China: Friend or Foe: Book Review

Like a tidal wave, Sino-tastic writing has proliferated a market fascinated by an interest in China that has been conveniently sold as rekindled, although it is in fact merely continuing. Not the same can we say of this new attempt at revealing more of the complexities integral to international relations, for it stands as at once futile and overly didactic.

At least since the days of tea and other, more controversial, substances, so-called East and West have remained entranced with each other. Of course, periods of particular interest open opportunities for authors such as Mr. De Burgh to ride that fully loaded bandwagon as far as it'll go, yet unfortunately bumps await.

If only China: Friend or Foe (C:FOF) could have been as uninterrupted as the actual relationship it wishes to explain. Despite De Burgh's impressive background in China and undoubted expertise, his work as seen here confuses the reader by neglecting to even answer the big question gracing its ominous, red-splattered cover.

Lasting a mere 200 and some pages, the book finishes seemingly halfway through, feeling decidedly incomplete, bluntly ignoring its own impetus. For if De Burgh can't be bothered to give us his thoughts and conclusions on the vital issue of future relations vis a vis China, then surely we shouldn't be bothered to pick up his work at the bookstore.

Overall, C:FOF reads like a dreary travel guide, with chapters titled unimaginatively along predictable lines tracing China's infrastructure, government, society, religion, education and so on. We wonder what happened to the Getting There portion.

It's easy to get the picture, although what it all means defies comprehension. Aside from good opening comments (behold, an actual introduction) and a handful of insights, De Burgh limits himself to unremarkable statistics and facts you could obtain in a myriad other sources. There's no defining thread or direction to this assembly of previously asserted pointers, and as noted above, a complete dearth of closure.

De Burgh's likewise not the most authoritative of China experts. He seems adamant regarding the pros and cons of China's current system of government and one-party structure, with some strong criticism of mistakes committed during previous decades. He also comes out and deftly says power brokers in China have used friction with other nations and groups as a distraction and nationalistic rallying call, shifting the narrative towards a China Vs. Foreign mode.

Beyond that, we get very little in the way of concrete, new input. C:FOF reuses much of the already established knowledge base on China, once more telling us the gap between poor and rich is dangerous and that environmental concerns are paramount. But almost in every respect, there's the impression De Burgh thinks China's government pro-active and working to improve, making him sound pandering. Whether his fuzzy stance is warranted or not, it still doesn't answer the friend or foe query.

Impressions are the most you can hope to glean from C:FOF, the author reluctant to proffer solid opinions, Even at his best, he's reduced to commentary. To be useful as reference or study material, a book on politics must strive to present answers and clearcut viewpoints. These are absent from China: Friend or Foe.

A complete miss, this book epitomizes the cynical opportunist mentality surrounding any topic hot enough to attract this sort of shoddy work. With all due respect to De Burgh's Old China Hand status, readers are advised to exercise their freedom of choice and avoid his latest contribution.

China: Friend or Foe?
Icon Books, 208 pages
ISBN 1840467339