America As No. 3 – Book Review

A once-in-a-century change in the world’s economic order is underway. Yet few in the West grasp what that means or how to manage in the new order.

In America as No.3: Get Real About China, India and the Rest, Hugh Peyman delivers a powerful and timely message: the era of unchallenged Western dominance is coming to an end, and the West must adapt, for everyone’s sake. The OECD calculates China’s Real GDP on a Purchasing Power Basis is already 27% ahead of the United States. By 2050 China will be 70% larger and India will be No. 2, leaving America as No. 3.

Three imminent shocks lie in wait that the West must confront head-on: economic, demographic, and competence. As economic power undergoes a tectonic shift, the global decision-making landscape is rapidly evolving, necessitating an end to exclusion of China, India and the Rest. Recent events from the COVID pandemic to Afghanistan’s crisis and domestic turmoil have raised serious questions about Western competence in managing critical issues and averting potential catastrophe.

Central to the book is the need for a Biden-Xi Grand Bargain, akin to the historic accord between Nixon and Mao. Peyman urges leaders to embrace the wisdom of Yin and Yang, recognizing that opposites can complement each other for lasting mutual benefit. By heeding economists, especially development economists, and business experts with a deep understanding of China, the West can navigate these challenges with wisdom and foresight to address existential threats, from environmental crises to the spectre of nuclear war.

Hugh Peyman takes readers on an insightful journey that explores the emerging New New World, offering a roadmap to embrace change positively. This is both timely and thought-provoking, as US-China relations continue to hit lows, showing how prolonged economic disruption and even nuclear war can be avoided.