Comments along the lines of "Why would anyone want to dominate?" fail to understand basic human nature. Kids want to dominate the playground. Companies want to dominate their markets. Countries want to dominate internationally, whether that is by financial or military means. Only once they have tried, and their people known the terrible cost of failure, do they come to a point of acceptance. We are currently seeing this in the UK: there is no desire to go to war with our neighbours, but we are still jostling, both internally and externally, about our level of power in our interactions with other European nations.

China is massively misunderstood by Westerners, particularly in the US. One just has to watch US TV to see incredibly insular and racist views towards the Chinese that would simply not be tolerated towards other ethnic groups. There is a sense that it is an unstoppable force, powered by an almost unlimited pool of human capital and a political system - baffling and terrifying to many Westerners - which contains collective power over the individual that we cannot imagine. This image of China entrenches an idea of it as a threat.

Mr Fenby's book is therefore hugely valuable, not only as a guide to understanding the challenges facing China, but also in encouraging Westerners to engage with it, rather than simply fearing it.