Has China Won?

The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy

De: Kishore Mahbubani

Narrado por: Aaron Abano

From a former President of the United Nations Security Council, an authoritative look at the US, China, and the defining geopolitical contest of the twenty-first century

“Mahbubani has written an excellent and important book on the biggest question in international affairs: how will the relationship between the US and China evolve?” —Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times

China and America are world powers without serious rivals. They eye each other warily across the Pacific; they communicate poorly; there seems little natural empathy. A massive geopolitical contest has begun.

Has China Won? is the definitive guide to the deep fault lines in the relationship, a clear-eyed assessment of the risk of any confrontation, and a bracingly honest appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of these ambitious and eccentric superpowers.

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Praise for Has China Won?
"Americans should heed Kishore Mahbubani's astringent advice, unwelcome as it may be: Cast away illusions about eternal U.S. primacy and exceptional virtue protected by high walls. Instead, Washington should adopt a long-term international strategy anchored in balance and cooperation; reestablish sound internal leadership and governance; win friends abroad instead of driving allies away; avoid over-commitment; and express moral modesty. Military power is not the most important weapon in the Arsenal of Democracy."—David M. Lampton : Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University; Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins-SAIS.

"China and the US are locked in a struggle for international primacy, and the result of this contest will shape the world order for generations to come. Kishore captures the complexity of this battle with the measured nuance and clear insight it deserves. Not to be missed."—Ian Bremmer, author of Us vs. Them and president, Eurasia Group

"Kishore Mahbubani's Has China Won? is a serious contribution: reviewing strategic wisdom from Kennan to Kennedy, asking provocative, even heretical questions about China's rise, and counseling a world safe for diversity."—Graham Allison, author of Destined For War: Can America and China escape Thucydides's Trap, is the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard University

Outstanding, timely, and prescient

Mahbubani’s book is topical and direct, pulling from his lens as a global citizen who has engaged firsthand with many ASEAN events and key stakeholders. The audio should be required listening for FOX News viewers seeking to move beyond Trump and conservative propaganda to cast China a villain as they flail to shift blame for disastrous rhetoric and horrific economic, trade and military policies since Reagan but accelerated during the calamity of Trump’s first 3 years in office, culminating in the COVID-19 debacle (“hoax”, “China virus”, “China lab-produced” - even as that was proven a lie by American scientists months ago, “China tariffs”, etc).

Readers should also secure the current issue of “The Economist”, clearly impressed by Mahbubani’s work, with their cover story “Is China Winning?”. Will anxiously await further work by the author.

Intelligent and Balanced Exposition of the Topic

Accusations of anti-U.S. bias made by some are groundless. If anything the author, a high-ranking Singaporean diplomat of Indian ancestry, is more sympathetic to the U.S. than to China. However, he does not shy away from discussing the areas in which the U.S. is vulnerable. One gets the impression he sincerely hopes U.S. policymakers will pay heed to the sound advice he gives. However, I would not bet on it given the jingoism that is characteristic of US society.

An external perspective on Sino-American relations

I didn't enjoy this book because it cut against my biases as an American. That's not why I'm giving it 3 stars though, I enjoy anything that can lead me to question my biases. That is, if they are correct and defensible.

My understanding of the authors intent is that they wish to see peaceful cooperation between the US and China, I would support this. Unfortunately, the author tried to accomplish this by comparing the two nations and in that endeavor his own biases were laid bare. Throughout the book the author uses false equivalency, perhaps unintentionally. I don't fault them for it, it's almost unavoidable when attempting to comparing an ethno-nationalist civilization with a diverse multi-cultural state. Maybe that was the problem from the start.

Despite my criticism and many vocal disputes while listening to this book, I would still recommend it to a western audience. America is not without its flaws and understanding how the rest of the world critiques those flaws is important in understanding our place in the world. This book would be challenging for most Americans but I would encourage them, to take the challenge. It's good to get that outside perspective.

Informative, skeptical, overly apologetic.

Pros: The US portion of this book is both truthful and thought provoking. Mahbubani provides readers with a great starting point for those who want to become more informed on rising tensions between US and China.

Cons: In my opinion, the author is overtly apologetic of China foreign policy and fails to properly address the potential downsides to neoliberal economic policy. The book also largely ignores the "middle income trap" and blames the tensions in Hong Kong on lack of affordable housing.

A must read for anyone who wants to understand China

Kishore Mahbubani is a prolific writer, focusing on occidental and oriental geopolitics, global governance, and policy. He has written seven books, along with countless articles in publications such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Time, and the New York Times, just to name a few. He served for thirty-three years as a Singaporean civil servant, and fifteen years in academia. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. His eighth book, Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy addresses the geopolitical contest between the US and China, highlighting key strategic mistakes while offering lessons and insights which he hopes will better inform future policies in both countries. His book is based on his personal experience as a senior diplomat meeting with leaders in Beijing and Washington DC, along with insights provided by other foreign policy analysts. With a foot in both the occidental and oriental cultures, Mahbubani, an insightful critic of the west, is well-position to review key policies and help America reflect on itself to find a better approach to face China’s emergence as a world leader. His keen observations and interactions with Chinese leaders enlightens his perspective and provides vivid examples to demonstrate his points. Mahbubani’s vast political experience in Asia serves as a lens deepening an understanding of the motivations and reasoning behind the veil of Chinese politics.

More about Denigrating the US than about China relationship

I’ve met Kishore Mahbunani when he was still campaigning to be UN Secretary General, an ambition he didn’t achieve. He was nicer at that time than his is in this book.

This book is more about denigrating the US than about the great-power competition with China. For a man who lived in the US (Manhattan) for more than a decade, he seems to have a poor understanding of America. Maybe he needs to read D’Tocqueville? He complains that the US hasn’t developed a comprehensive national strategy (he means the civilization not the national security council) to compete with a rapidly changing Chinese civilization.

But that’s because he comes from an authoritarian country (Singapore) and advocates for another (China) and misses that the US’s great strength has been that we’re a bottom-up democracy that evolves in an unplanned nature to meet the challenges of any day, by having the best ideas rise to the top, rather than a top-down plan by the Communist Central Committee.

He doesn’t deny the Chinese genocides in the Great Leap Forward or today against the Uyghurs, he just dismisses them as part of the process of China becoming a responsible nation, while the US is evil because we dropped an atomic bomb on Japan, and many civilians died in the Global War on Terror.

He suggests the Chinese are content with their own oppression at the hands of the government they have no say in, but the US is a failed democracy because we’re not a paradise of equality. He delves far too deeply into American domestic affairs for a man who doesn’t understand our country well, and fiercely advocates for China, complaining that they have no Bad intent towards anyone, including Taiwan.

It’s not a prescription for America to compete against China, rather it’s an advocacy piece for Americans to stop seeing China as having hostile intent towards anyone and to open up more to China. It’s hard not to imagine that he was asked to write this book by his friends in the Chinese leadership.

Great Book ! Well Written !

The US must try to avoid fighting the big superpower war with China; and to accept the inevitability of the rise of China. Rather than aim to outmuscle history, the US better to be like water and avoid a war, a confrontation that the US cannot possibly afford to wage, but also cannot afford to lose.

The US has accepted China at its worst. And it will have to appreciate China when at its best.

A great book by Singapore's Permanent Representative to the UN.

Worth reading if you are interested in China

Despite the sensational title, this is a balanced and nuanced review of the multi-faceted global competition between the USA and China. Most points the author makes are widely held among China-watchers. However, the author does wander off into unsupported speculation sometimes. I've gone to college in China and heard the issues presented from the Chinese perspective so I can say that this book gets 90% of things correct. The most interesting part of the book for me was actually not about China, but was the critique of how America has squandered the immense amount of soft power it gained after winning the cold war.

The reader is horrible! They mispronounce Xi Jin Ping's name! His name is spoken on Western television broadcasts every day ... how could you possibly pronounce it wrong?? if you know any Chinese it's painful to listen to the reader's pronunciation. However, I still enjoyed the book.

Some fact mixed with pro-china sentiment

The author feigns a neutral perspective, but conveys a clear pro-China sentiment on a majority of issues discussed. If you are looking for good neutral analysis of the China-US competition this is not it. For an interesting perspective and opinion, this is a good read (listen).

Worthwhile.

Most books I've read on US/China relations are firmly from the US point of view. Mahbubani offers a balanced analysis, with description and critique of both US and China policy. But the real value is in the author's clear understanding of the Chinese (or CCP) perspective and tone. Some reviewers call this Chinese propaganda, but I think Mahbubani has grasped and faithfully recounts China's positions and postures across a broad range of flashpoints. Not that I agree with China's positions. In the West the idea that China would rise to parity and perhaps supremacy is viewed with alarm. Mahbubani presents the very plausible case that, to the Chinese, such a rise would be natural and appropriate. Recommended.