在30年举世瞩目的增长之后，中国经济已然成为世界舞台不可或缺的角色。究竟有没有一个不同于其他国家的“中国模式”？通过“大政府+宏观调控”是否能够走出一条推动经济持续发展的“有中国特色的新路”？
在本书中，黄亚生教授通过中印对比，通过中国与拉美经济的腾飞过程、城市化进程的比较，雄辩地证明了一个观点：并不存在所谓的“中国模式”。 到目前为止，中国的经济增长并没有脱离一般的经济发展规律，其成功经验和欠缺都可以在其它国家的经历中找到印证。而未来的持续经济发展，还是要依靠“市场”“法治”等要素。

In this book, Yasheng Huang makes a provocative claim: the large absorption of foreign direct investment (FDI) by China is a sign of some substantial weaknesses in the Chinese economy. The primary benefits associated with China's FDI inflows are concerned with the privatization functions supplied by foreign firms, venture capital provisions to credit-constrained private entrepreneurs, and promotion of interregional capital mobility. Huang argues that one should ask why domestic firms cannot supply the same functions. China's partial reforms, while successful in increasing the scope of the market, have so far failed to address many allocative inefficiencies in the Chinese economy.