Playing Our Game: Why China's Rise Doesn't Threaten the West Reprint Edition

by Edward S. Steinfeld (Author)

6 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0199837083

ISBN-10: 0199837082

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Conventional wisdom holds that China's burgeoning economic power has reduced the United States to little more than a customer of Beijing. Not so, writes Edward Steinfeld. In this fascinating book, Steinfeld asserts that China's growth actually enhances Western commercial supremacy. By seeking to realize its dream of modernization by integrating itself into the Western economic order, China is playing by our rules, reinforcing the dominance of our companies and regulatory institutions. Indeed, China has in many ways handed over--outsourced--the remaking of its domestic economy and domestic institutions to foreign companies and foreign rule-making authorities. And even as Chinese companies assemble products for export to the West, the most valuable components for those products come from the West. America's share of global manufacturing, by value, has actually increased since 1990. Within China, the R&D centers established by Western companies attract the country's best scientists and engineers, and harness that talent to global, rather than indigenous Chinese, innovation efforts. In short, China's economic emergence is good for America.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Playing Our Game introduces an argument dubbed "institutional outsourcing" that provides a fresh, dynamic, and fundamentally optimistic analysis of the forces driving the evolution of the Chinese political and economic systems. Steinfeld brings an unusual combination of talents fully into play--he is one of the very few who understand Chinese politics, Chinese economics, developments in international business, and the deep integration of the three. His book is thought provoking and will be controversial, as any really good book should be."--Kenneth Lieberthal, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

"This reviewer enthusiastically recommends this thought-provoking volume to the general public, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and professionals. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels."--CHOICE

About the Author

Edward Steinfeld is Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT, and is director of the MIT-China Program. He is the author of Forging Reform in China: The Fate of State-Owned Industry.

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0199837082
ISBN-13: 978-0199837083
Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.9 x 5.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 6 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,614,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #372 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > Trades & Tariffs
- #1278 in Books > Textbooks > Business & Finance > International Business
- #2770 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy > Economic Policy

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alberto almada

Four Stars

July 16, 2015

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DMS

Excellent Analysis

August 27, 2010

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Professor Steinfeld is bringing a new and sophisticated analysis on our relationship with China. His observation is that outsourcing is actually happening in both directions. While much has been written about the outsourcing of manufacturing from the U.S. to China, the reverse outsourcing of institutions from China to the West and the U.S. in particular is less well recognized or appreciated. As a consequence of the on-going reverse institutional outsourcing such as corporate governance, macroeconomic practices, education and professional development of the elites and even foreign exchange mechanism, a gradual but profound revolution is underway whose impact on Chinese society is no less than the more traumatic revolutions in the Chinese history of the last century.

The book is well written and the arguments are well presented. Whether or not one agrees with the viewpoint that China's rise doesn't threaten the West or that the Chinese Communist Party is onto a path not unlike that of the Kuomintang in Taiwan, Professor Steinfeld's book will sharpen our observations and add nuance to the debate. It is one of the best books on the subject that rises far above the noise!

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Ruben Dikhoff

Great to read a totally different perspective on globalised production ...

May 31, 2015

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Great to read a totally different perspective on globalised production and R&D and the role every country plays in the interwoven process

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Jim Wilder

China's Path

December 22, 2010

This is a well researched book that provides a clear perspective on China's relationship with the U.S. and the effects of globalization upon both countries. The author defines globalization as organized, worldwide production chains, and any major participant in the production part of the chain needs to accommodate to the direction and control from the product conceptualizers, branders, and marketers, which are often U.S. corporations. With globalized production, often the processes that were within one company are now dispersed across multiple firms in different countries. This book develops the best explanation of the Chinese and U.S. interdependencies I've read - much more systematically described than the recent book on the same topic, Superfusion, by Zachary Karabell.

Many in the U.S. view China as a threat, but this perspective is limited. The reality is more complex and nuanced. Even R. James Woolsey, a former director of the CIA takes the simplistic and wrong view in calling China's national strategy one of domination. Chinese companies are individually striving to be world class, quality producers. The Chinese government has no specialized development plans that control these firms - rather, the government enables the conditions that allow these firms be successful in global markets. In short, the author describes the Chinese story as one of being remarkably adaptable and open to change. China's government wants to develop new markets in fields such as nuclear energy, high speed rail, and green technologies, to name just three of the several areas described in this book, but beyond these goals, the government does not control how these initiatives are to be pursued. The author states it is not a fair and accurate view to describe China as a threat to U.S. economic interests, as China's rapid development has been the result of embracing outside influences to harness the benefits of new production chain opportunities. The Chinese government has relinquished power and provided the latitude to enterprises so they can support product development projects. Most perspectives emphasizing zero-sum contests (state vs. society, communism vs. democracy, democrat vs. authoritarian) discount the depth and real meaning of change, as the author points out in several examples. The book's description of the flow of dollars and renmimbi (RMB) within China - between its central bank and businesses - and between China and the U.S., is the most complete explanation of the U.S. - China economic relationship I've read.

I gave this book only 4 stars because it didn't include discussion China's developing economic relationships with countries other than the U.S., such as African and South American nations, Australia, Malaysia, and the EU. I also would have liked to have seen some treatment of how China's system of capitalism compares and contrasts with current capitalist practices in India, the EU, and the US. The book does address Taiwan, and this was quite interesting. Also, I would have liked to have read more on the socio-economic factors as they affect Chinese citizens, such as the massive relocations from farms to coastal cities. I know this topic is quite broad, but the book does not discuss the vitality, energy, and motivations of the individual contributors that drive China's successes. Also, it would have been helpful to describe any effects of the 1997 transition of Hong Kong from British sovereignty to the Chinese government. Any one book, especially one as well-focused as this one, shouldn't make a full treatment of these areas, but these topics could have been mentioned. Overall, this book does an excellent job of describing how China has emerged from a socialistic society to realize the vitality of the West's new market opportunities. The book does not attempt to project China's future, but provides the background information necessary for the reader to make his or her own predictions.

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Akihiro Kamoshita

optimistic?

September 30, 2010

I like the idea, but I guess that it is optimistic a little.
I hope that his idea is right.

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Inane -

August 21, 2010

Steinfeld contends that China's major changes did not begin with Deng Xiaoping's 1978 reforms, but over ten years later immediately after Tiananmen. Perhaps, but it also ignores the fact that China faced a major fork in the road after Chairman Mao's 1976 death, started down the wrong 'more of the same' ruinous road, and probably would have continued were it not for Deng, combined with Mao's 'Gang of Four' supporters overplaying their hand in a power grab. Further, Tiananmen temporarily stalled reforms as the conservatives temporarily took advantage of the chaos - progress did not resume until Deng's 1991 'Southern tour' of China's original SEZs. However, Steinfield's assertion that China is now serving not just its own interests, but ours as well is what really sends this book off the rails. It's had to see how their taking increasing proportions of our R&D, high-tech/green-tech employment, accumulating trillions of our deficit dollars, and now diversifying those assets into American and other firms is in our interest. Nor is our already having lost millions of manufacturing jobs to China, or China's becoming an increasingly important leader in the U.N. and other bodies - thanks to its growing 'soft power' accumulated through largely condition-free loans and investments in other nations. Etc. regarding China's development of low-cost supersonic guided missiles that will render our trillion-dollar aircraft flotillas obsolete.

Author Steinfield's is over-impressed by China's reduced restrictions on its people - formerly they were tied to a single employer for life, and typically received health care, housing, etc. from that employer and required its approval to move, marry, etc. Now this is no longer the case - personally, I'm glad, but it's not that big a deal for the U.S.A.

What amazes me is not the book itself, but that the parents of talented American students will pay big for them to study economics at MIT with Professor Steinfield, when they could instead stay home and remain smarter.

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