Kuang Yaming Honors School’s alumna (2002-06) Chen Chenchen’s new book Donald Trump: Rise of the Rich in Global Politics has been ranked the top seller among books on world politics on China’s online shopping mall JD. COM, one week after World Affairs Press launched it towards the end of May.

Chen Chenchen, Donald Trump: Rise of the Rich in Global Politics, Beijing: World Affairs Press, May 2018, the first edition

This book moves international politics out of the ivory tower and turns it into an interesting story with a unique writing style that attracts the readers. It is the first Chinese work on Trump from the political perspective of the rich. The author visited every bit of Trump’s “empire of wealth” in Manhattan. She interpreted Trump’s plans for building his wealth, his ways and logic of success in vivid and humorous language. Starting with how the rich, privileged Trump entered politics, this book dissects the logic of building wealth in this era, observes the super business elite’s empires of wealth, the characteristics of their wealth, and their values of wealth. Besides, this book explores how they win the game and reach the peak of power, how they survive crises, and how they get involved into unknown destiny in history.

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The Trump Tower is located at 725 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York. It is where he came from and where he built his “empire of wealth.” It bears witness to his politics and is a symbol of his destiny. | Photography by the author

Bio

Chen Chenchen is a research fellow at Chongyang Institute of Financial Studies, Renmin University of China and also a deputy director of the Department of Macro-Economics. She studied at Nanjing University’s intensive class of humanities and social sciences from 2002 to 2006 for her bachelor’s and earned her master’s at the Johns Hopkins University—Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. Upon graduation, she joined Global Times (English edition) and became one of its founders. She has been director of commentary section and an editorial drafter. In 2014, she won the China News Award. In 2015, she went to Oxford University as a visiting scholar. Upon return, she devoted herself to developing think tanks, focusing on American studies.

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This book runs through between history and reality. It advances step by step by using narration and argumentation and fluently introduces both America and the world in a meticulous and magnificent way. It interprets such a big topic very successfully and smoothly. The language is vivid, either formal or humorous. Its ideas are modern and profound.

—Zhang Yanling, former deputy governor of Bank of China, senior researcher of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China

The strength of this book is that it is engaging, but its weakness is that it is so engaging that it affected my sleep. It is interesting and attractive, and it explains the profound in a way that is easy to understand. By stating arguments in a straightforward way, it reviews the changes and contradictions in American society and even in the world today and also exposes the cracks in economic globalization and in the tide of financialization.

—Wu Sike, former Chinese special envoy to the Middle East Issues, senior researcher of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China

This book gives a thorough and basic introduction to Donald Trump. Every person’s way of thinking and acting are closely related to his wealth, experience, and what he did in the past. Chen Chenchen’s book reveals all these deep aspects. Trump is so special an American president whom neither Chinese people nor American people nor people all over the world have never met.

—Hu Xinjin, Chief Editor, Global Times

When I was half way through this book, I felt as if reading an architectural book well designed in pencil. It shows the shape of columns of the architecture, how they were assembled, and how the ground floor, middle floor, and top floor were arranged… Through careful observation, plain description, vivid metaphor and stories, Chen Chenchen’s new book explores the fundamental issues of American capitalism.

—Ding Gang, senior correspondent of People’s Daily, senior researcher at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China

This book meticulously analyzes and tells people’s consternation, worries, and doubts after hearing Donald Trump come into power. It is significant for people to review and grasp the age of Donald Trump. Therefore, it is worth reading.

—Fangning, director of the Institute of Political Sciences, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

This is a book that fills in a research gap. Trump has three features: his anti-establishment identity, his personalities, and his identity as a wealthy tycoon. By now, there are more studies on the first two features, while there has not been much research on the third and most essential feature, Trump as a wealthy tycoon. Chen Chenchen’s work fills in this gap, and this is the greatest value of this book.

—Ni Feng, deputy director of Institute of American Studies, CASS