An invaluable and unique account of China’s pathway to modernity by someone who has engaged profoundly with this process, living for much of the last three decades inside China. . . . A thoughtful, thought provoking, and, above all else, admirably pragmatic, sympathetic but astutely critical work.
—Dr. Kerry Brown,
Professor of Chinese Studies,
King’s College, London
Dr. Clifford is a scholar with a deep knowledge of Chinese history and culture, who entered the business world at a time of dramatic change in China’s political economy. His rich business experience in China across a range of industrial sectors combined with his deep scholarly understanding make this a uniquely insightful book. The insights are far more original and interesting than those of other studies in this field.
—Dr. Peter Nolan,
Chong Hua Professor in Chinese Development,
University of Cambridge
In this first-hand account based on years of working in China, Paul Clifford takes the reader deep inside the belly of the beast. . . . This well-written and engrossing inside account should be read by all China watchers.
—Dr. David Shambaugh,
Professor at Elliot School of International Affairs,
George Washington University
The China Paradox combines a highly-informed broad-sweep analysis of China, knitting together the economy, politics and history. Engagingly written and drawing on unique personal experience, it provides a penetrating guide to this most important country.
—Jonathan Fenby,
Author and former editor of the South China Morning Post
Paul G. Clifford’s The China Paradox reflects the insights, sensibilities, and rich experiences of an individual who began living in China as a student in the late Mao period, and then stayed on as a business practitioner and globally-renowned consultant through the four decades of reform that would lead to the present. . . . Yet, as Paul Clifford argues, with the rise of Xi Jinping in late 2012, the emphasis on authoritarian control and stateimposed order has returned with fury, thus imperiling an equilibrium so important not just to China’s past, but to its future as well. . . .
The China Paradox, while offering an important framing narrative for understanding China’s developmental trajectory, explains that narrative through fascinating firm-level examples and case-studies, ones that alone make the book an essential read for anybody trying to understand contemporary China. The China Paradox introduces fresh perspectives just when such new thinking—given the turbulent nature of our present moment globally—is most urgently needed.”
—Dr. Edward S. Steinfeld,
Professor and Director of the Watson Institute,
Brown University
How did China achieve such strong growth while maintaining the core elements of single party rule? Combining personal observations with astute analysis, Paul Clifford provides the answer through what he terms The China Paradox. . . . Clifford’s decades of engagement with China allow him to present the reader with a deeper understanding of the contradictory forces that have made the China of today. Can the China paradox persist? His sobering analysis of the pros and cons make this a book worth reading for anyone with an interest in China’s future trajectory and its potential impact on the world.
—Dr. Anthony Saich,
Daewoo Professor of International Affairs,
Harvard University
With decades of in depth and on the ground experience in Chinese business, Paul Clifford brings a unique and valuable insight into the challenges facing the Chinese Economy. In The China Paradox, he tackles head on the ability of China to move to a new business model and achieve the greater economic goals which the Communist Party desires. Within the hybrid economy which has dazzled the world, lie some profound weaknesses. The China Paradox will help any businessman or China watcher better understand the danger of those weaknesses.
—Fraser Howie,
Co-author of Red Capitalism