What's Wrong with China

What’s Wrong with China is the most cogent, insightful and penetrating examination I have read on the paradoxes and self-deceptions of Modern China, written by someone who has lived in the country and dealt with it day to day for decades. This book will be hated by the commissars, because it is a triumph of analysis and good sense.
—PAUL THEROUX

I sure wish I’d read this book before heading to China—or Chinatown, for that matter. China runs on an entirely different operating system—both commercial and personal. Midler’s clear, clever analysis and illuminating, often hilarious tales foster not only understanding but respect.
—MARY ROACH

From the Back Cover

What’s Wrong with China is the widely anticipated follow-up to Paul Midler’s Poorly Made in China, an exposé of China manufacturing practices. Applying a wider lens in this account, he reveals many of the deep problems affecting Chinese society as a whole. Once again, Midler delivers the goods by rejecting commonly held notions, breaking down old myths, and providing fresh explanations of lesser-understood cultural phenomena.

Chapter 1 The Pirate Ship 1

Chapter 2 A Mania for Money 10

Chapter 3 Blush of Shame 16

Chapter 4 Beating the System 19

Chapter 5 Intermediaries 26

Chapter 6 Dulled Senses 35

Chapter 7 Emotional Negotiators 42

Chapter 8 Oliver Wendell Holmes 55

Chapter 9 Chemicals, Guns, and Gimcracks 67

Chapter 10 Sinocentric Thinking 76

Chapter 11 “That’s My Hand” 86

Chapter 12 Lack of Conscience 93

Chapter 13 Tacit Collusion 99

Chapter 14 Networked Behaviors 108

Chapter 15 Partner on the Deal 121

Chapter 16 Self-Regulating Empire 125

Chapter 17 Corps de Ballet 134

Chapter 18 Informal Paradox 139

Chapter 19 Brown Numbers 148

Chapter 20 Reform, Reform, Reform 152

Chapter 21 The Dynastic Cycle 159

Chapter 22 Nibble, Nibble 166

Chapter 23 The Social Order 174

Chapter 24 Cat’s Paws and Telegraphed Punches 179

Chapter 25 The Great Absorber 186

Chapter 26 Kleptoparasitism 192

Chapter 27 Cleaning the Slate 196

Chapter 28 Massacred in Business 199

Chapter 29 The China Watchers 203

Chapter 30 Isolationist Past 212

Chapter 31 The Benefit of the Doubt 219

Paul Midler has lived twenty years in East Asia and speaks Mandarin. He works as a consultant and advisor to companies with business interests in the region. His first book, Poorly Made in China, was published to significant acclaim and his follow-up, What's Wrong with China, has been widely anticipated.

Viewed from a distance, China appears to be a stable economy growing at a healthy pace. Looking more closely, however, we discover a flawed civilization stalling under the weight of its own culture. What's Wrong with China is a personal book about a great nation at a crossroads.

"There is more to fear from a weak China than one that is strong" we are told, implying that its main problems are either macroeconomic or political. What's Wrong with China takes the reader behind the scenes and down the rabbit hole to show that the nation's most fundamental problems are actually social in nature.

More than a century ago, China watchers worried about the imminent "crack-up" of the country. Today we find ourselves again preoccupied by such a possibility, though this time around the stakes are much higher. Given the size of China's economy and the extent of its integration into the global system, the country's difficulties are now our own, whether we like it or not.

No one writes about China like Paul Midler. Drawing from years of on-the-ground experience and research, he mixes penetrating observations with amusing historical references, weaving a tapestry that is both engaging and illuminating.

China is an enigma, a Gordian knot, an impenetrable riddle that requires a different approach. What's Wrong with China is a collage of ideas, a grab bag of themes and theories, not the least of which is the author's supposition that Chinese culture is rooted in a deep informalism that cannot be eradicated.

Business and politics are inextricably tied, so the book necessarily touches on global affairs. We must let go of many preconceived notions, Midler warns, as he addresses facets of the "China puzzle" that typically receive little or no attention.

What's Wrong with China offers especially useful lessons for those doing business in China, but this is no how-to guide. Rather than tell us how our affairs should be conducted in this strange land, Midler describes how things are done, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions.

What's Wrong with China is the widely anticipated follow-up to Paul Midler's Poorly Made in China, an exposé of China manufacturing practices. Applying a wider lens in this account, he reveals many of the deep problems affecting Chinese society as a whole. Once again, Midler delivers the goods by rejecting commonly held notions, breaking down old myths, and providing fresh explanations of lesser-understood cultural phenomena.

"What's Wrong with China is the most cogent, insightful and penetrating examination I have read on the paradoxes and self-deceptions of Modern China, written by someone who has lived in the country and dealt with it day to day for decades. This book will be hated by the commissars, because it is a triumph of analysis and good sense." —PAUL THEROUX

"I sure wish I'd read this book before heading to China—or Chinatown, for that matter. China runs on an entirely different operating system—both commercial and personal. Midler's clear, clever analysis and illuminating, often hilarious tales foster not only understanding but respect." —MARY ROACH