Pillsbury, Michael. 2016. The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower. New York, USA: St. Martin’s Press.

This short point commentary only pertains to the book’s Introduction.

Claims that the Christmas tree is a symbol of Christianity [clearly I need to brush up on theological iconography]

Is alarmed that a book by two Chinese colonels recommends terrorism against the US [was he expecting an army of violent, sex starved pandas?]

Claims that “China experts” are “devoted to reducing misunderstanding between the US and China” [Have you ever heard of any China expert speaking about anti-Chinese stereotypes in the media because that would be an ideal place to start]

Claims that US policy since 1971 was “constructive engagement” to aid China’s rise [Like how the US with the UK constructively engaged Palestinians out of their land to give it to mongrel Euro-Samaritans?]

Is surprised that China “failed to meet nearly all of our rosy expectations” [Good for China]

Claims China resisted Afghanistan’s development [Is that why China is investing in Afghanistan?]

Claims that China’s geopolitical relations “contradict any peaceful or productive intentions of Beijing” [because the CCP is mentally diseased?]

Cannot understand why China does not pressure North Korea and Iran on their nuclear endeavors [but does not question US WMDs]

Claims China is a “Communist dictatorship” [as if US oligarch-democracy is so different]

Assumes that US styled so-called democracy is the only valid form

Claims that China is pushing a propaganda version of impending PRC collapse [because they are sneaky, of course]

Claims that the Chinese favor deception while the US favors transparency [Seriously!?]

Claims China wants revenge for the century of humiliation (foreign imperialism by the US, Japan and Europe) and wants to replace the US by the year 2049 [while we Third Worlders wish that were the case, sadly it isn’t]

Claims that the World Bank secretly aided China’s economic development [but nevertheless published their recommendations, freely available online in 1985]

Cannot be bothered to mention any US wrongdoing against China [because in his mind there aren’t any and that would be against his agenda]

This book is not recommended reading

Semi-Negative Reviews



Blanchette, Jude. The The Devil is in the Footnotes: On Reading Michael Pillsbury’s The Hundred Year Marathon. 21st Century China Program-UC San Diego. https://china.ucsd.edu/_files/The-Hundred-Year-Marathon.pdf

Dellios, Rosita. A Secret Strategy or a Strategic Culture? Confucian Weekly. https://confucianweeklybulletin.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/book-review-pillsbury-by-rosita-dellios.pdf

Ho, Soyoung. 2006. Panda Slugger. The dubious scholarship of Michael Pillsbury, the China hawk with Rumsfeld’s ear. Washinton Monthly. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0607.ho1.html

Mattis, Peter. 2015. A Shaky Case For Chinese Deception. War on the Rocks. http://warontherocks.com/2015/02/a-shaky-case-for-chinese-deception-a-review-of-the-hundred-year-marathon