China's Great Wall of Debt

By: Dinny McMahon

Narrated by: Jamie Jackson

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

A stunning inside look at how and why the foundations upon which China has built the world’s second largest economy have started to crumble.

Over the course of a decade spent reporting on the ground in China as a financial journalist, Dinny McMahon gradually came to the conclusion that the widely held belief in China’s inevitable economic ascent is dangerously wrong. Debt, entrenched vested interests, a frenzy of speculation, and an aging population are all pushing China toward an economic reckoning. China’s Great Wall of Debt unravels an incredibly complex and opaque economy, one whose fortunes - for better or worse - will shape the globe like never before.

©2018 Dinny McMahon (P)2018 Recorded Books

Critic Reviews

"Dinny McMahon is one of the finest chroniclers of China's economic rise and this book - with its mixture of personal observation and sharp economic analysis - is a timely warning of the pitfalls that lie ahead for the world's most populous nation. A most provocative read." (Jamil Anderlini, Asia Editor for the Financial Times)

Enlightening!

For one who has watched the Chinese economy warily from a distance this book sheds light on the long & fascinating approach China’s leaders have ahead of them.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall wonderful book

This audiobook is well researched and the performance is well done. The person reading the book can properly pronounce the mandarin words and his delivery is good. The content of the book is well researched and the author uses data that includes the most recent cases and statistics. The case he makes is overall compelling and well stated. While I do not agree with all his ideas, the basic case that China’s debt burden is too large and a threat to the economy is generally correct. Others, notably Michael Pettit have made a related argument in the past as part of a larger point but this book updates earlier work and adds excellent examples. The book is also compelling and uses examples that are entertaining to make the larger points. For anyone interested in understanding China’s economy, this book is one of several worth reading. It doesn’t explain everything but it does a good job making a case that there is too much debt. I am not as pessimistic as the author in his conclusions but he does a good job at making his case.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Detailed, thoughtful, and revealing

This is an excellent, personal, critical analysis for a Western ear of what is actually going on in China's finances. Having recently read several books related to the ~2007-2008 global financial crisis, what I am really struck by is the parallel stories where Western balance sheets are misleading because of the interleaving nature of the international balance sheets of large companies, and here, that Chinese balance sheets are unreliable because of the murky nature of private ownership in China and the fluidity of public and private balance sheets. I appreciate that the author pairs his own story with research. The reading is good. I easily recommend this.

Interesting outlook

Interesting outlook and stories to describe China's current economic situation. Thought provoking and a good listen.

Great Research....

This book changed my perspective of what I thought was the unstoppable China! Thank you

interesting

book has a lot of interesting ideas. learned a lot,but nothing earth shattering. Some of the material has been covered in other media sources

Excellent book, summary at end would have been great.

A very good book looking into the secrets of the success of China, it’s politics and attempts to control everything.
It was a little haphazard, perhaps trying to fit too much additional info where it does not, on the surface, seem to fit. For this reason a chapter summarising and putting the pieces together more clearly would have been beneficial.
Good “read” nonetheless, excellent work by the reader.

Fantastic book!

Well researched, highly informative, and extremely interesting. Unfortunately China's excesses won't end well. The challenge is trying to time when the dam breaks. This story has been playing out for years. However recently there appears to be cracks showing up where China's excess capital landed - the Shanghai stock market, property markets in Sydney and New York City. Fascinating read!

This is a great topic to cover.

This was extremely well made and insightful. Highly recommended. Great job. It took great insight and talent to produce this! Five stars!

One of Several Indispensable Books

Some of the others include:
The hundred year marathon
Whats wrong with China
And both of Peter Zeihans recent books on super power
And Mark Steyns America Alone

1 of 2 people found this review helpful