China is advancing its own interests with increasing aggression. From its Belt and Road Initiative linking Asia and Europe, to its "Made in China 2025" strategy to dominate high-tech industries, to its significant economic reach into Africa and Latin America, the regime is rapidly expanding its influence around the globe. Many fear that China's economic clout, tech innovations, and military power will allow it to remake the world in its own authoritarian image. But despite all these strengths, a future with China in charge is far from certain. Rich and poor, big and small, countries around the world are recognizing that engaging China produces new strategic vulnerabilities to their independence and competitiveness.

How China Loses tells the story of China's struggles to overcome new risks and endure the global backlash against its assertive reach. Combining on-the-ground reportage with incisive analysis, Luke Patey argues that China's predatory economic agenda, headstrong diplomacy, and military expansion undermine its global ambitions to dominate the global economy and world affairs. In travels to Africa, Latin America, East Asia and Europe, his encounters with activists, business managers, diplomats, and thinkers reveal the challenges threatening to ground China's rising power.

At a time when views are fixated on the strategic competition between China and the United States, Patey's work shows how the rest of the world will shape the twenty-first century in pushing back against China's overreach and domineering behavior.


"China wants to replace the United States as the world's leading superpower. But what does the world want from China? In a new era of strategic competition between China and the United States, Luke Patey explores how the rest of the world is responding to China's rise. Many fear China's economic power, tech innovations, and growing military might will allow it to remake the world in its own authoritarian image. But despite all its strengths, a future with China in charge is far from certain. China will only rule the 21st century if the world lets it. How China Loses tells the story of China's struggles to overcome new risks and endure the global backlash against its assertive reach. Combining on-the-ground reportage with incisive analysis, Patey argues that China's predatory economic agenda, headstrong diplomacy, and military expansion undermine its global ambitions. In travels to Africa, Latin America, East Asia and Europe, his encounters with activists, business managers, diplomats, and thinkers show the challenges threatening China's rising power. China's relations with the outside world are reaching a critical juncture. Political differences and security tensions have risen, and many countries are now recognizing that economic engagement produces newstrategic vulnerabilities to their competitiveness and autonomy. At a time when views from Washington D.C. and Beijing dominate the discussion, Patey's work shows how perspectives from around the world will shape the global economy and world affairs"--