Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-256) and index.

Journalist Kynge traces the shock waves from Beijing to Tuscany to the Midwest as China's hunger for jobs, raw materials, energy, and food--and its export of goods, workers, and investments--drastically reshape world trade and politics. As we become increasingly dependent on China's products and markets, the slightest change in the Chinese economy quickly reaches us. Drawing on his years in the country and his fluency in Mandarin, Kynge probes beyond the statistics to unearth the reasons for China's explosive growth. He sounds the alarm as China's systemic weaknesses--rampant fraud, crippling environmental crises, corrupt banking systems, faltering government institutions--threaten greater global disruptions. Through stories of entrepreneurs and visionaries, factory workers and store clerks at the center of it all, Kynge explains how this spectacular change occurred--how it affects our jobs, our communities, and our local department stores--and what it will mean for the twenty-first century.--From publisher description.

SACFinal081324