Jonathan Fenby has spent years researching and reporting on modern China. In Tiger Head Snake Tails, he presents a coherent portrait of the most heavily populated country on earth and explains why China matters so much. China will continue to grow in importance, argues Fenby, adding that it is not some giant Ponzi scheme, nor will it rule the world because of its inner complexity and complexes.

Fenby is author of the Penguin History of Modern China. He was editor of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong between 1995 and 2000 and is China director of the research service Trusted Sources. His other books include The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved, Alliance and Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the China He Lost.

This event is supported by Ian and Carol Sellars