Fascinating and engrossing, China's Civilian Army sheds new light on the inner workings of Chinese foreign policy. Absolutely required reading for anyone who needs to deal with China or seeks to understand its rise. - Kurt Campbell, White House Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific and author of The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia

There's never been a more important time to understand the motivations that drive Chinese diplomacy. Peter Martin's superb book delves into the history of China's diplomatic corps in way that sheds new light on the nature of Chinese power today. It should become required reading for anyone who hopes to understand Chinese foreign policy. - Stephen J. Hadley, Former US National Security Advisor

Peter Martin has decoded Chinese diplomacy in this fascinating and carefully researched study. He describes how China's foreign service evolved with the country from humble revolutionary beginnings-and became a voice for a new, rising China whose self-confidence sometimes borders on arrogance. Martin's book explains how China learned to talk like a global superpower. - David Ignatius, Associate Editor and Columnist, The Washington Post

Martin's book is an absolute marvel-a penetrating portrait of China's political psychology, based on rich, insider accounts that hardly any foreigners have accessed. Entertaining, learned, and immediately useful, this is nothing short of a how-to manual for understanding China's strategy in the world. - Evan Osnos, staff writer, The New Yorker, and winner of the National Book Award

The United States simply cannot outcompete China without outcompeting its diplomats and economic influence in Asia and around the world. Martin's book skillfully captures the steely determination of China to secure its interests abroad, demonstrating the challenges facing the US and its partners and underscoring the criticality of working together to develop more coordinated approaches to China across the board. - Michèle Flournoy, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Co-Founder of WestExec Advisors

Peter Martin is a political reporter for Bloomberg News. He has written extensively on escalating tensions in the US-China relationship and reported from China's border with North Korea and its far-western region of Xinjiang. He previously worked for the consultancy APCO Worldwide in Beijing, New Delhi, and Washington, where he analyzed politics for multinational companies. In Washington, he served as chief of staff to the company's global CEO. His writing has been published by outlets including Foreign Affairs, the National Interest, the Guardian, the Jamestown China Brief, the Diplomat and the Christian Science Monitor. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford, Peking University and the London School of Economics.