Customer Reviews

How China's Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China's Past, Current and Future Leaders

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This book is a product of a true China hand, someone who has been dealing with China since 1967. The book is full of insights and historical events. An outstanding book!

Kuhn, an investment banker, serves as an unpaid advisor to China and has had considerable access to its leaders extending back 20 years. He also clearly supports China's one-party rule. During his interactions, Kuhn has come to also recognize that national pride is a major underlying factor - China was once a global leader, then was humiliated by the West, and now is intent on regaining its former stature. The 2008 Olympics, the Shanghai 2010 World Exposition, space missions, and its economic resurgence are reflections of this. Stability is another fundamental value - the Cultural Revolution has left scars on everyone over aged 50, says Kuhn, and its leaders are very attuned to the need to satisfy the people.

China's leaders expect its corporations to become among the largest and most successful in the world. And an astonishing 86% of citizens in a spring 2008 Pew Poll said they were "satisfied" with the country's direction, about double the percentage in 2002, and the highest of the 24 nations polled. (The U.S. was among the lowest, at 23%.)

China's current primary focus is on reducing inequality between regions (rural residents represent 55% of population and agriculture generates only 11% of GDP; add the 33% from TVEs) and its highest vs. lowest earners; other emphases are increasing GDP/energy use, reducing pollution, improving access to quality medical care, and quality education.

Kuhn's summary of the struggle for economic reform is interesting. Mao had named Hua Guofeng as his successor, but the Gang of Four, led by Mao's widow, attempted to take power by discrediting him. Hua then aligned with moderates and army leaders to jail the Gan of Four and restore normalcy to China after the Cultural Revolution turmoil. Deng Xioping was then brought into the leadership and quickly pointed out where purported Mao followers were deviating from reality, and had ignored Mao's principle of 'seeking truth from facts.' Further, it was not correct that they should be prohibited from remedying anything erroneous Mao had said or done. 'Truth' became the focus.

After 6/4/1989, conservatives resurged and reined in Deng's reforms, even though he had ordered the PLA to remove the protesters. Through 19990-91, Leftists demanded China oppose 'peaceful evolution (a supposed Western plot to overthrow China's socialist system by subtle social transformation), and returned to class struggle. Deng Xiaoping arranged for ally Zhu Rongji, Shanghai Party secretary, to become vice premier. Then came the overthrow of the Russian communists and more conservative alarm. Fortunately, General Secretary sought the real reasons, and attributed them to mishandling the diverse ethnic groups, over emphasis on political reform, and not enough economic reform, and concluded CCP needed to reduce interference in enterprises to boost the economy.

Deng, largely retired at 87, decided he had to revitalize the nation. At his first stop in Wuhan, Deng told the leaders that they had too many meetings and repetitious speeches - priority to deeds was needed. Further, "Anyone who is against reform, will be put out of office." In downtown Shenzhen, he was amazed at the progress, and emphasized how the SEZ had been established under socialism and FDI. Media coverage brought a revival of reform. Jiang Zemin reinforced the commitment, and incompetents or those in opposition were sacked - sometimes on the spot.

Kuhn recognizes China's problems, including pollution, inequality, corruption, unemployment, a need for political reform, and crime. China expects to reach a 60% urban population by 2020; TVEs employ 130+ million and generate one-third of GDP. In 2009, China enacted a fuel-economy requirement for each automaker - 42.2 mpg by 2015.

A major leadership turnover will occur in 2012. Kuhn's coverage also includes a review of the 62 province chiefs - potential new national leaders (about 76% of current politburo members were former province chiefs). High-ranking leaders must serve at least 2 years before being promoted. Two of the group were purged by prior premiers for opposition.

Finally, Kuhn, though he supports China's current one-party rule, believes it is moving to become more democratic.

This is one of the very few objective account on the development of China, as written by a Western author. A MUST READ for anyone who wish to deal with China.

I'm an investment advisor who is fascinated by the global growth of the developing world. What struck me was how the book was able to relate the experience more from China's viewpoint than the traditional american media coverage. You'll learn a great deal about China's pride and even distrust of the US. To better understand who were competing against, this will give a clearer definition. If you interested in business or investing globablly, you will not be disappointed.

This is a comprehensive work that covers all the major Chinese propaganda. The author, Dr. Kuhn, is an American investment banker and a self-titled "public intellectual." (I can't help laughing at this, really?) He built up relationship by advising the senior party leaders in China and obviously won the favor of the former dictator, Jiang Zemin, by dedicating him a lengthy biography in English.
Go to the Chinese government's website with Google translation, you can get all the important info in this tedious block of paper.

Distressingly one-sided. Reads like a PR job. McGregor's "The Party" covers comparable ground much better.