Integrating China Into the Global Economy (Book Review‪)‬

Nicholas R. Lardy Washington: Brookings Institution Press, 2002, 244 pp. China's total trade (the sum of its imports and exports) was $20 billion in 1977 but by the end of the 20th century that figure had increased to $475 billion. In his new book, Nicholas Lardy, a long-time senior fellow in the Foreigu Policy Studies program at the Brookings Institution and currently senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics, presents a detailed study of China's integration into the global economy. He examines China's pre-reform trade regime and contrasts it with the substantial liberalization that took place after 1978, especially in the decade prior to China's accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001. His central thesis is that the Middle Kingdom was well on its way toward global economic integration before entering the WTO. Lardy explains the expected benefits and costs of accession, why Beijing agreed to join even though certain conditions are discriminatory, and the implications for U.S.-China relations.