The most recommended Xi Jinping books

Who picked these books? Meet our 5 experts.

5 authors created a book list connected to Xi Jinping, and here are their favorite Xi Jinping books.
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Book cover of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao

Chris Ruffle Author Of The Barter Trade

From my list on China from an angle that Westerners don’t see.

Why am I passionate about this?

My career has given me the chance to travel around China and see parts that most foreigners do not get to see. Having studied Chinese in Oxford and Taiwan, working in China for a metal trading company in the 1980s gave me a chance to travel widely around the country when access to foreigners–especially diplomats and journalists–was highly restricted. Later, I became an early investor in the domestic stock market, focusing on smaller, entrepreneurial companies, which involved a lot of travel. I have now visited nearly every province except Hainan. Planting a vineyard and building a Scottish castle in Shandong introduced me to rural China and the local Communist Party.

Chris' book list on China from an angle that Westerners don’t see

Chris Ruffle Why did Chris love this book?

Most Western reports about China concentrate on its economic growth or political system. This book is unusual in that it examines religion in China and what the Chinese actually believe (and what they are prepared to suffer to practice those beliefs). The collapse of the traditional ethical frameworks lies behind a number of scandals in modern China.

By Ian Johnson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Souls of China as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Masterfully opens up a little explored realm: how the quest for religion and spirituality drives hundreds of millions of Chinese' Pankaj Mishra

'A fascinating odyssey ... a nuanced group portrait of Chinese citizens striving for non-material answers in an era of frenetic materialism' Julia Lovell, Guardian

'The reappearance and flourishing of religion is perhaps the most surprising aspect of the dramatic changes in China in recent decades...this is a beautiful, moving and insightful book' Michael Szonyi

In no society on Earth was there such a ferocious attempt to eradicate all trace of religion as in modern China. But now, following…


Book cover of The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China

Colin Wright Author Of Some Thoughts about Relationships

From Colin's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Researcher Journalist Analyst World-traveler Science fiction enthusiast

Colin's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Colin Wright Why did Colin love this book?

This book filled in many of my understanding-gaps related to China’s seeming priorities and overt behaviors in global politics.

The author has credible authority on the subject, and he broke down the prime motivations for those in charge of the CCP concisely and comprehensively, and after finishing the book, some of the things the Chinese government does (and prioritizes) made a lot more sense.

Working in journalism, anything that bolsters my understanding of big-picture forces that exert gravity on global events is appreciated, and that was absolutely the case with The Avoidable War.

By Kevin Rudd,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Avoidable War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The relationship between the US and China, the world's two superpowers, is peculiarly volatile. It rests on a seismic fault-of cultural misunderstanding, historical grievance, and ideological incompatibility. No other nations are so quick to offend and be offended. Their militaries play a dangerous game of chicken, corporations steal intellectual property, intelligence satellites peer, and AI technicians plot. The capacity for either country to cross a fatal line grows daily.

Kevin Rudd, a former Australian prime minister who has studied, lived in, and worked with China for more than forty years, is one of the very few people who can offer…


Book cover of Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Author Of Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink

From Jeffrey's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Essayist Historian Teacher Songwriter

Jeffrey's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Why did Jeffrey love this book?

The authors are a married team of journalists whose manuscript on generations of Hong Kong activists I picked up with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

The excitement came from my fascination with Hong Kong and the fact that I had read and learned a lot from the smart reporting each author had done on political events in different parts of Asia—reporting often framed around poignant profiles of individuals.

The trepidation came from a concern I wouldn’t find out new things, since I had published my own short book Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy in 2020 and gone on to devour good books on related topics that appeared after mine, including three that came out during the first half of 2022 alone!

As I read, I got so swept up in the extremely well-told life stories in the book, I forgot my trepidation. I came away with a renewed appreciation…

By Shibani Mahtani, Timothy McLaughlin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Among the Braves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hong Kong was an experiment in governance. Handed back to China in 1997 after 156 years of British rule, it was meant to be a carve-out between hostile systems: a bridge between communism and capitalism, authoritarianism and liberal democracy. "One country, two systems" kept its media free, its courts independent and its protests boisterous, designed also to convince Taiwan of a peaceful solution to Beijing's desire for reunification.

Yet this formulation excluded Hong Kong's own people, their future negotiated by political titans in faraway capitals. In 2019, an ill-conceived law spear-headed by a sycophantic leader pushed a third of the…


Book cover of The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State

Warren I. Cohen Author Of East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World

From my list on understanding the coming war with China.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent all of my adult life writing about American foreign policy, especially Chinese-American relations.  My America’s Response to China, the standard text on the subject, has gone through 6 editions. I served as a line officer in the Pacific Fleet, lived in Taipei and Beijing. I also served as chairman of the State Department Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation and have been a consultant on Chinese affairs to various government organizations. And I cook the best mapo toufu outside of Sichuan. (where I negotiated the Michigan-Sichuan sister-state relationship in 1982). It was probably my love of Chinese food that accounts for most of the above.

Warren's book list on understanding the coming war with China

Warren I. Cohen Why did Warren love this book?

I’ve known Liz since she was a graduate student and have been delighted to see her rise to become one of the leading authorities on the inside workings of the Chinese state. 

After years as the Council on Foreign Relations’ China expert, she left for the Hoover Institute for a quieter atmosphere for her research and writing, but she was drafted to serve as China adviser to Gina Raimondo, Biden’s secretary of commerce. There’s no better book on Xi’s China today.

By Elizabeth C. Economy,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Third Revolution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Third Revolution, eminent China scholar Elizabeth C. Economy provides an incisive look at the transformative changes underway in China today. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has unleashed a powerful set of political and economic reforms: the centralization of power under Xi, himself, the expansion of the Communist Party's role in Chinese political, social, and economic life, and the construction of a virtual wall of regulations to control more closely the
exchange of ideas and capital between China and the outside world. Beyond its borders, Beijing has recast itself as a great power, seeking to reclaim its past glory and…


Book cover of The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream

Shaoyu Yuan Author Of Panda Not Dragon: Why the Rise of China Is Not a Threat

From my list on understanding China and Chinese culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

Yuan, born in a small town in Inner Mongolia, is a researcher and PhD candidate at Rutgers University. He is an expert on Chinese and East Asian studies. Yuan's research interests include Chinese foreign and domestic policy, Sino-US relations, and how the country utilizes its influence and fosters relationships. He received his MS in International Relations from Northeastern University and BA from Centre College. Yuan has written extensively on China and Chinese foreign policy.

Shaoyu's book list on understanding China and Chinese culture

Shaoyu Yuan Why did Shaoyu love this book?

This fascinating book explains China from a historical perspective. It presents a detailed look at how China has transformed from its past to today, from the Middle Kingdom to Red Communist. 4,000 years of history is almost impossible to fit in a single-volume book, yet this book did its best and successfully summarized the most fundamental parts of the country’s history, introducing one of the oldest civilizations alive on earth to those who wish to learn more about China.

By Michael Wood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Story of China as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A single volume history of China, offering a look into the past of the global superpower and its significance today.

Michael Wood has travelled the length and breadth of China, the world’s oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years.

After a century and a half of foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution, China has once again returned to center stage as a global superpower and the world’s second largest economy. But how did it become so dominant? Wood argues that in order…


Book cover of Sparks: China's Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Author Of Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink

From Jeffrey's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Essayist Historian Teacher Songwriter

Jeffrey's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Why did Jeffrey love this book?

I found the central figures profiled in Sparks enormously compelling due to their bravery, determination, and in some cases also audacity.

These intrepid people—a mix that includes documentary filmmakers, samizdat publishers, essayists, and collectors of oral histories—simply refuse to give up on their risky mission of trying to counter-distorting official Chinese Communist Party narratives about the past. It is an important book, given how much emphasis Xi Jinping has been placing on controlling views of history.

It is also a gripping read, filled with lively anecdotes. I am biased, as Ian Johnson, the author, is a close friend. But I challenge anyone interested in issues of freedom and human rights to read this and come away unmoved.

By Ian Johnson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sparks as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'An indelible feat of reporting and an urgent read ... It's a privilege to read books like these' Te-Ping Chen, author of Land of Big Numbers

'A powerful reminder of the ways in which China's future depends on who controls the past' Peter Hessler

A documentary filmmaker who spent years uncovering a Mao-era death camp; an independent journalist who gave voice to the millions who suffered through Covid; a magazine publisher who dodges the secret police: these are some of the people who make up Sparks: China's Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future, a vital account of how…


Book cover of The China Fantasy: Why Capitalism Will Not Bring Democracy to China

Warren I. Cohen Author Of East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World

From my list on understanding the coming war with China.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent all of my adult life writing about American foreign policy, especially Chinese-American relations.  My America’s Response to China, the standard text on the subject, has gone through 6 editions. I served as a line officer in the Pacific Fleet, lived in Taipei and Beijing. I also served as chairman of the State Department Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation and have been a consultant on Chinese affairs to various government organizations. And I cook the best mapo toufu outside of Sichuan. (where I negotiated the Michigan-Sichuan sister-state relationship in 1982). It was probably my love of Chinese food that accounts for most of the above.

Warren's book list on understanding the coming war with China

Warren I. Cohen Why did Warren love this book?

When this book was published it was a sensation that divided the world of China watchers. Indeed, my wife, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, hated it—and I loved it. 

Jim, a close personal friend of ours, was arguing that policies that most in the field endorsed, such as Permanent MFN (most favored nation tariff status), were a mistake; that the theory that as China’s economy developed, as it modernized, it would move toward becoming democratic was nonsense. He was dismissive of the Clinton administration’s policies and of the academics and other analysts who supported it. 

His arguments resonated with me based on my time living in China and my contacts with Chinese intellectuals and officials. There’s little doubt today that Jim was right—his experience as the Los Angeles Times Bureau Chief in Beijing and his research for his About Face and Rise of the Vulcans informed his views.

By James Mann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The China Fantasy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The book that got China right: a prophetic work on how America's policies towards China led it away from liberalization and further towards authoritarianism, from the bestselling author of Rise of the Vulcans

"[The China Fantasy] predicted, China would remain an authoritarian country, and its success would encourage other authoritarian regimes to resist pressures to change . . . Mann’s prediction turned out to be true." -New York Review of Books, October 2017

"From Clinton to Bush to Obama, the prevailing belief was engagement with China  would make China more like the West.  Instead, as [James] Mann predicted, China has…