Dealing With China – Devin Burke's Book Review

It’s been asked, “How can a successful person have time to read books?”

The answer: “How can a person be successful without reading books?”

If that answer is true, whoever asked the question must not be very successful.

Hey, it can be hard to find the time to read; however, the most successful people I know are big readers. Among them is CEO of Universal Cargo, Devin Burke.

I’ve personally been in multiple meetings with him where he preached to staff members that they should always be reading books and went around asking everyone what books they had read lately. I say “they” as if he didn’t also say it to me.

As big as Devin is on reading, those questions at the beginning of this blog entry sound like something he would say. Of course, Devin would probably find some way to add a pun to the questions.

One of the nice things about Devin’s reading is that sometimes he shares his thoughts on the books he reads with the rest of us.

Since it’s hard to find time to read as much as Devin does, his reviews are helpful in deciding if that book might be a good choice to be the next one we open.

In today’s blog, Devin shares his thoughts on Dealing with China an Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower by Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

With Universal Cargo being a freight forwarder that helps shippers import goods from China all the time, Devin does a great deal of traveling to China and doing business with people from the country. That makes Devin the first person I would ask if a particular book on dealing with China is a good one to read.

Here is what Devin had to say about the book and how many stars he gave it on his patented 7 star scale: 

A must read. Great insight not only on China, but also on what was really happening before, during, and after the ’07-’09 financial crisis, as well as what is really happening now. Knowledge is power and defeats fear. 

After reading this book, I gained so much insight on how much influence Hank Paulson had not only during his time with Goldman Sachs, but also as Treasurer of Secretary on the building of China’s current “socialist brand” of market economics. Which was and still is no easy task due to the enormous “red” tape that runs this Communist country. 

I was also able to see from his first hand perspective of how instrumental he was together with Bush #43’s “lame duck” administration from ’06-’08 in saving the world from a financial disaster by bringing China to the table as a close ally during this time and establishing the very successful SED meetings that in some part still exist today.

7 out of 7 stars.

Devin doesn’t give a 7-star rating too often. I’m intrigued. If you want to learn more too, here’s the book’s description from its iTunes page:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
DEALING WITH CHINA takes the reader behind closed doors to witness the creation and evolution and future of China’s state-controlled capitalism.

Hank Paulson has dealt with China unlike any other foreigner. As head of Goldman Sachs, Paulson had a pivotal role in opening up China to private enterprise. Then, as Treasury secretary, he created the Strategic Economic Dialogue with what is now the world’s second-largest economy. He negotiated with China on needed economic reforms, while safeguarding the teetering U.S. financial system. Over his career, Paulson has worked with scores of top Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful man in decades. 

In DEALING WITH CHINA, Paulson draws on his unprecedented access to modern China’s political and business elite, including its three most recent heads of state, to answer several key questions:

How did China become an economic superpower so quickly? How does business really get done there? What are the best ways for Western business and political leaders to work with, compete with, and benefit from China? How can the U.S. negotiate with and influence China given its authoritarian rule, its massive environmental concerns, and its huge population’s unrelenting demands for economic growth and security? Written in the same anecdote-rich, page-turning style as Paulson’s bestselling memoir, On the Brink, DEALING WITH CHINA is certain to become the classic and definitive examination of how to engage China’s leaders as they build their economic superpower.

Source: UC Blog