In this blog, Simon Maxwell reviews Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araujothe’s book, 'China’s Silent Army: The Pioneers, Traders, Fixers and Workers Who Are Remaking the World in Beijing's Image'.

China’s ever-growing dominance is often in the news – and not always in a good way – and the arguments prevalent in the media arebrought together and fleshed out in this book. 

As might be inferred from the title, this is not necessarily a favourable account, but the authors are well-travelled and well-informed and their arguments are not easily dismissed. Does the argument hold up? And in particular, does it hold up in a comparative sense? We know China is bigger than the rest of us. But is it also ‘worse’, for partner countries or for the world?