“The amount of reporting that went into China’s Silent Army is truly impressive. It is the sympathetic accounts of ordinary emigrants’ experiences that provide the backdrop for the real insights of the book.” – Financial Times

“The Spaniards' research is prodigious and the facts they unearth startling....The Chinese should reflect on the questions the book raises. To put it mildly, there appears to be a case to answer.” – Evening Standard

“Excellent macro-economic insights….But ultimately the human stories are what make [China’s Silent Army] so compelling….It ought to be required reading.” – Prospect

“Lively and humane….[China's Silent Army] offers essential information for all who wish to learn how the global reach of China Inc is transforming the lives of everyone on this planet.” – Literary Review

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China is delighted to invite you to the critically-acclaimed book presentation: China’s Silent Army: The Pioneers, Traders, Fixers and Workers Who Are Remaking the World in Beijing's Image, Allen Lane, Penguin, from 09:00 to 10:30 on Tuesday, 12th March 2013 at the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel.

China's Silent Army has been translated into 10 languages and it is the first field research ever done at this scale on the topic of China's internationalization. From 2009-2011 the authors, Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araujo, travelled the globe to investigate how the Chinese are literally making the developing world in their own image. What they discovered is a human story, an economic story, and a political story, one that is changing the course of history and that has never been explored, or reported, in depth and on the ground.

The “silent army” to which the authors refer is made up of the many ordinary Chinese citizens working around the world - in the oil industry in Kazakhstan, mining minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, building dams in Ecuador, selling hijabs in Cairo - who are contributing to China's global dominance while also leaving their mark in less salutary ways.

Juan Pablo Cardenal, co-author of the book, will join us to present the book and introduce us to the unprecedented growth of China's economic investment in the developing world, its impact at the local level, and a rare hands-on picture of the role of ordinary Chinese in the juggernaut that is China. Juan Pablo Cardenal is currently a contributor and blogger for El País (Madrid) and occasional contributor to The Times (London), South China Morning Post (HK) and Aftenposten (Norway) among others.

Please note the book will be available for sale at the event (Price: RMB200 )

Agenda

08:30-09:00     Registration and Buffet Breakfast
09:00-10:00     Presentation and Q&A
10:00-10:30     Networking  

About the book

Many thousands of miles and twenty-five countries later, China's Silent Army is the result: an unprecedented attempt to meet the many Chinese who, through hard work, ingenuity and ruthless business practices are rapidly moving much of the world into Beijing's orbit - from Peruvian mines to Siberian forests, Sudanese dams to Burmese jade mines. The implications of what they are doing - politically, ecologically and economically - are profoundly disturbing and particularly topical in light of the Eurozone crisis and the diminishing economical presence of the West. Unlike other books on China, this is the human story of its march to power, told from the ground. Originally written in Spanish, the book has been or is being translated into ten languages.
 

About the author

Juan Pablo Cardenal

Since 2003, Juan has been reporting from and about China and the Asia-Pacific region - first as Shanghai correspondent for El Mundo, and later from Singapore and Beijing for El Economista. He is the co-writer along with Heriberto Araújo of the book China’s Silent Army, a research throughout 25 countries in the developing world (Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America) to understand how China is becoming a world superpower. Both Juan Pablo and Heriberto are currently researching for another book: China's approach to the West.

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