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.

For general readers, the payback from 400-odd pages is more likely to come in numerous asides revealing a human authenticity that Chinese leaders usually strive to expunge from the images they present to the world.

Some of his stories are truly thought-provoking. One episode started at the dead of night on September 11 2001, when Paulson, then chief executive of Goldman Sachs, was in a private jet over the Pacific flying towards China. The pilot emerged from the cockpit to inform him of an urgent call from headquarters. Planes had flown into the World Trade Center, a colleague told him as he listened to the shouts of Goldman staff in the background.