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Analysis and opinion · Book review · 8 Oct 2026 · 4 min

Terug naar China

The story behind the Chinese century: control, power and the new world order.

By China Connect

The film is in Dutch.

Book
Terug naar China
Author
Tom Van de Weghe
Published
Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 2025

The film 04:12

The presentation 19 slides

Terug naar China (Back to China) · Translated from the Dutch original.

  1. 01 Opening: the book, the author and the structure
  2. 04 The return: China then and now
  3. 07 Control: Xi, surveillance and the end of the Chinese Dream
  4. 10 Power: the quiet revolution, the New Silk Road in Belgium and the world according to Beijing
  5. 14 The unwritten future, caveats and what it means for entrepreneurs

Book review · Tom Van de Weghe · ‘Back to China’ · Terug naar China · Control, power and the new world order: what it means for entrepreneurs · ChinaConnect · October 2026
01 / 19
Programme · Four parts, one return · After eleven years, a correspondent returns to the country he knew. What has changed, and what does it mean for us? · The return: China then and now · Control: Xi, the state and the dream · Power: technology, Silk Road and world order · The future, and what it me
02 / 19
The book · The story behind China's century · Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, October 2025 · 344 pages · with maps · Tom Van de Weghe · VRT correspondent in Beijing (2007–2012) and Washington (2012–2016) · Journalist and researcher · JSK Fellow at Stanford (AI and deepfakes) · podcast 'China voorbij de
03 / 19
Part 1 of 4 · The return · After eleven years of refused or delayed visas, he lands in Beijing again in October 2023.
04 / 19
China then and now · Smiley: from migrant to millionaire · 2004 · Made in China series · Migrant from Sichuan · Works in a parquet factory near Shanghai · Earns ± 800 yuan a month · The factory supplies mainly Belgium · Dreams of becoming a millionaire · Twenty years later · Factory manager · Runs a
05 / 19
The core · “The world thought it could change China, but it is China that is changing the world.” · Tom Van de Weghe, prologue of Terug naar China · Under Xi, China has become a techno-authoritarian superpower that fuses modernity and control, and projects power as far as Belgium. · Source: prologue
06 / 19
Part 2 of 4 · Control · The Red Emperor, the eyes of the state and the question of whether the Chinese Dream is over.
07 / 19
Control · Three chapters on a tighter China · The Red Emperor · Since 2012 Xi Jinping has concentrated power. Growth at any cost gives way to 'common prosperity' and national rejuvenation. · The eyes of the state · Mass surveillance, social credit and a fully cashless economy. Foreign journalists fe
08 / 19
The end of the Chinese Dream? · The pressure on the new generation · 1 in 7 · young people out of work · Youth unemployment, October 2025 · of income is saved · Households save out of uncertainty · 1 in 3 · Chinese over 60 by 2050 · Ageing and falling births · of students abroad return · According t
09 / 19
Part 3 of 4 · Power · From workshop of the world to technology power, with a Silk Road reaching our ports.
10 / 19
The quiet revolution · From workshop of the world to technology power · of solar panels · are made in China · of wind turbines · plus most of the batteries for electric cars · of rare earth processing · and ± 70% of mining · of new drug trials · worldwide take place in China · air quality index in B
11 / 19
The New Silk Road · The Silk Road runs through Belgium · According to one reviewer, the book's most alarming chapter. · Ports · Chinese stakes in ports, from Piraeus to Zeebrugge. · Antwerp · Almost 500,000 Chinese containers a year. · Liège · A European hub for Chinese e-commerce. · Parcels · Accor
12 / 19
The world according to Beijing · A new world order · Bone of contention Taiwan · A 'ticking time bomb'. US intelligence points to 2027; experts disagree. · The axis with Moscow · Russia, Ukraine and BRICS: China is building an alternative to the Western order. · Spheres of influence · A multipolar w
13 / 19
Part 4 of 4 · The unwritten future · China is at a crossroads. What comes next, and what does it mean for us?
14 / 19
The unwritten future · China at a crossroads · “China is coming.” Europe must adapt, submit or resist. · Not freer, but more humane · Van de Weghe expects no liberalisation, but a China that becomes more humane. · Cooperative rather than friendly · The next leaders won't be pro-Western, but may well
15 / 19
Caveats · Five question marks · The book was well received. Leestafel calls it the best book on contemporary China in decades. Still: · One-sided? · Pro-Chinese critics (Chinasquare) speak of zero-sum thinking: 'never heard of win-win'. · Figures · Reviewers point to inconsistent figures and the lac
16 / 19
What does this mean for us? · Six actions for European entrepreneurs · Not naive, not hostile · Cooperate where possible, resist where necessary. · Know your dependencies · Raw materials, chemicals, batteries, inverters: map what comes from China. · Diversify, don't decouple · Diversify suppliers an
17 / 19
Sources · Further reading · Van de Weghe, T. (2025). Terug naar China (Back to China). Het verhaal achter de Chinese eeuw: controle, macht en de nieuwe wereldorde. Borgerhoff & Lamberigts. · VRT NWS (4 and 5 Nov 2025). Book excerpts: 'The unwritten future of China'. · Van de Weghe, T., VRT NWS (
18 / 19
In closing · China is coming · Cooperate where possible, resist where necessary. Go and see for yourself. · chinaconnect.be →
19 / 19

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