Command of Commerce: America's Enduring Economic Power Advantage over China

by Ben A. Vagle, Stephen G. Brooks Narrated by Jonathan Strait

Overview

The conventional wisdom has held that China's economic power is very close to America's and that Washington cannot undertake a broad economic cutoff of China without hurting itself as much, or more. In Command of Commerce, Ben A. Vagle and Stephen G. Brooks show the conventional wisdom is wrong on both fronts. The authors argue that America's economic power has been underestimated because conventional economic measures have ignored America's unprecedented control over the world's largest multinational corporations. They further argue that China's economic power has been overestimated due to Beijing's manipulation of its economic data and measurement issues presented by China's uniquely structured economy. The authors also show Washington could impose massive, disproportionate harm on Beijing if it imposed a broad economic cutoff on China in cooperation with its allies or via a distant naval blockade. Across six scenarios, China's short-term economic losses from a broad cutoff range from being five to eleven times higher than America's. And in the long run, America and almost all its allies would return to previous economic growth levels; in contrast, China's growth would be permanently degraded.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"In Command of Commerce, Vagle and Brooks provide a provocative reinterpretation of China's economic weakness-and of America's enduring economic power. Emphasizing the central role of U.S. firms in high-value, high-technology industries, Command of Commerce shows that China is still a second-tier player in the industries that matter. Required reading for understanding the world economy and the role of China-U.S. relations." — Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology

"The conclusions of Command of Commerce are staggering. It's rare that I read a book and am totally blown away by its implications. This is one of those books. It provides the most detailed analysis to date of how economically far ahead the United States is relative to China." — Jonathan Markowitz, University of Southern California

"Vagle and Brooks' terrific analysis provides the centerpiece for the next round of China policy debates. This highly readable and compelling book reveals that America has great economic leverage over China that could be deployed in a potential crisis-leverage that would be thrown away if Washington were to decouple in peacetime." — Susan Shirk, University of California, San Diego

"This compelling, provocative book thoroughly challenges the conventional wisdom about the relative strength and resilience of the American and Chinese economies. By demonstrating China's economy would suffer far more than America's from a wartime economic cutoff, Vagle and Brooks show how economic statecraft can play a crucial role in preventing conflict across the Taiwan Strait." — Taylor R. Fravel, Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director, Security Studies Program, MIT

"Command of Commerce offers a useful corrective to declinist narratives. It is a sharp, data-rich, and policy-relevant study of how economic power actually works, and why the US is still the commanding force in world politics." — Pål Røren, Journal of Peace Research

Product Details

BN ID:	2940195747718
Publisher:	Ascent Audio
Publication date:	09/16/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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