Upstart: How China Became a Great Power

by Oriana Skylar Mastro

A powerful new explanation of China's rise that draws from the business world to show that China is not simply copying established great powers, but exploiting geopolitical opportunities around the world that those other powers had ignored.

Thirty years ago, the idea that China could challenge the United States economically, globally, and militarily seemed unfathomable. Yet today, China is considered another great power in the international system. How did China manage to build power, from a weaker resource position, in an international system that was dominated by the U.S.? What factors determined the strategies Beijing pursued to achieve this feat?

Using elite interviews, granular data, and authoritative Chinese sources, Oriana Skylar Mastro demonstrates that China was able to climb to great power status through a careful mix of strategic emulation, exploitation, and entrepreneurship on the international stage. This “upstart approach” ― determined by where and how China chose to compete ― allowed China to rise economically, politically, and militarily, without triggering a catastrophic international backlash that would stem its rise. China emulated (i.e. pursued similar strategies to the U.S. in similar areas) when its leaders thought doing so would build power, while reassuring the U.S. of its intentions. China exploited (i.e. adopted similar approaches to the U.S. in new areas of competition) when China felt that the overall U.S. strategy was effective, but didn't want to risk direct confrontation. Lastly, China pursued entrepreneurial actions (i.e. innovative approaches to new and existing areas of competition) when it
believed emulation might elicit a negative reaction and a more effective approach was available. Beyond explaining the unique nature of China's rise, How China became a Great Power provides policy guidance on how the U.S. can maintain a competitive edge in this new era of great power competition.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction, Asia, International Relations, Economics, Politics

336 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2024

Reviews

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oriana Skylar Mastro’s “Upstart: How China Became a Great Power” is a sharp, conceptually ambitious account of how China climbed into the great-power club not by mechanically copying the United States, but by acting like a strategic **startup** in world politics. Drawing on business competition theory, Mastro argues that Beijing rose through a deliberate blend of emulation, exploitation, and entrepreneurship that allowed it to expand its power while minimizing premature backlash from established powers. Mastro’s central claim is that China has pursued an “upstart strategy” defined by three Es:
- Emulation: selectively copying great-power practices where the United States clearly sets the efficiency frontier, especially in areas such as military modernization and certain aspects of foreign policy craft.
- Exploitation: targeting U.S. blind spots—regions, institutions, and issue areas Washington neglects or mismanages—to gain influence at low cost, from weaker parts of the international order to gray zones of competition.
- Entrepreneurship: innovating in domains where emulation would be too provocative or suboptimal, experimenting with new instruments of economic statecraft, security partnerships, and narrative shaping.
The book moves across four arenas—foreign policy, economics, conventional military power, and nuclear strategy—to show how these three Es operated over roughly three decades. Mastro leans heavily on granular data and Chinese-language sources to reconstruct Beijing’s choices, which gives the analysis empirical bite and helps separate cliché from genuine doctrinal change. Especially strong are the chapters that demonstrate how China leveraged “home court advantage” in regional military contests while avoiding direct, premature showdowns with U.S. strengths further afield. What makes “Upstart” especially useful is its attack on lazy historical analogies that treat China as simply another version of Wilhelmine Germany or rising America. By specifying the conditions under which a revisionist state can grow inside an order without immediately overturning it, Mastro offers policymakers a more precise diagnostic tool for anticipating Chinese moves and missteps. The closing policy guidance—which pushes the United States to become more entrepreneurial in its own statecraft rather than just “out-spend” Beijing—turns the book from an academic study into a provocative strategic manual for today’s great-power competition.

[Brian Thorson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I’ve read on China since Rush Doshi’s “The Long Game.” The author introduces a helpful model (upstart) to describe the actions China has taken over the past few decades to displace the current world order with a system more advantageous for them without raising the ire of the US (or other powers) and generating a strong response.

[Jer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not perfect, but close. If you’ve read other books about China’s rise and are interested in another take, you’ll find it here. While the construct is interesting, I found the way it allowed for the history to be presented as the most valuable. Recommended.

[Rob Hamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look into how China has carefully picked its battles as it has grown into a great power over the last 30 years . A sobering analysis of where they have particular strengths eg the South China Sea , and where they have quite a differentiated approach eg their no nuclear first strike policy and their approach on the limited marginal utility of additional nuclear weapons . On the downside , often quite repetitive in places.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that provides a detailed overview of Chinese strategy in several domains, whether that’s military, economic, or political. Topic might be a bit wide for so few pages, buts it’s still a great book that should catch most aspiring China analysts up to speed. Not entirely sold on some of the analysis on nuclear strategy and arms control.

[Fox Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars tbh

[Jack Janzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that the book was short around 200pages of text. Mastro stated basic principles of policy that China, or any country, can use to become more powerful. Then provided examples.
The principles provide a framework when analyzing policy moves China makes going forward.

I read the book in November 2025. The book was written prior to Trump's election in 2024 so some aspects require revision. We live in a ever changing and rapidly changing world.

[James F · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and balanced look at our relationship with China