China's Silent Army

The Pioneers, Traders, Fixers and Workers Who Are Remaking the World in Beijing's Image

This book stems from the remarkable, determined work of two China-based journalists. Frustrated by the facile, pro-business commentary of so much writing on China and the evasions of Beijing's official pronouncements, they took a drastic decision: to see for themselves just how rapidly China is spreading its influence around the world.

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. The sheer range is astonishing: from Peruvian mines to Siberian forests, from Sudanese dams to Burmese jade mines - everywhere China's 'silent army' is working to redirect enormous resources. Many countries, previously reliant on the United States or Russia, have switched allegiance and we are still in the early stages of what is going to be a massive reordering of world power. Places such as Burma, Venezuela and Iran, frozen out by western sanctions, simply become more attractive to the Chinese, who can get better terms and act without scrutiny.

China's Silent Army allows the reader to come face-to-face with extraordinary individuals working on China's behalf, often in truly terrible conditions, struggling in some of the world's most hostile places to create what amounts to a new, informal empire. The authors talk to everyone from Chinese farmers in Sudan and cheap clothing sellers in Egypt to the managers of huge mining, wood and gas projects across Asia. The enterprise and vigour of many of these people is not in doubt: they often work in conditions unacceptable to most westerners. But the implications of what they are doing - politically, ecologically and economically - are profoundly disturbing.