The behind-the-scenes story of Donald Trump's high-stakes confrontation with Beijing, from an award-winning Washington Post columnist and peerless observer of the U.S.-China relationship.
For Chaos Under Heaven, Rogin, a columnist for The Washington Post’s Global Opinions section, had exceptional access to the key players in the previous administration. His book provides a fascinating window into the dysfunction and shortsightedness that typified the Trump administration’s approach to China and brings to light important details that will undoubtedly make their way into future histories of the bilateral relationship. Rogin, for example, puts us in the room in December 2016 when Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi lectured a Trump team for at least two hours on 'a litany of Chinese government edicts, grievances, and demands.' ... However, Rogin’s compelling blow-by-blow account of the backbiting within the Trump administration would have been strengthened by a more complete analysis of the bilateral relationship prior to Trump. The intense focus on the former president produces a rather ahistoric portrait of Sino-U.S. relations ... The long, messy and complicated history of the relationship between Beijing and Washington is essential for understanding its future. While some readers may come away from this book awakened to the perils presented by Xi Jinping’s China, they will be left without a deep historical perspective on what might lie ahead.
In Chaos Under Heaven, the Washington Post reporter Josh Rogin reminds us that under Xi Jinping, China halted the export of personal protective equipment made by US companies, sent defective PPE to the Netherlands and barred Australian beef exports after Canberra called for an inquiry into the genesis of Covid-19 ... Chaos Under Heaven moves quickly, is well-written and draws the reader in. Rogin makes clear that tension between Beijing and Washington will probably remain for the foreseeable future.
To understand the challenges posed by Communist China, and the difficulties experienced by the United States in dealing with these challenges, there is probably no better book than Chaos Under Heaven. Author Josh Rogin, a reporter and opinion columnist for the Washington Post, knows many of the relevant actors in the U.S. capital, New York, and beyond. He combines his analysis of who did and said what with investigations of their personal and institutional interests ... Rogin notes the influence on U.S. policies of many Harvard University graduates and professors. He errs, however, in claiming that diplomat-scholar Kennan had a Ph.D. from Harvard ... Chaos Under Heaven emphasizes chaos in the United States. It could do more to detail chaos in China. On balance, it is a fascinating and illuminating account of the hard choices facing policymakers in both countries.
