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A powerful new explanation of China's rise that draws from the business world to show that China is not simply copying established great powers, but exploiting geopolitical opportunities around the world that those other powers had ignored.

Thirty years ago, the idea that China could challenge the United States economically, globally, and militarily seemed unfathomable. Yet today, China is considered another great power in the international system. How did China manage to build power, from a weaker resource position, in an international system that was dominated by the U.S.? What factors determined the strategies Beijing pursued to achieve this feat?

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EARLY PRAISES

"Upstart is a must-read. Mastro provides a new way to understand how China has built its national power over the past thirty years. In doing so, she provides a clearer way forward for policymakers hoping to get China right."

Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor of the United States

"Upstart applies the logic of business competition to China’s drive for great power status, a framework that provides an original and illuminating perspective on Sino-U.S. relations. According to Mastro, although Beijing is modeling itself on America as a “great power,” more often than not, it chooses not to emulate American-style power projection in order to avoid provoking a backlash. My take-away from Mastro’s analysis is that while China’s ambition is inevitable, a smart U.S. strategy can avoid war by channeling it into peaceful competition."

Susan Shirk, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs 

"A fresh and insightful approach to understanding China’s rise. Drawing on the business literature on competition, Upstart is theoretically stimulating and empirically sound. It is well worth reading by scholars and practitioners alike."

David Shambaugh, George Washington University, and author of China Goes Global

REVIEWS

CLAREMONT REVIEW OF BOOKS

"That is what makes Mastro’s book so valuable. She combines an expert understanding of the relevant weapons technology with deep insights into China’s strategic thinking, in contrast to the naïve assumption that China’s intentions are the Bizarro image of ours."

IN THE MEDIA

Early Praises

"Upstart is a must-read. Mastro provides a new way to understand how China has built its national power over the past thirty years. In doing so, she provides a clearer way forward for policymakers hoping to get China right."

Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor of the United States

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