Vampire State

Author and former Channel 4 foreign correspondent Ian Williams sinks his teeth into the terrifying true story of China’s vampire economy in his new book, Vampire State. 

Hear from Ian as he explains the predatory and, at times, surreal nature of the economy in the world’s most populous nation, and the often bruising and mind-bending experience of doing business with the Middle Kingdom.

Rules and agreements mean little. Markets are distorted, statistics fabricated, foreign industrial secrets and technology systematically stolen. Companies and entrepreneurs, at home and abroad, are bullied — often with the collusion of the victims themselves. The Party is in every boardroom and lab, with businesses thriving or dying at its will.

Vampire State outlines President Xi Jinping’s ambition of China becoming the world’s pre-eminent economic, technological and military power in breathtaking detail.