The China Nightmare: The Grand Ambitions of a Decaying State Paperback – December 28, 2020

Excellent commentary and insight. Blumenthal’s discussion on how Hu and Xi turned back Deng’s reforms and how that reversal might both inhibit the realization of Xi’s ambitions, but at the same time increase the recklessness of the regime is well worth reading. He also makes a good argument to continue to put pressure on the regime and quickly develop a US strategy to effectively prevent the take over of Taiwan.

Mr. Blumenthal argues that China faces a debt crisis. Yet China continues to run large balance of payments surpluses with the rest of the world, suggesting that domestic savings exceed domestic investment. The reader must conclude that the debt problem is therefore about inter-domestic debt relationships -- that is, Chinese owe other Chinese a substantial amount of money. He is also concerned that the borrowers are the most inefficient members of society -- state-owned enterprises and individuals borrowing for real estate investment. However, the author does not make the connection between the domestic misallocation of capital and the potential long-run weakness of China's international position given the large balance of payments surplus. If he is arguing that the latter will disappear as the domestic economy wallows in inefficiency, he should make this connection clearly. It is crucial to his argument.

This book is not just for policymakers, but for everyday Americans who need to be aware of China's intentions and the thinking behind their approach. That's important because part of the CCP's strategy involves manipulating Americans' views and actions. Dan Bloomenthal's book gives a clear context to today's headlines.

This remarkable book by Dan Blumenthal casts a sweeping light on China's grand strategy and its future as an ambitious, declining, and dangerous rival power. Highly recommended for anyone interested in China, most especially security experts, policy practitioners, military officers, journalists, and students. Nightmare China tells the story of Chinese Communist Party machinations, taking the reader from vicious inner party battles to the outer edges of Beijing’s global footprint. It should be required reading in Washington's halls of power and on campuses across the country. It’s excellent.

An incredible overview of what has been and is going on with China’s leadership and its relationship to its own people and the rest of the world. Every American needs to read this book. Mr. Blumenthal does an amazing job in the breadth and depth of material covered, all in a very readable format. I couldn’t put the book down.

Dan Blumenthal has been there and knows the country, the history of the country, the leadership, the CCP thinking processes and to any interested citizen these are sobering truths. Buy it, read it, and vote in a more educated way for leaders who want to face and deal with these truths.

The author points out that China’s rise was caused by reforms put in place by Deng Xiaopeng and that these reforms are being systematically revoked by his two successors to include Xi. He makes the case that these changes are why China’s growth is slowing and possibly reversing.

I was about to buy this book until I read its introduction on COVID-19. It totally missed mark by extrapolating the early errors made in China. COVID-19 certainly made CCP stronger in China rather than weaker. So, the book lost its credibility on me. Also, by citing an author who predicted the downfall of China for 30+ years shows the bias of the author.

Excellent and up to date information. It is worth reading at least twice! For anyone who would like to get a better idea of today’s geopolitical scene!

Excellent book, insightful, will Xi overreach and start a conflict over Taiwan is a scary thought.What would the outcome be, where would it end?Essential read for China watchers.