Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World

by Dambisa Moyo

Overview

Commodities permeate virtually every aspect of modern daily living, but for all their importance -- their breadth, their depth, their intricacies, and their central role in daily life -- few people who are not economists or traders know how commodity markets work. Almost every day, newspaper headlines and media commentators scream warnings of impending doom -- shortages of arable land, clashes over water, and political conflict as global demand for fossil fuels outstrips supply. The picture is bleak, but our grasp of the details and the macro shifts in commodities markets remain blurry.

Winner Take All is about the commodity dynamics that the world will face over the next several decades. In particular, it is about the implications of China's rush for resources across all regions of the world. The scale of China's resource campaign for hard commodities (metals and minerals) and soft commodities (timber and food) is among the largest in history. To be sure, China is not the first country to launch a global crusade to secure resources. From Britain's transcontinental operations dating back to the end of the 16th century, to the rise of modern European and American transnational corporations between the mid 1860's and 1870's, the industrial revolution that powered these economies created a voracious demand for raw materials and created the need to go far beyond their native countries.

So too is China's resource rush today. Although still in its early stages, already the breadth of China's operation is awesome, and seemingly unstoppable. China's global charge for commodities is a story of China's quest to secure its claims on resource assets, and to guarantee the flow of inputs needed to continue to drive economic development. Moyo, an expert in global commodities markets, explains the implications of China's resource grab in a world of diminishing resources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465029099
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	09/10/2013
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dambisa Moyo is a prize-winning economist. The author of New York Times bestsellers Winner Take All and Dead Aid, she was named one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time Magazine. Moyo is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I China's Rush For Resources 11

1 The Drivers of World Commodity Demand 13

2 The Resource State of Play: Land and Water 27

3 The Resource State of Play: Oil, Gas, and Minerals 45

4 Hocking the Family Jewels 75

Part II What China's Resource Rush Means for the World 95

5 A Commodity Price Précis 99

6 Cornering the Market 121

7 Meddling in the Markets 137

8 The Geopolitics of It All 155

9 A Harbinger of Things to Come 177

10 Clear and Present Danger 197

11 List of Tables and Figures 227

Acknowledgments 229

Notes 231

Bibliography 239

Index 247

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Kirkus Reviews“Written to clarify important global questions, this book deserves a wide audience.”
 Jim Rogers, author of Hot Commodities and A Gift to My Children“Dambisa Moyo offers a smart primer for investors looking to make sense of the opportunities and risks in the commodity space today. You must read this book if you want to understand the reality of what's happening in the world today. I am afraid the West is going to wake up too late to prepare for the future.” 
Peter Munk, Chairman and Founder, Barrick Gold Corporation“For anyone longing to make sense of tectonic, eco-political shifts occurring in the commodities market, Winner Takes All is a fascinating and important book. By focusing her razor-sharp mind on China's central role in the new commodities rush, Moyo sheds light on and makes sense of a profound and dramatic moment in our history. Her book is a must-read." 
Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and author of The End of the Free Market“With Winner Take All, Dambisa Moyo offers a timely and provocative answer to two crucial questions: How are China’s leaders rushing to meet their country’s exploding demand for energy, and what does this mean for the rest of us? From Africa to Central Asia to Latin America, China exerts growing influence over prices for the commodities we all must buy to fuel our cars, heat our homes, and power our economies. It’s a recipe for conflict—and at a crucial moment for the future of the global economy.” Business Insider“If Moyo’s calculations are correct, we are in big trouble which makes the central premise of her book, Winner Take All, all the more arresting. . . . To western eyes, Winner Take All makes for scary reading.” Huntington News (Huntington, WV)“‘Winner Take All’ is an important book and should be read by everyone seeking to understand the importance of commodities in a world where population growth is outpacing the supply of the commodities needed to sustain life.” The Financial Times
“If we do have to face facts, Moyo is our woman. Winner Takes All would delight Gradgrind: it is peppered with nuggets and statistics, both macro and micro. One cannot accuse Moyo of failing to do her homework. So much has been packed into it that her book is impossible to read without learning something. . . . [Winner Takes All] is a warning of crippling resource scarcity.” The Irish Examiner
“In summary, Moyo’s argument is a captivating read based on many facts and independent reports but one which also reflects an externalised view considering that Dambisa Moyo has her origins in Lusaka, Zambia. If you want to know why certain things will happen then read this book today.”
Bloomberg News
“[Moyo’s] sharp perceptions and lucid exposition merit the jacket blurb from Jim Rogers. ‘You must read this book if you want to understand the reality of what’s happening in the world today,’ says the investor who co-founded Quantum Fund with George Soros. ‘I’m afraid the West is going to wake up too late to prepare for the future.’” USA Today
“Provocative — largely due to its gloomy vision of the future. . . . Though just 272 pages, Winner Take All is replete with illuminating facts and figures—including nuggets of information that keep the pages turning. . . . Thoroughly researched and alarmingly convincing, Winner Take All should serve as a warning of what might be in store down the road.” Nature
“[Moyo] pulls no punches in this investigation of China’s global ‘shopping spree’ for resources.” MoneyWeek (UK)
“Moyo’s aim is not so much to impress us with the well-worn thesis most have read before – that China is industrialising at a breakneck rate. Rather, she aims in part to frighten; in its quest to satisfy the rising demands of 1.3 billion people, China is starting to exert an iron grip on the commodities market.” Jonathan Fenby, The Observer/The Guardian (UK)
“This book's overall message is one which certainly deserves greater attention that it generally receives.” The Independent (UK)
“She tells this story from a different perspective than most writers of the West, for she does see things in part from the standpoint of Africa.” John Gibbs Blog
“The book is both thought-provoking and instructive, even for readers who do not agree with the scarcity scenarios.”

Steven W. Mosher, The Washington Times
“All over the world, China is snapping up mines, agricultural land and oil fields at a frenetic pace, often paying more — considerably more — than the going rate. The sheer scale of its purchases is astonishing.” Asian Review of Books
“[A] warning call by a celebrity intellectual, Winner Take All serves a useful purpose.” Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)
“While at heart a book of facts and figures, it is a warning to western governments and a source of valuable information to investors about where to hedge the commodity dollar of the future.” Globe and Mail (Canada)
“Moyo, a youthful emerging superstar among global-economy mavens, is… not afraid of controversy, as in her new book, a portrait of a world of shrinking resources and potential clashes over them: water, arable land, energy supplies.”
China Economic Review
“Winner Take All is impressive in its scope, ranging from the current state of global resource demand and trends in Chinese acquisitions to how commodity trading works and future trends in the demand and supply of resources.”

The Nation“Winner Take All, Dambisa Moyo’s new book on China’s role in the current global resource race, is a… call to arms against a country that she sees as cannibalizing the world’s resources while others foolishly sleep.” ExpatChn.com (Shanghai)“Winner Take All is well-researched and chock-full of information about the global commodities market. It’s an important and worthwhile…ead that provides context for many current events and our world economy—and if Moyo’s predictions turn out to be accurate, it will shed light on future political issues, too.” Journal of International Affairs“The story of China’s remarkable transformation over the past 30 years from an impoverished agrarian society into the world’s second largest economy has been extensively documented. Less attention, however, has been given to the consequences of the country’s breakneck growth rates on global commodity supply and demand…. Moyo’s book offers a useful primer on the policies China has adopted to satisfy its commodity demand, and the consequences of these policies for the rest of the world.”
iTV-Asia“[Moyo] does her homework, takes no one’s word as gospel, considers all sides and makes a very persuasive and troubling case for the Chinese approach to resource security.”

e-International Relations
“Moyo’s book is equally at pains to point out that China’s relentless quest for economic growth, through domestic development and as global manufacturer, will see its claim to many non-renewable resources to increase in the future. Thus, in situating China’s shift toward a market economy as part of a set of larger, international problems, which extend beyond the narrow confines of nation-states, Moyo is able to shift the 'China rising' debate into one of global economic significance. In this regard, Moyo’s book can be situated within the finer tradition of 'China’s rise literature.”

Editorial Reviews

The Financial Times
“If we do have to face facts, Moyo is our woman. Winner Takes All would delight Gradgrind: it is peppered with nuggets and statistics, both macro and micro. One cannot accuse Moyo of failing to do her homework. So much has been packed into it that her book is impossible to read without learning something.... [Winner Takes All] is a warning of crippling resource scarcity.”

The Irish Examiner
“In summary, Moyo's argument is a captivating read based on many facts and independent reports but one which also reflects an externalised view considering that Dambisa Moyo has her origins in Lusaka, Zambia. If you want to know why certain things will happen then read this book today.”

Bloomberg News
“[Moyo's] sharp perceptions and lucid exposition merit the jacket blurb from Jim Rogers. ‘You must read this book if you want to understand the reality of what's happening in the world today,' says the investor who co-founded Quantum Fund with George Soros. ‘I'm afraid the West is going to wake up too late to prepare for the future.'”

USA Today
“Provocative — largely due to its gloomy vision of the future.... Though just 272 pages, Winner Take All is replete with illuminating facts and figures—including nuggets of information that keep the pages turning.... Thoroughly researched and alarmingly convincing, Winner Take All should serve as a warning of what might be in store down the road.”

Nature
“[Moyo] pulls no punches in this investigation of China's global ‘shopping spree' for resources.”

MoneyWeek (UK)
“Moyo's aim is not so much to impress us with the well-worn thesis most have read before – that China is industrialising at a breakneck rate. Rather, she aims in part to frighten; in its quest to satisfy the rising demands of 1.3 billion people, China is starting to exert an iron grip on the commodities market.”

Jonathan Fenby, The Observer/The Guardian (UK)
“This book's overall message is one which certainly deserves greater attention that it generally receives.”

The Independent (UK)
“She tells this story from a different perspective than most writers of the West, for she does see things in part from the standpoint of Africa.”

Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and author of The End of the Free Market
“With Winner Take All, Dambisa Moyo offers a timely and provocative answer to two crucial questions: How are China's leaders rushing to meet their country's exploding demand for energy, and what does this mean for the rest of us? From Africa to Central Asia to Latin America, China exerts growing influence over prices for the commodities we all must buy to fuel our cars, heat our homes, and power our economies. It's a recipe for conflict—and at a crucial moment for the future of the global economy.”

Business Insider
“If Moyo's calculations are correct, we are in big trouble which makes the central premise of her book, Winner Take All, all the more arresting.... To western eyes, Winner Take All makes for scary reading.”

Huntington News (Huntington, WV)
“‘Winner Take All' is an important book and should be read by everyone seeking to understand the importance of commodities in a world where population growth is outpacing the supply of the commodities needed to sustain life.”

John Gibbs Blog
“The book is both thought-provoking and instructive, even for readers who do not agree with the scarcity scenarios.”

Steven W. Mosher, The Washington Times
“All over the world, China is snapping up mines, agricultural land and oil fields at a frenetic pace, often paying more — considerably more — than the going rate. The sheer scale of its purchases is astonishing.”

Asian Review of Books
“[A] warning call by a celebrity intellectual, Winner Take All serves a useful purpose.”

Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)
“While at heart a book of facts and figures, it is a warning to western governments and a source of valuable information to investors about where to hedge the commodity dollar of the future.”

Globe and Mail (Canada)
“Moyo, a youthful emerging superstar among global-economy mavens, is... not afraid of controversy, as in her new book, a portrait of a world of shrinking resources and potential clashes over them: water, arable land, energy supplies.”

China Economic Review
“Winner Take All is impressive in its scope, ranging from the current state of global resource demand and trends in Chinese acquisitions to how commodity trading works and future trends in the demand and supply of resources.”

Kirkus Reviews
“Written to clarify important global questions, this book deserves a wide audience."

Jim Rogers, author of Hot Commodities and A Gift to My Children
“Dambisa Moyo offers a smart primer for investors looking to make sense of the opportunities and risks in the commodity space today. You must read this book if you want to understand the reality of what's happening in the world today. I am afraid the West is going to wake up too late to prepare for the future.”

Peter Munk, Chairman and Founder, Barrick Gold Corporation
“For anyone longing to make sense of tectonic, eco-political shifts occurring in the commodities market, Winner Takes All is a fascinating and important book. By focusing her razor-sharp mind on China's central role in the new commodities rush, Moyo sheds light on and makes sense of a profound and dramatic moment in our history. Her book is a must-read."

From the Publisher

Moyo (How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly--and the Stark Choices Ahead, 2012, etc.) warns about the dangers of international conflicts over land and resources. Though she is concerned that "the world…remains largely ill-prepared for the challenges of resource scarcity and the evolving dynamics around China's central role," the author sharply disagrees with those who assert that China is making an imperial-style grab for raw materials. She asserts that China's policy is different and compares statements of leaders and partners from different countries as proof. China is obtaining access to resources to maintain the growth of its own economy, writes the author, who shows how the country's leaders are prepared to offer money, roads, railways, schools and hospitals in exchange. Moyo contrasts what the Chinese call a "win for all involved" approach with the colonialist approach. She writes that if Western countries "are to have any semblance of standing in the emerging world," they must cease depending on their traditional policy tools. The author compares current global consumption of foodstuffs, fuel sources and major industrial raw materials with China's consumption of the same materials and contends that China's buying power is comparable, on the level of the global economy, to the effect of Wal-Mart's purchasing policies within the U.S. ("one buyer faces many sellers"). Moyo fears that China may be operating in an international "legal vacuum," and she discusses the relation between resource supply and demand and financial markets. Written to clarify important global questions, this book deserves a wide audience.

Kirkus Reviews