AT FIRST glance it is hard to tell the two paperback books apart. One is China Can Say No, the Chinese best seller which denounces America in strongly nationalistic tones. The other appeared beside it yesterday on the Beijing bookstands and is also selling like hot cakes.
Why China Can Say No comes from a different state owned publishing house but has a similar dust jacket, with identical yellowcoloured Chinese characters running down a picture representing ancient China. It appears to be a blatant attempt to capitalise on the runaway success of the original.
But with hundreds of state owned publishing houses fighting for survival, Why China Can Say No also represents a fascinating elaboration of the national debate on China's role in the world, a hot topic in a country fast emerging from two centuries of humiliation at the hands of the west.
It is in effect a rebuttal of China Can Say No, published in June and written by a group of right wing young intellectuals who urged such things as military training for young people to fight Taiwan, and the burning of Hollywood to stop an inrush of American pop culture.
While it cashed in on the nationalistic mood of the country, this atavistic volume was singled out in the western media as a pointer to growing chauvinism in China. In fact there are many striking titles with similar themes in Chinese bookstores, some written by influential people like former ambassadors.
Foreign observers and diplomats are divided about where nationalism is taking the country. Some, like the Russians, take the pragmatic view that it is a positive force as it encourages the economic reforms which are making China great again others like the Americans tend to believe it is a dangerous force, abetting nationalist dreams of Chinese domination in the Asia Pacific area.
But expressions of nationalism such as those in popular paperbacks are also a factor in internal Chinese politics. "There is a growing dissatisfaction about the government being too soft on foreigners, allowing a cultural invasion from America and not acting in the row over the islands," said a Chinese intellectual, referring to the current China Japan row over disputed islands.
"The authors are all journalists and writers who know that you cannot attack the government openly but you can divert your anger is against foreigners. And there a market for such titles so it is quite commercial.
This week saw the first criticism in the government controlled media of China Can Say No as a "fanatical war cry" and the result of "chaotic thinking". Commentator Yan Lieshan described the five authors in a south China weekly magazine as "boastful megalomaniacs who would likely support another Cultural Revolution".
The five are planning a sequel to be called China Still Needs to Say No, responding to western media criticism of its censure of all things American and no doubt mindful of the possibility of a second windfall.
Mr Zhang's book, Why China Can Say No, takes a more moderate approach. Rather than boycotting McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca Cola, he argues, China should be taking on the world by promoting global franchises of such popular Chinese concessions as "Peking Duck" restaurants.
He says "a few countries feel jealous so they stress the theme of the China threat". But to say "no" implies confrontation "and only striking back after the enemy has struck". He contends that within 20 years the Chinese economy will overtake America's anyway, and China will be able to say "no" because it will be a world power.
It will be able to roll back the advance of English, as language is determined by economy. In western schools Chinese will become a compulsory course. "The English language is already withdrawing from Hong Kong in advance of its transfer to China, Singapore is also downgrading English while the BBC had strengthened its Chinese output," he states.
Coincidentally, a more sober view of China's future role in the world was taken by a United Nations agency this week. The UN Conference on Trade and Development warned that while China captured more than half the foreign investment that poured into Asia last year, its attractiveness to investors looking for quick profits or cheap labour was peaking.
Citing China's recent tax reforms and new screening tests, the UN agency forecast a decline in China's absorption of investment to US $30 billion in the next few years from last year's record $37.5 billion. According to the Asia Wall Street Journal this means that foreigners may no longer enjoy preferential treatment, mainly as a result of China's moves to level the playing field.