years really live up to their reputation.

While China has seemingly adopted a Western style of economic and commercial growth¿complete with stock-listed corporations and a growing class of accountants, lawyers, and investment bankers¿the reality is that China remains a Communist country, one in which the state can¿and frequently does¿step in to save struggling industries. In contrast to the common view of China as an unstoppable freight train of growth, Red Capitalism shows how the country's decades of development have been marked not by steady ascension but rather an ongoing series of booms and busts that many corporations would not have been able to weather without large-scale government intervention.

With new and expanded coverage of China's "Big 4" banks; why assigning credit ratings is still a problem; the rapid growth of Chinese national debt; and more, this fully revised edition of Red Capitalism is indispensable reading for anyone looking to understand the limits that China's past development decisions have imposed on its promising future.