The Digital Silk Road: China's Quest to Wire the World and Win the Future
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- Create Date：2022-09-24 06:52:48
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- Author：Jonathan E. Hillman
- ISBN：1788166868
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Summary
'One of the most interesting and original thinkers about the rise of China' - Peter Frankopan
A Guardian Best Paperback of July 2022
Its vast infrastructure projects now extend from the ocean floor to outer space， and from Africa's megacities into rural America。 China is wiring the world， and， in doing so， rewriting the global order。
As things stand， the rest of the world still has a choice。 But the battle for tomorrow will require America and its allies to take daring risks in uncertain political terrain。 Unchecked， China will reshape global flows of data to reflect its own interests - and the lives of countless individuals enmeshed in its systems。
Taking readers on a global tour of these emerging battlefields， Jonathan E。 Hillman reveals what China's digital footprint looks like on the ground， and explores the dangers of a world in which all routers lead to Beijing。
A Guardian Best Paperback of July 2022
Its vast infrastructure projects now extend from the ocean floor to outer space， and from Africa's megacities into rural America。 China is wiring the world， and， in doing so， rewriting the global order。
As things stand， the rest of the world still has a choice。 But the battle for tomorrow will require America and its allies to take daring risks in uncertain political terrain。 Unchecked， China will reshape global flows of data to reflect its own interests - and the lives of countless individuals enmeshed in its systems。
Taking readers on a global tour of these emerging battlefields， Jonathan E。 Hillman reveals what China's digital footprint looks like on the ground， and explores the dangers of a world in which all routers lead to Beijing。
Reviews
Muhammad Khan
，
Interesting insights and perspectives on China's technology reach across the globe， highlighting security risks and threats to democracies。 Fairly well researched but a bit on the lengthy side （erring on waffle）， book length could've been shorter。 If you're curious about China tech risks， then you should have this book on your shelf。 Interesting insights and perspectives on China's technology reach across the globe， highlighting security risks and threats to democracies。 Fairly well researched but a bit on the lengthy side （erring on waffle）， book length could've been shorter。 If you're curious about China tech risks， then you should have this book on your shelf。 。。。more
Arevik Heboyan
，
For better understanding of new reality of communication， commerce and global transactions， this book is an absolute must-read。
Justin Goldman
，
This work， published in October 2021， is an important contribution that lays out how the technology that the People's Republic of China （PRC） has developed， which it utilizes to maintain a surveillance state at home， is being used to expand the PRC's influence abroad with countries in multiple regions acquiring these systems。 This is unfolding during a period of great mistrust between the U。S。 and the PRC as the Digital Silk Road， part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative （BRI）， impacts the devel This work， published in October 2021， is an important contribution that lays out how the technology that the People's Republic of China （PRC） has developed， which it utilizes to maintain a surveillance state at home， is being used to expand the PRC's influence abroad with countries in multiple regions acquiring these systems。 This is unfolding during a period of great mistrust between the U。S。 and the PRC as the Digital Silk Road， part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative （BRI）， impacts the development paths of numerous countries worldwide。 Technology standardization is a key geopolitical challenge with the PRC's release of its China Standards 2035 plan， which outlines a strategy to influence global standard setting for technology in the coming years。 Mr。 Hillman argues that this contest is not yet decided and that liberal democracies must do more in the multilateral bodies that set technical standards and in broader efforts to advance ethical norms in order to promote more open， freer societies。 The June 2022 G7 announcement is a useful step， but that pledge to raise $600 billion （both public and private funds） over five years to finance needed infrastructure in developing countries is reactive。 While the PRC's multi-trillion dollar BRI， launched in 2013 has projects in over a hundred nations， liberal democracies are going through a period of populism where they have been less engaged in those developing countries。 。。。more
Mo
，
A timely insight into China's view of the worlds future lead by China A timely insight into China's view of the worlds future lead by China 。。。more
Sid1983
，
The political argument （could be） if the Party sits at the center of all data， it can control and coordinate the economy more efficientlyNetwork wars began with Western cos being offered access to China。 Subsequently Chinese cos stole， reverse engineered and poached to eventually compete away some Western majors like NortelChinese cos got to scale by going where US cos couldn't / wouldn’t: Russia where the Party's clout helped cos break in， Yemen， Egypt， 70% of Africa's network is on China hardw The political argument （could be） if the Party sits at the center of all data， it can control and coordinate the economy more efficientlyNetwork wars began with Western cos being offered access to China。 Subsequently Chinese cos stole， reverse engineered and poached to eventually compete away some Western majors like NortelChinese cos got to scale by going where US cos couldn't / wouldn’t: Russia where the Party's clout helped cos break in， Yemen， Egypt， 70% of Africa's network is on China hardware e。g。 HuaweiBanning Chinese cos in the US has consequences viz。 who maintains the legacy installed equipment？ Who pays to replace it？ORAN open network accelerates competition -- it allows virtualization to make various standards of hardware work together， increasing the choice of vendors， increasing competition which negative impacts Western cos complexity & security needs become even more important which give Western cos an edge where it mattersBut the point is， China hardware will be pervasive from wearables， security cams to smart city hardwareChapter 5 shows how china has tried to export cloud infrastructure but given security concerns it’s shut out of telecoms and finance verticals， without which it has no chance 。 Which is not to say there aren’t opportunities ex USA。 But to solve this standoff means recurring security independent of the infra the data passes through like quantum computing。 Still some time to goChapter 6 focuses on space。 China has the Beidou system to compete with GPS in the US and European systems （to reduce dependence that cost them in '96 during the Tw straits crisis where their missiles lost access to GPS）。 Also， the chapter discusses LEOs like Starlink， how china is still nascent in LEOs but those are the way forward， though the question remains， how does China then be embedded in the data passing through LEOsChapter 7 Focuses on winning the network warsThe US needs to bridge the urban rural network access gap which was previously being done using cheaper China hardwareIt needs to maintain its edge in edge computing， cloud & AIIt needs a coalition built on the idea that information is the new security front。 Challenges include cost premiums vs。 China hardware， Eu perception of the US & it has its own take on privacy， India is the swing state with 40% of its infra using China hardware 。。。more
Vinod Ravi
，
This book reads more like an extended long-form US policy memo （I read that the author was based at DC think-tank CSIS previously and is now Senior Advisor in the State Department， which perhaps explains it）。 In this regard， the angling of the narrative is clear vis-a-vis US-China competition in the digital and tech space。 Even so， the book makes for an interesting read on the major global trends and developments in terms of digital connectivity growth and network proliferation， and the whole li This book reads more like an extended long-form US policy memo （I read that the author was based at DC think-tank CSIS previously and is now Senior Advisor in the State Department， which perhaps explains it）。 In this regard， the angling of the narrative is clear vis-a-vis US-China competition in the digital and tech space。 Even so， the book makes for an interesting read on the major global trends and developments in terms of digital connectivity growth and network proliferation， and the whole list of players involved。 Also written quite accessibly so makes for relatively easy reading even if not from a technological background。 。。。more
Philip
，
In reviewing "The Digital Silk Road" I think it prudent to start with some PSA-ish points。 While Hillman claims bipartisanship through his position at CSIS （Center for Strategic and International Studies， a U。S。 think tank）， his focus and goals are almost exclusively ones of U。S。 interests。 As such he turns a blind eye to "inconvenient" bits regarding U。S。 - and to some degree other western - abuses except where it is impossible。 Similarly， his argumentation is one that promotes continued U。S。 d In reviewing "The Digital Silk Road" I think it prudent to start with some PSA-ish points。 While Hillman claims bipartisanship through his position at CSIS （Center for Strategic and International Studies， a U。S。 think tank）， his focus and goals are almost exclusively ones of U。S。 interests。 As such he turns a blind eye to "inconvenient" bits regarding U。S。 - and to some degree other western - abuses except where it is impossible。 Similarly， his argumentation is one that promotes continued U。S。 dominance。 "Allies" sometimes get lumped in there， but it's pretty clear that they primarily count as long as they benefit the U。S。's goals。 So if you're tired of or just not interested in that perspective， there are other sources out there for you。The book itself is accessible， but pretty dry （in that particularly academic and policy-briefing way。。。）。 And， Hillman does a good job of illustrating how China's digital global reach is a deliberate state-directed and state-sanctioned strategy。 A strategy that aims to usurp the U。S。 as the dominant global go-to source and force with regards to technology。 He discusses how， while sometimes fumbling and farcical， the strategy is working - in no small degree due to the naiveté and greed of western governments， corporations， and individuals。 Sometimes， though， China or a Chinese options is the only choice - either because it literally is， or because it's the only affordable option。 Finally， Hillman ends with a call to action with the aim of maintaining U。S。 dominance - with an attempt at the inclusion of "leading democracies" （and interesting distinction worth keeping in mind when reading the book） in the efforts - by providing public support of private western firms so that these can compete with their Chinese competitors。 So why all this hubbub over technological dominance？ Well， information is power， and Hillman would rather the U。S。 wield that power than China。 I'm inclined to agree， even if I'm neither exactly stoked by the direction the U。S。 is heading in， nor in how it uses its technological power。 Personally， I don't really think we need a surveillance camera on every corner （or， as Hillman notes， in people's fecking living rooms）。 State surveillance doesn't sound good to me - regardless of the state。 Neither does corporate surveillance for that matter， be it publicly subsidized or not。 Hillman talks about freedoms， openness， and ethical behaviors; yet it's pretty clear that he doesn't actually believe in either， at least not in a true sense of the words。 No， he just doesn't want China to be the determinator of what these are， but he seems ok with it being the U。S。。 And that's kinda the rub。 Yes， China's practices make my skin crawl， and they've taken it to the next level。 However， in essence， China has simply just copied （and tweaked） the U。S。's playbook from the last century or so。 And Hillman doesn't like that。 Nor do I， but I don't think Hillman's other （binary） option sounds particularly appealing either。 I can't say that I liked the book， but parts of it are interesting and， I think， important - namely the bits about the Chinese strategy and the mistakes that have and continue to enable it。 That being said， I'd recommend keeping the caveats above in mind while reading it。 。。。more
Frank O'connor
，
This is a book about global digital strategy。 It pulls together various clips from reports and statistics to draw a picture of China's digital strengths and weaknesses， and makes suggestions about what can be done。 The primary argument is for a rejection of binary thinking and embracing complexity， which is fine in so far as it goes。 A secondary thread argues for the west supplementing initiatives to combat China's economic advantages， which seems unlikely to happen。 Accurate or not， a picture o This is a book about global digital strategy。 It pulls together various clips from reports and statistics to draw a picture of China's digital strengths and weaknesses， and makes suggestions about what can be done。 The primary argument is for a rejection of binary thinking and embracing complexity， which is fine in so far as it goes。 A secondary thread argues for the west supplementing initiatives to combat China's economic advantages， which seems unlikely to happen。 Accurate or not， a picture of global digital flows offers a new and thoughtful way of seeing things。 ok。 。。。more
Nahuel
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3。5 Starts would be my actual rating。 The books is we’ll researched and touches on key aspects of the Digital Silk Road。 Often times the author goes into too many irrelevant details that adds no value to the key ideas and concepts of the book。 Although the bias in favour of western countries is very easy to perceive， the books serves as a really good source of information and presents a solid picture of the CCP’s plans in the digital space （both at domestic and international levels）。 I would rec 3。5 Starts would be my actual rating。 The books is we’ll researched and touches on key aspects of the Digital Silk Road。 Often times the author goes into too many irrelevant details that adds no value to the key ideas and concepts of the book。 Although the bias in favour of western countries is very easy to perceive， the books serves as a really good source of information and presents a solid picture of the CCP’s plans in the digital space （both at domestic and international levels）。 I would recommend this book to someone else interested in China。 。。。more
Jim Witkins
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Winning the future means safeguarding your information。 America and the west seem to be waking up。
Christine
，
I won a copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways and am voluntarily leaving a review。 This book is full of interesting information but it’s almost too full if it and it’s really hard to get through。 It’s also really high level—there’s not much for the average person here because all of the decisions are really made at the nation level。
jaga
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THE RACE TO WIRE THE WORLD。 Fascinating book about the race to wire the world generally and China’s strategy in particular。 The book paints China and it’s companies in a bad light， presenting them as unfair competitors， at best。 I’m not going to argue with the book’s findings， there is plenty of compelling evidence of intellectual property theft， and disregard for the privacy laws of certain jurisdictions， amongst other things。 But what I found particularly interesting， and sadly not surprising， THE RACE TO WIRE THE WORLD。 Fascinating book about the race to wire the world generally and China’s strategy in particular。 The book paints China and it’s companies in a bad light， presenting them as unfair competitors， at best。 I’m not going to argue with the book’s findings， there is plenty of compelling evidence of intellectual property theft， and disregard for the privacy laws of certain jurisdictions， amongst other things。 But what I found particularly interesting， and sadly not surprising， is how US and other big players in various industries were more than happy to facilitate what China and it’s companies have done on this front。 For the end user customers， cost and availability are huge issues， so understandable why Chinese products are attractive alternatives。 Notwithstanding all of this， what China and it’s companies have achieved in little more than a generation is incredible。 And after making so much progress， they now find themselves in a position where they too have IP which others covet and their cost advantage is not what it used to be。 。。。more
John
，
Start reading this great book at the last chapter where the dystopian consequences of the rise of modern China are discussed。 From this summary we might get a sense of the spate of techno horror movies that have seized the imagination of both the movie industry and popular culture over the last thirty years。 The evil empire of the mind represented by CCP strategists coldly persues a 'get even' and 'take over the world' military strategy that is described in this chapter as a gloss on their own w Start reading this great book at the last chapter where the dystopian consequences of the rise of modern China are discussed。 From this summary we might get a sense of the spate of techno horror movies that have seized the imagination of both the movie industry and popular culture over the last thirty years。 The evil empire of the mind represented by CCP strategists coldly persues a 'get even' and 'take over the world' military strategy that is described in this chapter as a gloss on their own words。 If the book began with this chapter the emotional reaction might be this is too scary to delve into。 That reaction could be validated by Hillman in the sense that he does not dive into the reality of what he ends the book by describing。 He is more than generous in the technical details of finance， industry， engineering and our own naïve level of 'philosophy' that material growth will promote in China （and in Islamic world） a natural growth of good will toward outsiders。 We ignored the turn that Japan took against the West whose 'knowledge' had made it and Japan great powers。 。。。more
Stephen Hughes
，
The core argument of this book that China is increasingly powerful in cyber space with an agenda to monitor and control as much of the world as possible。 It's supported by lots of quotes and some data but the author writes in such a poorly structured and hyper-active style that the book is hard going。 Mediocre。 The core argument of this book that China is increasingly powerful in cyber space with an agenda to monitor and control as much of the world as possible。 It's supported by lots of quotes and some data but the author writes in such a poorly structured and hyper-active style that the book is hard going。 Mediocre。 。。。more
Iván
，
Un interesante libro sobre el desarrollo y auge tecnológico de China。 Aparecen detalles relacionados con una empresa bien conocida como es Huawei， pero también de empresas chinas desconocidas por el gran público occidental y que se dedican a la videovigilancia， a los cables submarinos o a los satelites。 Y obviamente se incluye el poder， la presencia y sombra constante del Partido Comunista de China y su influencia en el desarrollo económico， en las decisiones empresariales de sectores estratégic Un interesante libro sobre el desarrollo y auge tecnológico de China。 Aparecen detalles relacionados con una empresa bien conocida como es Huawei， pero también de empresas chinas desconocidas por el gran público occidental y que se dedican a la videovigilancia， a los cables submarinos o a los satelites。 Y obviamente se incluye el poder， la presencia y sombra constante del Partido Comunista de China y su influencia en el desarrollo económico， en las decisiones empresariales de sectores estratégicos y por ende en la geopolítica， tanto regional como global。 Interesante lectura para entender el mundo de hoy y lo que nos viene。 。。。more
Mohammad Tufael Chowdhury
，
Starts well with early chapters that document the incredible rise of Huawei and its strategic intent。 The latter half is more hypothesis than fact based， putting forward a view of a hegemonic Chinese control of communications in a few decades time which seems binary and simplistic。 The book is also blind to Western abuse of communications networks， including those by the US。 There is an implicit assumption here that Western powers are benign and will continue to be so， which isn't proven out by Starts well with early chapters that document the incredible rise of Huawei and its strategic intent。 The latter half is more hypothesis than fact based， putting forward a view of a hegemonic Chinese control of communications in a few decades time which seems binary and simplistic。 The book is also blind to Western abuse of communications networks， including those by the US。 There is an implicit assumption here that Western powers are benign and will continue to be so， which isn't proven out by the wider fact base。 The book's bias and binary approach to potential outcomes lets down an otherwise brave approach to frame up an incredibly important issue that deserves more attention from scholars like this。 。。。more
Lynn
，
I was reading this book during an interesting week that highlights China's power。 Firstly The Pillar of Shame statue was removed from the Hong Kong University campus， this statue symbolizes the lives lost in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre。 Truth nor beauty will be represented in Xi Jinping's China。 Prodemocracy statues obviously have no place in Hong Kong， a place that desperately fought for democracy for all the world to see。Secondly， Amazon announced that comments and ratings were being di I was reading this book during an interesting week that highlights China's power。 Firstly The Pillar of Shame statue was removed from the Hong Kong University campus， this statue symbolizes the lives lost in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre。 Truth nor beauty will be represented in Xi Jinping's China。 Prodemocracy statues obviously have no place in Hong Kong， a place that desperately fought for democracy for all the world to see。Secondly， Amazon announced that comments and ratings were being disabled for Xi JinPing's latest book。 A ghost written book， based on my limited research， （please bare in mind， this is not cited nor well researched）。 Amazon claimed it was because the written word is important to them to Reuters， no mention of profits。 Please note this my own view of the article and not attributed to Reuters。 For what it's worth in my home country reviews and ratings are allowed。 They are dismal。https://www。thewrap。com/amazon-china-。。。As for the Digital Silk road I found it compelling。 I found myself pausing frequently and questioning my online activity， my wearables and devices。 What information of mine does China own and how much does it matter？ Does my FitBit data make a difference？ Do they care about my credit rating and minimal debt？ Are my online comments of interest？ I also found myself talking about China more to my friends and family， especially with the upcoming Olympics？ Should our athletes attend？ Are they safe？ What about the Two Michaels？ Needless to say chapter after chapter got in my mind and I wrestled with the content。I am already familiar with The Belt and Road Initiative but I wasn't aware of exactly how insidious it was nor on what a grand scale。 However all of it makes sense。 And it is chilling。 Although I don't have a technical background I never found this book too techy。 The author sources his material well and the reader is able to review the sources easily when they wish。 Overall I recommend this book to anyone interested in Global Politics and Human Rights。 Or who simply just enjoys a good non-fiction book。I also recommend this book to anyone that spends time on Social Media。 Challenge yourself to look for those comments or topic changes whenever China is the topic。 I have already engaged with one commenter and asked if they were from the United Front。 They stopped engaging。 。。。more
Andrew
，
This book dives deep into the start of chinese telecom and their recent growth。 The demise of Nortel was alarming。 Unveiling the curtain behind some of these events really speaks volumes on China's true ambitions。 Hillman was in-depth but not overly wandering in his writing。 I look forward to reading more by Hillman。 This book dives deep into the start of chinese telecom and their recent growth。 The demise of Nortel was alarming。 Unveiling the curtain behind some of these events really speaks volumes on China's true ambitions。 Hillman was in-depth but not overly wandering in his writing。 I look forward to reading more by Hillman。 。。。more
Alan Lewis
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Tech warDescribes China's process of obtaining technology， as I witnessed in the 90s where I worked in manufacturing。 Received a complementary copy via #GoodreadsGiveaway。 Tech warDescribes China's process of obtaining technology， as I witnessed in the 90s where I worked in manufacturing。 Received a complementary copy via #GoodreadsGiveaway。 。。。more
Stephen Curran
，
Not a bad book and very topical。 Could have done with a proof read from someone in the telecoms game， 58 billion for a data centre :）。
Andrew Carr
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