--- product_id: 320111 title: "The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers – A Revelatory Inside Look at the CCP's Grip on Power" price: "$39.01" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/320111-the-party-the-secret-world-of-china-s-communist-rulers store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers – A Revelatory Inside Look at the CCP's Grip on Power **Price:** $39.01 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers – A Revelatory Inside Look at the CCP's Grip on Power - **How much does it cost?** $39.01 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/320111-the-party-the-secret-world-of-china-s-communist-rulers) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description “A masterful depiction of the party today. . . . McGregor illuminates the most important of the contradictions and paradoxes. . . . An entertaining and insightful portrait of China’s secretive rulers.” —The Economist “Few outsiders have any realistic sense of the innards, motives, rivalries, and fears of the Chinese Communist leadership. But we all know much more than before, thanks to Richard McGregor’s illuminating and richly-textured look at the people in charge of China’s political machinery. . . . Invaluable.” — James Fallows, National Correspondent for The Atlantic In this provocative and illuminating account, Financial Times reporter Richard McGregor offers a captivating portrait of China’s Communist Party, its grip on power and control over China, and its future. China’s political and economic growth in the past three decades has been one of astonishing, epochal dimensions. The most remarkable part of this transformation, however, has been left largely untold—the central role of the Chinese Communist Party. McGregor delves deeply into China’s inner sanctum for the first time, showing how the Communist Party controls the government, courts, media, and military and keeps all corruption accusations against its members in-house. The Party’s decisions have a global impact, yet the CCP remains a deeply secretive body, hostile to the law and unaccountable to anyone or anything other than its own internal tribunals. It is the world’s only geopolitical rival of the United States, and is primed to think the worst of the West. Review: Illuminating introduction to arguably the most important political party in the world - Politics in China can be often opaque to foreigners. In some sense it is surprising the lack of literature on the Chinese Communist Party and the means in which it functions, but as illustrated in this book, much happens behind closed doors. If one wants an introduction to the party as well as the way in which it governs and integrates itself then this serves perfectly. After reading this one gets a better perspective on how the party operates, the stresses that it deals with, how it has adapted in the past and what it is dealing with today. The Party uses both example and commentary to show by example how the Party is behind some of the major business decisions of recent history. It gives examples of how the Party directly influences some of the biggest corporates on the planet. In particular the rotation of the CEOs of the 3 biggest chinese telco operators was done behind closed doors without consultation with the public. It discusses Chalco's impact on disrupting one of the biggest potential mergers in modern business history (Rio and BHP), as such a merger would shift bargaining power of mineral prices away from consumer (china) and towards producer. Its actions need to be assessed through the lense of an entity who is both asserting and preserving its power as well as protecting its sovereign interests. The Party also discusses the internal stresses faced by the communist party. With the phenomenal success of the chinese economy and the wealth that has been created with growth comes greater competition between the lure of the party, and the desire for commercial wealth. This stress has been a source of corruption and rent seeking. With economies directed from the bottom up with preferential state lending, the position of power of local authorities can and is used for personal benefit. The party it is argued acknowledges and accepts this. It must deal with both punishing examples to show vigilance but realizing that removing the rents that are recieved with political power would remove the incentive to join and thus would promote instability. Overall this is a fascinating overview of how the Chinese Communist Party operates and what it has to deal with. It has had to adapt quickly, and the stresses it is dealing with will likely intensify over time. The way in which the party maintains its power is on a tightrope in which differences in opinion within the party are abundant. Nonetheless they have so far been able to form consensus and progress despite their differences. It is the ability to unify and come to consensus that has taken them this far, despite some near break points. Whether that will continue to be the case, time will tell, but as an overview on what is happening today and some of the solutions the party has crafted, this book is excellent. It is a must read to gain perspective into how the communist party operates and how it sees things. Review: Highly recommended reading for anyone working in China, investing in China, interested in China - This is one of the most well researched and chronicled books on the impact that the Communist Party has over all things in China. The author has meticulously researched (from Chinese and non-Chinese sources) the topic and the major structures of one of the most closed, opaque political systems in the world. Even though the central leadership, standing committee memberships and politburo has changed (as of 2012), this is still highly relevant to many of the themes that the Party continues to struggle with and confront. This includes the growing middle class and income disparity, State-Owned versus Private Corporation governance, environmental issues, the major anti-corruption campaign underway. And this books helps understand why these dominate the party, and why the party behaves the way it does. And the author does this in a very effective manner - well organized, well researched, and well sourced. The chapters on the Shanghai Gang are also very informative as it allows the reader to understand the massive struggle Xi Jinping must of had (continues to have) in installing his key officials into key posts that will help him with his policy agenda. Highly recommend this for anyone doing business in China (or with Chinese companies), travelling or planning to live in China as this book provides a very well-rounded view of the key decision making body that is present throughout all aspects of life in this interesting country. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #140,705 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #80 in Asian Politics #105 in Chinese History (Books) #110 in Communism & Socialism (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 559 Reviews | ## Images ![The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers – A Revelatory Inside Look at the CCP's Grip on Power - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71X5LRSFZdL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Illuminating introduction to arguably the most important political party in the world *by A***N on October 30, 2010* Politics in China can be often opaque to foreigners. In some sense it is surprising the lack of literature on the Chinese Communist Party and the means in which it functions, but as illustrated in this book, much happens behind closed doors. If one wants an introduction to the party as well as the way in which it governs and integrates itself then this serves perfectly. After reading this one gets a better perspective on how the party operates, the stresses that it deals with, how it has adapted in the past and what it is dealing with today. The Party uses both example and commentary to show by example how the Party is behind some of the major business decisions of recent history. It gives examples of how the Party directly influences some of the biggest corporates on the planet. In particular the rotation of the CEOs of the 3 biggest chinese telco operators was done behind closed doors without consultation with the public. It discusses Chalco's impact on disrupting one of the biggest potential mergers in modern business history (Rio and BHP), as such a merger would shift bargaining power of mineral prices away from consumer (china) and towards producer. Its actions need to be assessed through the lense of an entity who is both asserting and preserving its power as well as protecting its sovereign interests. The Party also discusses the internal stresses faced by the communist party. With the phenomenal success of the chinese economy and the wealth that has been created with growth comes greater competition between the lure of the party, and the desire for commercial wealth. This stress has been a source of corruption and rent seeking. With economies directed from the bottom up with preferential state lending, the position of power of local authorities can and is used for personal benefit. The party it is argued acknowledges and accepts this. It must deal with both punishing examples to show vigilance but realizing that removing the rents that are recieved with political power would remove the incentive to join and thus would promote instability. Overall this is a fascinating overview of how the Chinese Communist Party operates and what it has to deal with. It has had to adapt quickly, and the stresses it is dealing with will likely intensify over time. The way in which the party maintains its power is on a tightrope in which differences in opinion within the party are abundant. Nonetheless they have so far been able to form consensus and progress despite their differences. It is the ability to unify and come to consensus that has taken them this far, despite some near break points. Whether that will continue to be the case, time will tell, but as an overview on what is happening today and some of the solutions the party has crafted, this book is excellent. It is a must read to gain perspective into how the communist party operates and how it sees things. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly recommended reading for anyone working in China, investing in China, interested in China *by C***O on March 15, 2015* This is one of the most well researched and chronicled books on the impact that the Communist Party has over all things in China. The author has meticulously researched (from Chinese and non-Chinese sources) the topic and the major structures of one of the most closed, opaque political systems in the world. Even though the central leadership, standing committee memberships and politburo has changed (as of 2012), this is still highly relevant to many of the themes that the Party continues to struggle with and confront. This includes the growing middle class and income disparity, State-Owned versus Private Corporation governance, environmental issues, the major anti-corruption campaign underway. And this books helps understand why these dominate the party, and why the party behaves the way it does. And the author does this in a very effective manner - well organized, well researched, and well sourced. The chapters on the Shanghai Gang are also very informative as it allows the reader to understand the massive struggle Xi Jinping must of had (continues to have) in installing his key officials into key posts that will help him with his policy agenda. Highly recommend this for anyone doing business in China (or with Chinese companies), travelling or planning to live in China as this book provides a very well-rounded view of the key decision making body that is present throughout all aspects of life in this interesting country. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Communism--a primer on the Chinese version *by J***N on March 4, 2012* This book is a real head turner or should I say an eye turner for those looking for an up to date description of how the Communist Party in China controls industry from top to bottom of its society. But if you are looking for a description of original communist theory as postulated by Marxist-Leninist principals then a book on that subject may better suit your needs. But what you can learn from this book is exactly how the Chinese have managed to slowly change their industrial policies to a combination of of communism and capitalism. The author takes you on and interesting insiders view of how corruption, incompetance, and politics have been woven together to create one of the most productive societies in the world. It even in some cases mirrors some of the things going on in our own society which could if left unchecked could lead to the demise of our economic system to the level of China's. The author describes the major departments of Chinese Government and the role each plays in maintaining control of both the industries and the people. The most interesting is the Department of Organization which in our society would be the Personnel Department. It is there that people are selected for positions in government and the private sector. However this department functions with no rhyme or reason and does so simply through the buying and selling of jobs by people who want jobs or in some cases want to lose theirs by crossing this department the wrong way. There is no merit system in China, major players are selected simply by corruption, incompetance or through politics. And if you should happen to be selected for a high level or sometimes a lower lever job you are assigned a Communist party member to watch you to make sure you tow the Party line. Sometimes the CEO and your assigned party member are regarded as being at the same level of power in a company or government agency. Talk about confusion about lines of authority and role in society. Imagine writing a job description for those jobs. Sometimes the party member is also the CEO. So he gets to watch himself. Obviously he is not going to report on himself. This opens the door to the question as to how China even functions in any productive way but it does this through deceit,lies, and the general ignorance of its population. What an eye opening book!! A must read for all Americans. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers - The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State - The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/320111-the-party-the-secret-world-of-china-s-communist-rulers](https://www.desertcart.us/products/320111-the-party-the-secret-world-of-china-s-communist-rulers) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-07-22*