The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom
America and China, 1776 to the Present
Get The Book — Amazon, Opens in a new window. Other retailers & formats ↓About The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom
John Pomfret traces relations between the United States and China from 1776 through the modern era, combining political history with the experiences of people moving between the two countries.
The narrative follows encounters, misunderstandings, cultural exchange, and changing ambitions. It gives the relationship a longer history than contemporary rivalry alone can explain.
Within the Book Club, it provides grounding for the later selections on Chinese diplomacy, industrial power, and strategic competition.
Why I include it
One of my favorites. Pomfret makes US–China relations feel like a relationship shaped by people and choices, neither inevitable nor doomed. The layers and contradictions give the more narrowly focused China books valuable context.
