This book is a must-read for anyone who deals with China and possesses an aircraft carrier or two. Former US Treasury secretary Henry (Hank) Paulson has for more than a decade enjoyed a level of meaningful access to the Chinese elite that may be unrivalled among westerners, with the single exception of Henry Kissinger. For that reason, Dealing with China is an important book. But the dealing that Paulson describes is of an order that is hardly likely to trouble mere mortals. His world is one of private jets (on one occasion escorted by F-16s on each wing), billion-dollar agreements with Chinese corporate titans and exclusive meetings with Chinese leaders as a top official in George W Bush’s White House. Thus the book’s main strength is also a shortcoming; his extraordinary experience of China yields lessons that may only be useful if you happen to govern a great power.
任何在與中國(guó)打交道、并且能調(diào)動(dòng)一兩艘航母的人,都絕不應(yīng)錯(cuò)過(guò)這本書。在十多年的時(shí)間里,前美國(guó)財(cái)長(zhǎng)亨利?“漢克”?保爾森(Henry "Hank" Paulson)一直與中國(guó)統(tǒng)治精英保持著重要接觸,就這種接觸的層次而言,西方人中或許除亨利?基辛格(Henry Kissinger)以外無(wú)人能敵。出于這一理由,《與中國(guó)打交道》(Dealing with China)是本重要的書。但保爾森所描述的那種“交道”,是普通人幾乎不可能需要操心的。他所處的世界是這樣的:乘坐私人飛機(jī)(有一次兩翼還各有F-16戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)護(hù)航),與中國(guó)企業(yè)巨頭洽談價(jià)值10億美元的協(xié)議,作為小布什(George W Bush)政府的頂層官員與中方領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人單獨(dú)會(huì)面。因此,本書的主要優(yōu)點(diǎn)也是一個(gè)缺點(diǎn):除非你碰巧是一個(gè)大國(guó)的治國(guó)者,否則他從自己與中國(guó)打交道的獨(dú)特經(jīng)歷中總結(jié)出的經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn),可能不會(huì)對(duì)你有用。