The Coming Collapse of China

Summary

In the introduction of his book, Gordon G. Chang, an American lawyer, predicts the following scenario:

The end of the modern Chinese state is near. The People's Republic has five years, perhaps ten, before it falls. This book tells why.

Based on the perceived inefficiency of state-run enterprises and the inability of the Communist Party of China to build an open democratic society, Chang argues that the hidden non-performing loans of the "Big Four" Chinese State banks would likely bring down China's financial system and its communist government along with the entire country.

Reception

Dexter Roberts of Bloomberg Businessweek described the book as "Pessimism on a Grand Scale".

In 2002, Julia Lovell of The Observer noted that although China's entry to the World Trade Organization could provide Western investors with many new opportunities, Chang's book has "marshalled ample evidence to dampen such expectations". In 2001, Patrickt Tyler of The New York Times wrote:

Update

In an article entitled "The Coming Collapse of China: 2012 Edition", published by the Foreign Policy magazine website, Gordon C. Chang admitted that his prediction was wrong, arguing that he was off only by one year: "Instead of 2011, the mighty communist party of China will fall in 2012. Bet on it." On May 21 2016, The Nationalist Interest published another article by Chang, "China's Coming Revolution."