In his recently updated book, The China Paradox: At the Front Line of Economic Transformation, Paul G. Clifford documents the twists and turns of China’s dramatic and surprising rise over the last four decades. New chapters explore tech giant Huawei and China’s frictions with the world fueled by perceptions that China’s technological progress threatens the global economic order. Is China under President Xi Jinping retreating from the economic reforms at the heart of China recent achievements? In an interview conducted on December 22, 2021, Paul G. Clifford discusses the risks to China’s development and stability posed by the slowing of reform amid increased autocracy.