Middle Class Shanghai: Reshaping U.S.-China Engagement

The United States and China are on a collision course that could lead to a disastrous conflict unless Washington updates its understanding of contemporary Chinese society. Cheng Li's Middle Class Shanghai argues that bilateral exchanges have a strong, constructive impact and that the development of China's class structure and cosmopolitan culture could provide a force for reshaping U.S.-China engagement.

Format: Hardback
Length: 484 pages
Publication date: 11 May 2021
Publisher: Brookings Institution

The United States and China are on a collision course that could lead to a disastrous conflict unless Washington updates its understanding of contemporary Chinese society. The current deterioration of the bilateral relationship is the culmination of years of disputes, disillusionment, disappointment, and distrust between the two countries. Washington has legitimate concerns about Beijing's excessive domestic political control and aggressive foreign policy stances, while Chinese leaders believe the United States still has futile designs on blocking their country's inevitable rise to great-power status. Cheng Li's Middle Class Shanghai argues that American policymakers must not lose sight of the expansive dynamism and diversity in present-day China. The caricature of the PRC as a monolithic Communist apparatus set on exporting its ideology and development model is simplistic and misguided. Drawing on empirical research in the realms of higher education, avant-garde art, architecture, and law, this unique study highlights the strong, constructive impact of bilateral exchanges. Combining eclectic human stories with striking new data analysis, this book addresses the possibility that the development of China's class structure and cosmopolitan culture, exemplified and led by Shanghai, could provide a force for reshaping U.S.-China engagement. Both countries should build upon the deep cultural and educational exchanges that have bound them together for decades. The author concludes that U.S. policymakers should neither underestimate the role and strength of China's middle class nor overestimate the potential for China to become a liberal democracy. Instead, they should engage with China in a more nuanced and sophisticated manner that recognizes the country's unique history, culture, and political system.
The United States and China are on a collision course that could lead to a disastrous conflict unless Washington updates its understanding of contemporary Chinese society. The current deterioration of the bilateral relationship is the culmination of years of disputes, disillusionment, disappointment, and distrust between the two countries. Washington has legitimate concerns about Beijing's excessive domestic political control and aggressive foreign policy stances, while Chinese leaders believe the United States still has futile designs on blocking their country's inevitable rise to great-power status. Cheng Li's Middle Class Shanghai argues that American policymakers must not lose sight of the expansive dynamism and diversity in present-day China. The caricature of the PRC as a monolithic Communist apparatus set on exporting its ideology and development model is simplistic and misguided. Drawing on empirical research in the realms of higher education, avant-garde art, architecture, and law, this unique study highlights the strong, constructive impact of bilateral exchanges. Combining eclectic human stories with striking new data analysis, this book addresses the possibility that the development of China's class structure and cosmopolitan culture, exemplified and led by Shanghai, could provide a force for reshaping U.S.-China engagement. Both countries should build upon the deep cultural and educational exchanges that have bound them together for decades. The author concludes that U.S. policymakers should neither underestimate the role and strength of China's middle class nor overestimate the potential for China to become a liberal democracy. Instead, they should engage with China in a more nuanced and sophisticated manner that recognizes the country's unique history, culture, and political system.

Weight: 960g
Dimension: 161 x 238 x 43 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780815739098