What do you think?
Rate this book
Dancing with the Dragon: Cautionary Tales of the New China from an Old China Hand
In an honest and freewheeling conversation with New York Times best-selling author Steve Fiffer, Jenevein recounts the story of his two-decade attempt to work fairly, forthrightly, and faithfully with his Chinese counterparts, his travels via jumbo jets, puddle jumpers, jeeps, and camels, his elation over sealing a groundbreaking deal designed to bring success to everyone, and his disappointment—and disbelief—over being betrayed by his Chinese partners, who had also become friends. Equally important, he reflects on the current state of US-China relations and offers a roadmap for the critical coming years.
In his twenties, Jenevein accidentally fell into the energy business in Texas; in his thirties he serendipitously fell into the energy business in China; and in his forties, he pivoted from building power plants and wind farms to manufacturing wind turbine blades. Within five-plus years, that joint venture with China’s state-controlled aviation and military behemoth AVIC was valued at $1.8 billion.
Buoyed by their success, the partners set their sights on the burgeoning wind farm markets in the US, Europe, and South America. When his Chinese partners breached the new venture’s contract, Jenevein sought an amicable resolution, but the Communists played by their own rules. In harrowing detail, he relates how they not only refused to settle the dispute but also threatened him and his family.
These tribulations led to a trial with issues that eventually worked their way up to the US Supreme Court. Jenevein painstakingly recreates the prickly David v Goliath proceedings that led to a rare instance in which a US company prevailed against a state-controlled Chinese entity…and actually collected on the judgment.
Jenevein is currently persona non grata in China. But thanks to his unique understanding of that nation’s culture, politics, and business, he has built a successful strategic consulting firm whose clients include the US government agencies and numerous multinational corporations. In a thoughtful coda to this cautionary tale, the old China hand shares his thoughts about how to deal with the dragon today and in the future. Educating ourselves about the world’s only other superpower is essential, he says. Both entertaining and eye-opening, Dancing with the Dragon is an excellent primer for doing just that.
In his twenties, Jenevein accidentally fell into the energy business in Texas; in his thirties he serendipitously fell into the energy business in China; and in his forties, he pivoted from building power plants and wind farms to manufacturing wind turbine blades. Within five-plus years, that joint venture with China’s state-controlled aviation and military behemoth AVIC was valued at $1.8 billion.
Buoyed by their success, the partners set their sights on the burgeoning wind farm markets in the US, Europe, and South America. When his Chinese partners breached the new venture’s contract, Jenevein sought an amicable resolution, but the Communists played by their own rules. In harrowing detail, he relates how they not only refused to settle the dispute but also threatened him and his family.
These tribulations led to a trial with issues that eventually worked their way up to the US Supreme Court. Jenevein painstakingly recreates the prickly David v Goliath proceedings that led to a rare instance in which a US company prevailed against a state-controlled Chinese entity…and actually collected on the judgment.
Jenevein is currently persona non grata in China. But thanks to his unique understanding of that nation’s culture, politics, and business, he has built a successful strategic consulting firm whose clients include the US government agencies and numerous multinational corporations. In a thoughtful coda to this cautionary tale, the old China hand shares his thoughts about how to deal with the dragon today and in the future. Educating ourselves about the world’s only other superpower is essential, he says. Both entertaining and eye-opening, Dancing with the Dragon is an excellent primer for doing just that.
375 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2024
8 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Jenevein
2 books1 followerPatrick Jenevein serves as the chief executive at Pointe Bello, an intelligence driven, strategy development firm that provides pioneering open-source intelligence to governmental and commercial bodies on the People’s Republic of China’s economic statecraft activity worldwide. Prior to launching Pointe Bello, he co-founded Tang Energy Group and, partnering with Chinese state-owned enterprises, developed several businesses in the power-generating and electrical infrastructure sectors. Those included power plants, wind farms, and a manufacturer of wind turbine blades. In 2022, litigation efforts that Jenevein led resulted in collecting dollars in Dallas through a publicly filed document requiring signatures from Beijing.
Jenevein founded Tang’s general partner, the Nolan Group, Inc. (“Nolan”), in 1986 to work as venture capital investor in the natural gas business. NG Processing Company, Inc. (“NG”) grew out of Nolan’s gas gathering and processing operations (1993) and sponsored projects in Uzbekistan, Indonesia, China and South America. Nolan co-founded Tang in 1996, to build, own and operate energy delivery systems in China. Tang formed Tang Wind Energy to start up and own with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) 中航惠腾风电设备有限公司, (Zhong Hang Huiteng Windpower Equipment Company) (2001), which became China’s largest and the world’s 2nd largest wind blade manufacturer.
Before engaging AVIC in litigation in the United States, various organizations noted Tang’s contributions in the United States and China. In 2010, the U.S. State Department selected Tang as one of twelve global finalists for the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence. (ACE). ACE awards recognize important roles that American businesses play overseas as good corporate citizens. Also in 2010, the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce presented Tang its Technology Catalyst Award. In 2008, Ernst & Young chose Jenevein as a Regional Winner of its Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2007, AVIC named him a “Friend of AVIC.”
Jenevein is a graduate of Davidson College. He is a Council on Foreign Relations Life Member, and past Chairman of the Board, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. His speaking appearances have included the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The Aspen Institute, Milken Institute, National Security Council, Pentagon and Naval Postgraduate School, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He has published work in, among others, Oil & Gas Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the Boston Herald, the Washington Examiner, Fortune, Real Clear Markets, and The Dallas Morning News.
Jenevein founded Tang’s general partner, the Nolan Group, Inc. (“Nolan”), in 1986 to work as venture capital investor in the natural gas business. NG Processing Company, Inc. (“NG”) grew out of Nolan’s gas gathering and processing operations (1993) and sponsored projects in Uzbekistan, Indonesia, China and South America. Nolan co-founded Tang in 1996, to build, own and operate energy delivery systems in China. Tang formed Tang Wind Energy to start up and own with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) 中航惠腾风电设备有限公司, (Zhong Hang Huiteng Windpower Equipment Company) (2001), which became China’s largest and the world’s 2nd largest wind blade manufacturer.
Before engaging AVIC in litigation in the United States, various organizations noted Tang’s contributions in the United States and China. In 2010, the U.S. State Department selected Tang as one of twelve global finalists for the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence. (ACE). ACE awards recognize important roles that American businesses play overseas as good corporate citizens. Also in 2010, the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce presented Tang its Technology Catalyst Award. In 2008, Ernst & Young chose Jenevein as a Regional Winner of its Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2007, AVIC named him a “Friend of AVIC.”
Jenevein is a graduate of Davidson College. He is a Council on Foreign Relations Life Member, and past Chairman of the Board, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. His speaking appearances have included the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The Aspen Institute, Milken Institute, National Security Council, Pentagon and Naval Postgraduate School, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He has published work in, among others, Oil & Gas Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the Boston Herald, the Washington Examiner, Fortune, Real Clear Markets, and The Dallas Morning News.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 7, 2026
Dancing with the Dragon: Cautionary Tales of the New China from an Old China Hand by Patrick Jenevein, in conversation with Steve Fiffer, is a gripping blend of business memoir, geopolitical analysis, and legal thriller. Through candid storytelling, Jenevein recounts his two decade journey building major energy ventures in China culminating in a $1.8 billion joint enterprise only to confront betrayal, intimidation, and a brutal legal battle against a state-controlled partner.
What sets the book apart is its balance of personal narrative and strategic insight. Jenevein does not write as an ideologue but as a pragmatic entrepreneur who believed in partnership, learned the language of Chinese business culture, and invested deeply in relationships that later unraveled. His account of navigating contracts, informal power structures, and shifting political realities offers a rare ground level view of how commerce and state interests intertwine in modern China.
The courtroom saga that follows reads like high stakes drama, yet it illuminates serious questions about international law, corporate risk, and the limits of Western assumptions about fair dealing. Equally valuable are Jenevein’s reflections on the future of US China relations and his practical roadmap for companies and policymakers engaging with the world’s other superpower.
Entertaining, unsettling, and highly instructive, Dancing with the Dragon is essential reading for business leaders, investors, diplomats, and anyone seeking to understand the promises and perils of working with today’s China.
What sets the book apart is its balance of personal narrative and strategic insight. Jenevein does not write as an ideologue but as a pragmatic entrepreneur who believed in partnership, learned the language of Chinese business culture, and invested deeply in relationships that later unraveled. His account of navigating contracts, informal power structures, and shifting political realities offers a rare ground level view of how commerce and state interests intertwine in modern China.
The courtroom saga that follows reads like high stakes drama, yet it illuminates serious questions about international law, corporate risk, and the limits of Western assumptions about fair dealing. Equally valuable are Jenevein’s reflections on the future of US China relations and his practical roadmap for companies and policymakers engaging with the world’s other superpower.
Entertaining, unsettling, and highly instructive, Dancing with the Dragon is essential reading for business leaders, investors, diplomats, and anyone seeking to understand the promises and perils of working with today’s China.
Want to Read
December 14, 2024I read the free sample on Amazon and - as someone who's going through an East Asia history reading binge - this will be my next on the list.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews