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Winner Take All
Book

Winner Take All

China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World

Dambisa Moyo
Basic Books, 2012

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

With China dominating financial headlines and world commodity markets, economist Dambisa Moyo takes a timely look at its strategy of stockpiling natural resources and financial assets. To tally the hundreds of billions of dollars China has invested, Moyo tours the world from Russia to Africa to South America. China is mostly playing nice, she concludes, although the leaders of the world’s second-largest economy are willing to use cutthroat tactics. She offers a balanced account of China’s prominent role, eschewing breathless fearmongering but also refusing to let China off the hook for questionable practices. This artful study examines the big picture beyond China’s buying spree, delving into its political pressures at home and cataloging resource scarcities abroad. While not an investment guide, this analysis provides valuable insight into the forces driving commodity markets. getAbstract recommends Moyo’s reporting to readers seeking an enlightening financial and political perspective on global markets and, notably, on China.

Take-Aways

  • Between 2005 and 2011, China embarked on a global buying spree of more than “350 foreign direct investments” totaling more than $400 billion.
  • Its shopping list included coal from Russia, oil rights in Brazil, copper mines in South America and hydropower plants in Africa.
  • China is buying commodities, global brands such as Volvo and IBM, and financial instruments such as US Treasury bonds.

About the Author

International economist Dambisa Moyo is the author of Dead Aid and How the West Was Lost. Time magazine named her one of its “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2009.

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