By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Who do you consider to be the leading experts on China right now?
By this I mean public intellectuals and commentators. Are there blogs or other periodicals which you read and feel to contain sound information?
Hank Paulson has recently published a book and I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would listen to what he has to say. The other day I read an opinion piece by Gordon Chang - another guy who, if I was him, I would say nothing about China.
So many people like to opine when they just don't get it. Who, in your opinion, does get it?
Two commentators I've come to respect are Michael Pettis and Chriss Street.
8 years 51 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
ECC.
I'd rather read Monkey, expatlife, Hulk, samsara and all others than whatever one layered bullshit self proclaimed experts* (most of whom can't even read Chinese) have to say from the nearest Hilton.
I respect historians, but there's not going to be any historian in our generation.
*experts is the pre-internet term for blogger.
expatlife26:
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I agree there are some really smart people on this board and that's why I keep coming back.
I hope you're wrong though about no historians, because I love studying history. I pour through good history books on long flights and train rides.
laowaigentleman:
@expat
I think Frank Dikotter's perspective on totalitarianism informs his analysis of Mao's rule of China best.
For Mao, it was always about getting and retaining power.
After reading his recent books I wish China would have a glasnost and perestroika because I'll bet there is some damning information in those archives.
I think most people who have something to say on China are doing it with a specific angle. But it is specifically because of that angle that whatever it is they say just doesn't apply to the greater picture. Come here for a day, there's a lot to say. Stay here for a week, you'll have limitless ideas about this place. A month? You'll be an expert. Longer than 2 years? You suddenly have nothing to talk about! The longer you stay, the more you realize you don't know.
Gordon Chang is an smartass, he doesn't know shit about China, he is a sensationalist not an expert, but he has been successful at convincing people, medias and politics alike that he is an expert for more than 20 years.
He has been predicting China's demise and collapse for more than 15 years. His books have all been in the top 10 sellers after release, but where is China now?
ECC.
I'd rather read Monkey, expatlife, Hulk, samsara and all others than whatever one layered bullshit self proclaimed experts* (most of whom can't even read Chinese) have to say from the nearest Hilton.
I respect historians, but there's not going to be any historian in our generation.
*experts is the pre-internet term for blogger.
expatlife26:
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I agree there are some really smart people on this board and that's why I keep coming back.
I hope you're wrong though about no historians, because I love studying history. I pour through good history books on long flights and train rides.
laowaigentleman:
@expat
I think Frank Dikotter's perspective on totalitarianism informs his analysis of Mao's rule of China best.
For Mao, it was always about getting and retaining power.
After reading his recent books I wish China would have a glasnost and perestroika because I'll bet there is some damning information in those archives.
Bill Bishop who does the Sinocism newsletter. He makes predictions at the start of each year and watches them come true one by one. If you're interested in China you really should be subscribed: https://sinocism.com/
laowaigentleman:
I hadn't heard of him before so thanks for the recommendation.
pretty confident I know more about China and the world than my Chinese family.
And I am not an "expert" or a "blogger" in any particular field.
But time and time again, I have told them little things, that have become truths. One must prove things before they can be accepted as truth....
.it is difficult to disprove the hot water thing.
The stove cannot be fixed, it is rusted to oblivion. The TV has had it's day, it is junk.
Driving on the right side of the road is safer than straight into oncoming traffic. - this was accepted after having to get a license and write a test .... new law here.
Deborah Brautigam's a good one. What about Peter Hessler and Ha-Joon Chang?
China Files and Sinocism are doing a good job at looking at all things Chinese. Our national "China Hands" are usually people who stay in China maybe 1 month every year and never strayed very far from the official receptions, yet those guys are those doing the lectures...
laowaigentleman:
The perfect example of such a person would be Niall Ferguson. I swear he thinks they spend 14 hours a day pumping out volumes and volumes of work when they're really just looking at shoes and handbags on taobao.
I certainly hope no one listens to Hank Paulson about anything other than how to run one of the most corrupt and opaque corporations in the world (Goldman Sachs), accumulate millions of dollars in assets, and then become a "public servant" (Secretary of the Treasury) which conveniently allowed him to sell all of his stock without paying capital gains taxes and then use his power as a public servant to enrich his banker buddies by bailing them out of the bubble they created. Actually, come to think of it he really might understand the Chinese way of thinking after all. Listen to Hank Paulson people!
Of those already mentioned:
Sinocism/Bill Bishop
Deobrah Brautigam
Others:
David Bandurski http://cmp.hku.hk/
Thomas Rawski http://test.econ.pitt.edu/people/facpage.php?uid=30
I also like the New York Times China blog: http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/
Burak43:
China Media Project is probably the most underrated resource on China there is, and I want everyone to know about it.
not any economist or reporter. i trust ECC users more because they have no agenda to influence public opinion. the average zhou isn't interested in understanding their own country either. and i wouldn't believe politicians.
the society is closed and secretive, but since it's very homogenous, China is actually not hard to summarize. economists must love how predictable everyone is, for their calculations.
Nouriel Roubini with comments on China (and elsewhere) in his RGE (pay for) research.
He's my guru not only on China.
Here is economical forecast for 2016, after his recent trip to China:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/roubini-global-economics-forecas...
Jim Rogers is also very valuable commentator on Asian economy, especially after 2007, when he left USA for Singapore.
He is quoted as saying: "If you were smart in 1807 you moved to London, if you were smart in 1907 you moved to New York City, and if you are smart in 2007 you move to Asia."
Look no further guys:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31478-china-s-communist-capitalist-ec...
This guy (Richard Smith) is a literary beast! The article certainly marks as one of the most detailed, and informative pieces of analysis that I have ever read on China.
Read it 吧！
