Command of Commerce
America's Enduring Economic Power Advantage over China
Stephen G Brooks author Ben A Vagle author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Publishing:4th Jul '25
£19.99
This title is due to be published on 4th July, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
The conventional wisdom has held that China's economic power is very close to America's and that Washington cannot undertake a broad economic cutoff of China without hurting itself as much, or more. In Command of Commerce, Ben A. Vagle and Stephen G. Brooks show the conventional wisdom is wrong on both fronts. The authors argue that America's economic power has been underestimated because conventional economic measures have ignored America's unprecedented control over the world's largest multinational corporations. They further argue that China's economic power has been overestimated due to Beijing's manipulation of its economic data and measurement issues presented by China's uniquely structured economy. The authors also show Washington could impose massive, disproportionate harm on Beijing if it imposed a broad economic cutoff on China in cooperation with its allies or via a distant naval blockade. Across six scenarios, China's short-term economic losses from a broad cutoff range from being 5 to 11 times higher than America's. And in the long run, America and almost all its allies would return to previous economic growth levels; in contrast, China's growth would be permanently degraded.
In Command of Commerce, Vagle and Brooks provide a provocative reinterpretation of China's economic weakness-and of America's enduring economic power. Emphasizing the central role of U.S. firms in high-value, high-technology industries, Command of Commerce shows that China is still a second-tier player in the industries that matter. Required reading for understanding the world economy and the role of China-U.S. relations. * Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology *
The conclusions of Command of Commerce are staggering. It's rare that I read a book and am totally blown away by its implications. This is one of those books. It provides the most detailed analysis to date of how economically far ahead the United States is relative to China. * Jonathan Markowitz, University of Southern California *
Vagle and Brooks' terrific analysis provides the centerpiece for the next round of China policy debates. This highly readable and compelling book reveals that America has great economic leverage over China that could be deployed in a potential crisis-leverage that would be thrown away if Washington were to decouple in peacetime. * Susan Shirk, University of California, San Diego *
This compelling, provocative book thoroughly challenges the conventional wisdom about the relative strength and resilience of the American and Chinese economies. By demonstrating China's economy would suffer far more than America's from a wartime economic cutoff, Vagle and Brooks show how economic statecraft can play a crucial role in preventing conflict across the Taiwan Strait. * Taylor R. Fravel, Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director, Security Studies Program, MIT *
ISBN: 9780197802304
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
288 pages