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By All Means Necessary: How China's Resource Quest Is Changing the World
In the past thirty years, China has transformed from an impoverished country where peasants comprised the largest portion of the populace to an economic power with an expanding middle class and more megacities than anywhere else on earth. This remarkable transformation has required, and will continue to demand, massive quantities of resources. Like every other major power in modern history, China is looking outward to find them. In By All Means Necessary, Elizabeth C. Economy and Michael Levi explore the unrivaled expansion of the Chinese economy and the global effects of its meteoric growth. China is now engaged in a far-flung quest, hunting around the world for fuel, ores, water, and land for farming, and deploying whatever it needs in the economic, political, and military spheres to secure the resources it requires. Chinese traders and investors buy commodities, with consequences for economies, people, and the environment around the world. Meanwhile the Chinese military aspires to secure sea lanes, and Chinese diplomats struggle to protect the country's interests abroad. And just as surely as China's pursuit of natural resources is changing the world--restructuring markets, pushing up commodity prices, transforming resource-rich economies through investment and trade--it is also changing China itself. As Chinese corporations increasingly venture abroad, they must navigate various political regimes, participate in international markets, and adopt foreign standards and practices, which can lead to wide-reaching social and political ramifications at home. Clear, authoritative, and provocative, By All Means Necessary is a sweeping account of where China's pursuit of raw materials may take the country in the coming years and what the consequences will be--not just for China, but for the whole world.
298 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 15, 2021
This book seeks to answer the following questions:
Is China's natural resource quest changing the world? Or is China itself being changed as it seeks secure supplies of natural resources abroad?
Unsurprisingly, the answer is both.
We learn that China's quest for resources does have some distinctive characteristics like
- Greater state involvement than in other nations. At the same time the proliferation of smaller operations and their effects on global markets should not be ignored. Paradoxically, these smaller operations can sometimes have the effect of creating more competitive markets, despite views of China as a monolith working to dominate global resource markets.
- Also unsurprisingly, Chinese players operate much the same way abroad as they do domestically. Their labor/environmental etc. standards are often in line with or somewhat worse than other sources of foreign investment. However, awareness of CSR is on the rise domestically.
- The authors characterize the impact of China's resource quest on international politics as "modest thus far" but argue there aren't enough case studies to judge whether China's resource interests will influence its voting behavior on, for example, UN sanctions.
A few other insights:
- The biggest impact of the resource trade on international politics is in the realm of maritime security. China buys most of its resources on the open market rather than "buying up" assets in different countries. One of the biggest concerns to its energy security is the potential for a blockage at a critical chokepoint for seaborne trade like the Strait of Hormuz or the Strait of Malacca.
- Water resources are perhaps one of the more serious potential sources of conflict because it is something of a zero-sum game, with China's activities affecting its neighbors downstream in India and Southeast Asia. Yet these neighbors have little leverage in this area and there is no binding international framework for transboundary water rights (the Mekong River Commission can only assist with activities like knowledge sharing).
- China has the biggest impacts on international mineral markets rather than oil or gas (it doesn't have as much of a monopoly position in the former and the latter has geographic limitations to trade).
Policy recommendations:
Resource consumers - reduce demand for oil and promote open markets
Resource owners - for these countries, there are arguments both for and against allowing Chinese investment in domestic resources. Countries should avoid investments that might allow China to dominate any particular market, and institutions like bilateral investment treaties and international extractive industry standards (i.e. EITI) can help raise China's environmental, labor and corporate governance standards.
Resource investors - don't lower standards or provide below-market financing to win investments in a "race to the bottom," but do provide support for US companies seeking to invest in resources abroad.
Finally, the book also argues that the US has the unique responsibility to respond to China as a "great power." It needs to take steps to reduce the potential for armed conflict. Examples - pressing for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or providing technical assistance to the Lower Mekong Initiative. It should also continue to maintain its dominant role in sea-lane security, even if China depends on some of the sea lanes much more than the US does.
Is China's natural resource quest changing the world? Or is China itself being changed as it seeks secure supplies of natural resources abroad?
Unsurprisingly, the answer is both.
We learn that China's quest for resources does have some distinctive characteristics like
- Greater state involvement than in other nations. At the same time the proliferation of smaller operations and their effects on global markets should not be ignored. Paradoxically, these smaller operations can sometimes have the effect of creating more competitive markets, despite views of China as a monolith working to dominate global resource markets.
- Also unsurprisingly, Chinese players operate much the same way abroad as they do domestically. Their labor/environmental etc. standards are often in line with or somewhat worse than other sources of foreign investment. However, awareness of CSR is on the rise domestically.
- The authors characterize the impact of China's resource quest on international politics as "modest thus far" but argue there aren't enough case studies to judge whether China's resource interests will influence its voting behavior on, for example, UN sanctions.
A few other insights:
- The biggest impact of the resource trade on international politics is in the realm of maritime security. China buys most of its resources on the open market rather than "buying up" assets in different countries. One of the biggest concerns to its energy security is the potential for a blockage at a critical chokepoint for seaborne trade like the Strait of Hormuz or the Strait of Malacca.
- Water resources are perhaps one of the more serious potential sources of conflict because it is something of a zero-sum game, with China's activities affecting its neighbors downstream in India and Southeast Asia. Yet these neighbors have little leverage in this area and there is no binding international framework for transboundary water rights (the Mekong River Commission can only assist with activities like knowledge sharing).
- China has the biggest impacts on international mineral markets rather than oil or gas (it doesn't have as much of a monopoly position in the former and the latter has geographic limitations to trade).
Policy recommendations:
Resource consumers - reduce demand for oil and promote open markets
Resource owners - for these countries, there are arguments both for and against allowing Chinese investment in domestic resources. Countries should avoid investments that might allow China to dominate any particular market, and institutions like bilateral investment treaties and international extractive industry standards (i.e. EITI) can help raise China's environmental, labor and corporate governance standards.
Resource investors - don't lower standards or provide below-market financing to win investments in a "race to the bottom," but do provide support for US companies seeking to invest in resources abroad.
Finally, the book also argues that the US has the unique responsibility to respond to China as a "great power." It needs to take steps to reduce the potential for armed conflict. Examples - pressing for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or providing technical assistance to the Lower Mekong Initiative. It should also continue to maintain its dominant role in sea-lane security, even if China depends on some of the sea lanes much more than the US does.
October 16, 2016
For a hot topic, and a very far reaching one, Economy does explore all the relevant details of China's resource quest, and it's implications for the world, both economically and geopolitically. Economy explores all the resources China is pursuing, not just the obvious commodity, oil. Economy also provides a history of China's "going out" strategy, which started in the 90s under Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji.
Not such a readable book, and difficult to follow at times, but a recommended read for anyone interested in the economics of commodities, or China's involvement in the global economy.
Not such a readable book, and difficult to follow at times, but a recommended read for anyone interested in the economics of commodities, or China's involvement in the global economy.
June 24, 2015
Good primer on China's quest for natural resources. Dispels many of the popular myths tossed around by political pundits in both sides of the aisle. Easy to understand for those within minimal economic knowledge.
March 14, 2025
Regarding general geopolitical discourse, this is quite neutral.
The authors present objective observations through the narrative lens of Chinas resource quest. The scope seems, to me at least, the most subjective part of this book, though it’s more of a cross between a thesis and a history book, as it’s now dated ten years. I found it interesting, but that doesn’t mean it was entertaining. Informative is maybe a better word?
The most insightful part of this book wasn’t how China has changed the world with its sphere of influence. It was how the world has changed China. The country’s international involvement has been very tame politically, even historically apolitical, but it seems that’s changing, and China is following more of the US hegemonic model. At least, it’s following a model we used to follow.
China will surely transition into the role we have long held. The current US administration does not seem to understand international politics or geopolitics. Funny, coming from the party of economics.
Generally speaking, democratic institutions follow a long term, intrusive investment strategy. Long term meddling in the affairs of others in which upscale services are provided for more basic resources. The most basic win-win strategic scenarios. Republican institutions aim for sporadic disruption that allow the powerful to capitalize on tragedies. They tend toward privatization that benefits the already wealthy and does not serve the locals of their conquest. Our traditional pendulum swing of party control is what has allowed us to benefit from both methods.
It is interesting to see China operating in reverse to the traditional American stance. Example, how many times have you heard your fellow Americans claim they’re economically conservative, yet socially liberal? Classic cliche. However, the modern Chinese machine has trended to function at the inverse of such sentiment. They strive for long term investments, spending almost thoughtlessly while repressing their people under a government that resembles 1984. Especially considering their very scary inverse population pyramid, I’m quite curious to watch how it plays out for them.
The authors present objective observations through the narrative lens of Chinas resource quest. The scope seems, to me at least, the most subjective part of this book, though it’s more of a cross between a thesis and a history book, as it’s now dated ten years. I found it interesting, but that doesn’t mean it was entertaining. Informative is maybe a better word?
The most insightful part of this book wasn’t how China has changed the world with its sphere of influence. It was how the world has changed China. The country’s international involvement has been very tame politically, even historically apolitical, but it seems that’s changing, and China is following more of the US hegemonic model. At least, it’s following a model we used to follow.
China will surely transition into the role we have long held. The current US administration does not seem to understand international politics or geopolitics. Funny, coming from the party of economics.
Generally speaking, democratic institutions follow a long term, intrusive investment strategy. Long term meddling in the affairs of others in which upscale services are provided for more basic resources. The most basic win-win strategic scenarios. Republican institutions aim for sporadic disruption that allow the powerful to capitalize on tragedies. They tend toward privatization that benefits the already wealthy and does not serve the locals of their conquest. Our traditional pendulum swing of party control is what has allowed us to benefit from both methods.
It is interesting to see China operating in reverse to the traditional American stance. Example, how many times have you heard your fellow Americans claim they’re economically conservative, yet socially liberal? Classic cliche. However, the modern Chinese machine has trended to function at the inverse of such sentiment. They strive for long term investments, spending almost thoughtlessly while repressing their people under a government that resembles 1984. Especially considering their very scary inverse population pyramid, I’m quite curious to watch how it plays out for them.
September 18, 2025
By All Means Necessary is a great primer for understanding China's resource quest. Reading this over a decade after publication and in the midst of US-China mineral fights, I didn't think it would be anything wildly new. It wasn't, but thats why I think this is a good introduction to understanding why China needs to secure a supply of resources.
Economy laid out China's view of resources, how it needs them in order to develop and continue it's incredible growth. It's not necessarily a deep dive into any of the minerals and things we hear about today, but rather a holistic view of why and how China is going about it and using some major resources as cases. These studies are still applicable today, though one could argue China's resource quest has dramatically upscaled in the last decade or so.
Economy laid out China's view of resources, how it needs them in order to develop and continue it's incredible growth. It's not necessarily a deep dive into any of the minerals and things we hear about today, but rather a holistic view of why and how China is going about it and using some major resources as cases. These studies are still applicable today, though one could argue China's resource quest has dramatically upscaled in the last decade or so.
July 26, 2017
I imagined I'd be able to change my investment strategy based on this, but was not. I feel that the organization/density of the material was too poor for this purpose. I also felt that I learned more from podcasts on the subject. That being said, this was meticulously researched.
July 7, 2022
Just could not slog my way through this one - would have been better in audiobook where the narrator could have just powered through the slower parts. A very interesting subject written with very good nuance, just a bit chaotic in writing style
July 5, 2020
Ok, but quite the information dump. Read like a research paper on investments and trade deals.
January 10, 2016
Elizabeth eloquently examines the past and present state of resource control in China and tries to predict the future on the basis of that. Supported by solid evidence and interesting insights, the book provides the reader a robust view into China's quest to be self sufficient or reliant when it comes to resources they deem vital to the future of the economy or even country. What would be more interesting to see would be the cultural and historical context of these decisions. Why does China feel so strongly the need to gain control of these resources? Just attributing it to a growing sense of nationalism and disdain for colonial control seems to be a tad weak.
In short, great introductory book but requires further reading on the subject.
In short, great introductory book but requires further reading on the subject.
October 17, 2014
Great primer on China's pursuit of natural resources around the world and, in the process, a useful guide to how global commodities markets function today. Could have been a bit better on how the current generation of leaders thinks about these issues - touch on it here and there, but wish it had been a bit more systematic. Their view of China is quite measured, very much "on the one hand...on the other hand."
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September 5, 2014KOBOBOOKS
Reviewed by Asian Review of Books
Reviewed by Asian Review of Books
January 20, 2016
Economy and Levi conclude that fears that China will buy up the world's key natural resources and strangle us all are overblown. Interesting and well-researched stuff from a couple of experts worth following.
April 16, 2017
An excellent look at how a growing China is handling the business of resources both at home and abroad. An easy, informative read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews