Dealing with China

An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower

By: Henry M. Paulson

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Henry M. Paulson, Jr., former secretary of the US Treasury and CEO of Goldman Sachs, delivers a behind-the-scenes account of China's rise as an economic superpower.

When Hu Jintao, China's then vice president, came to visit the New York Stock Exchange and Ground Zero in 2002, he asked Hank Paulson to be his guide. It was a testament to the pivotal role that Goldman Sachs played in helping China experiment with private enterprise. In Dealing with China, the best-selling author of On the Brink draws on his unprecedented access to both the political and business leaders of modern China to answer several key questions: How did China become an economic superpower so quickly? Who really runs China? How does business get done there? What are the best ways for Western business and political leaders to engage, compete with, and beat China? How can Western investors profit in China?

©2015 Henry M. Paulson and Michael Carroll (P)2015 Hachette Audio

A real insight into how far and how fast China improved in the 1990s-2012

It is easy in this time of backsliding to forget how recent the liberalism being dialed back is. Paulson provides a superbly balanced approach.

Long Interesting book - but does get long

Very interesting perspectives on China and where China is going according to a true expert.

You may not agree with Paulson or find China threatening, this is still a book worth getting to get a full understanding of how the USA has dealt with China and the Chinese personalities on the other side of the equation.

Paulson must have incredible energy, stamina, and brilliance to manage what he has accomplished. He did not just manage a relationship with China. He was also a hugely influential Investment Banker. He was the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

Read this with the Steve Schwartzman book, "What it Takes".

This book will wear you out in the end. I have the impression that it has two chapters too many. But ok, still a very good book.

Enlightened and Enlightening

I can hardly believe a Republican wrote such a civilized book about China. I hope both the CCP and the U S government read it and take it to heart.
China will grow. It makes no sense to wait for it to fail like the USSR. China will lead much of the developing world out of poverty.
China can be a great and supportive friend to the U.S. and could be a nightmarish competitor if the U S "manages" the relationship poorly.
Thank you Mr. Paulson
Ian McKinnon

Seriously great book

If you have a teenager, you should require they read this book WITH you. It's a very deep view into the future.

Everyone should read this book

Well written and worth a listen. I lived in China for nearly five years, for school and then work. This book brought a lot of very interesting perspectives on some of what I experienced.

Bad title, amazing book

Hank Paulson is truly a China hand. He shares his valuable experiences in China. Anybody that wants to understand China should read this book.

A rare treat for recent China enthusiasts

I was surprised to see a book by Hank Paulson, former US Treasury Secretary, entirely about China.

Mr Paulson was Goldman's senior go-to man for China for a very long time, before and after becoming CEO. Nowadays, thanks in no small measure to him, the US relationship with China is handled from the Treasury. Once retored from.public life, the Paulson Institute centres on China and on conservation, two of Mr Paulson's loves.

After On the Brink, Paulson shows himself to have been a real asset to the US (one of the best Treasury Secretaries in recent times, in my opinion) and to China. He has helped China move closer to the West, at least in terms of economic development and reform. For that, this book is worth buying and reading.

As well as the interesting stories, one gets to learn a lot about how China has developed after Tiananmen. Having listened to the audiobook I want to learn more.

Couldn’t they find someone who can pronounce chinese to read this book?

The book and story itself is nice. I just couldn’t stand the narrator who botched every pronunciation of chinese names, to the point where it makes it hard to identify who he is writing about

Interesting and full of content

Though the book is quite long, it does detail quite a lot of stories illustrating senior officials like Hank Paulson and their dealings in politics with China.

A Valuable Book on China

Many thanks to Hank Paulson for sharing numerous very interesting and insightful episodes from his high-level dealings with business and governmental figures in China.
Those experiences offer a vivid picture of a China that is far different from the single-minded monolith as often portrayed in the daily press and in many of our political debates. Like us, the Chinese grapple with financial, environmental and economic challenges. Although the Chinese political system is far from democratic as we know that system in Western countries, it is quite interesting to see evidence in the book of Chinese leaders’ genuine concerns for maintaining the confidence and respect of their citizens through civilized means. For a Communist government, that is certainly a sharp contrast with the methods of Stalinist Russia and of China itself during its so-called “Cultural Revolution” of the 1960’s.

The book is not a fawning tribute to all that the Chinese have accomplished since 1979 in the economic realm. Mr. Paulson spends time in the book on the problems in China arising from short-sighted and often corrupt government practices, as well as the daunting environmental and social problems that have accompanied an often heedless focus on economic expansion. It does offer very practical suggestions for our dealing with China in constructive and responsible ways—particularly by focusing on areas of clear common interest where we can work on problems together to our mutual benefit.

I strongly recommend the book. That said, Mr. Paulson would be the first to admit I suspect that he is not a literary star. His writing style relies largely on stock figures of speech rather than penetrating turns of phrase. Some of the latter parts of the book could also have benefited from sharper editing—they fall at times into generalities that could have well come from a text book. Still, the stories he tells are unique and illuminating, more than compensating for any literary shortcomings.