Learning China - Book Recommendations

Studying China, one great quote from a recent book stated something to the affect, if you have not learned about China recently, you don't know the China of today.  At the same time, if you don't understand China's history, you cannot understand China. 
Many books are available about the recently economic political and event military developments in China.   The place to start are On China by Henry Kissinger (published May 17, 2011), and The Man on Mao's Right, by Ji Chaozhu  (published August 25, 2008).  The authors are well-respected in their countries and explain historical and political context of events and decision making in China.  Dealing with China, by Henry M. Paulson, (published April 12, 2016) gives insight into current economic pressures and on and from China.
Starting to study a country that constitutes nearly a quarter of the worlds population could be daunting.  So, These three books form a solid foundation of study for someone wanting to learn about China of today. 
The other reading and my observations and recommendations:also follow below:
On China by Henry Kissinger, (May 17, 2011) is primarily detailed history of China, along with how those events have shaped its leaders. The book explains differences in how the Chinese both view themselves as an exceptional civilization and thinks about foreign influence and actions.
https://www.amazon.com/China-Henry-Kissinger/dp/0143121316
The Man on Mao's Right: From Harvard Yard to Tiananmen Square, My Life Inside China's Foreign Ministry, by Ji Chaozhu (August 25, 2008) describes from 1929 China through 1994 through the experience of the man who was a Chinese-English translator who had lived in China and the U.S. and primarily served at Panmunjam during the negotiations, and for Chinese Prime Minister Cho Enlai.
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Maos-Right-Tiananmen-Ministry/dp/1400158230
Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower, (April 12, 2016), by Henry M. Paulson, describes how Paulson began directly dealing with China while the head of Goldman Sachs in re-engineering their financial and telecom industries to western capitalist methods. Then, as Treasury secretary, influenced Chinese economic reforms reducing U.S. financial system disaster.
The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith (June 2008) describes more current economic situations in China and India and the implications for the U.S. especially through 2020.
The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds, by David M. Lampton (April 30, 2008) describes the military, economic, and intellectual aspects of China's historic and current use of power.
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China, by Leslie T. Chang (October 7, 2008) is about the migrant Chinese population focused the lives of two 20-something women living in Dongguan, in Honk Kong's neighbor province of Guangdong. The author makes the point that if you have not studied China in the past 5 years, you don't know China. She also discusses and contrasts life back in the farming villages from where most of the immigrants come.
Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang, by Zhao Ziyang, Adi Ignatius, Bao Pu and Renee Chiang (May 18, 2010) is based on notes by Zhao Ziyang drafted during his house arrest after being fired subsequent to Tiananmen. Zhao, who had been appointed Premier by Deng to help liberalize China, made notes are based on his perspective, which was based on limited contact with the world and Chinese political dynamics outside his home after Tiananmen.
A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Journey of a Young Dissident, Her Daring Escape, and Her Quest to Free China's Daughters by Chai Ling (Oct 4, 2011) describes the student protesters at Tiananmen Square and her participation in the movement. She demonstrates an irresponsible ignorance of scope and inflated sense of self significance in the governing of China by comparing her 20-hour stint without water in a non-violent portion of protest to China’s leaders at the time who had endured the 3000-mile wartime march and their responsibility to govern a billion people.
For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History, by Sarah Rose (March 18, 2010) describes how between 1847 and 1850, the British stole tea plants from China and successfully transplanted them in India. The book also describes the British movement of opium for tea along with the cultural implications and impact on both China and India.
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, by Iris Chang, (1997), describes the Japanese 1937 attack and occupation of the Chinese city of Nanking in which 300,000 people were killed and 20,000 women were raped.
The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth , Sun Shuyun (May 6, 2008), is written by a Chinese woman who describes the retreat of Chinese communist forces from eastern China in 1934 from the perspective of soldiers who took part as well as contains alternate descriptions of motivations, major events, and battles.
Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45 by Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (Oct 7, 2001) is a biography of U.S. Army General Joseph Stilwell who spent several tours in China ultimately leading the U.S. effort in Burma during WWII.
Confucius - In a Nutshell, by Neil Wenborn (September 7, 2010), describes the life and teachings of a master teacher referred to by the Chinese as "Kong Fu Tsu" which was translated to “Confucious” by western missionaries.
Pearl Buck in China: Journey to The Good Earth by Hilary Spurling (June 1, 2010), describes Pearl Buck's life (1892–1973) growing up in an austere missionary family in China during the Boxer Rebellion and China's civil war.
The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck (1932) was written as a novel but portrays a first-hand account of Chinese peasant life in the early 1900s including customs and culture.
1421: The Year China Discovered America, by Gavin Menzies describes his theory and rationale that Chinese discovered and mapped both coasts of America. Menzies starts with verifiable realities of Chinese maritime trade into the Indian Ocean and parts of Africa. And then, he cites real sources to extrapolate possible Chinese actions without actual evidence.  (Worth skipping.)