The Chinese Phantom: The Hunt for the World’s Most Dangerous Arms Dealer by a group of four German journalists aims to unveil to the world one of the planet’s most wanted criminals. With almost a $5 million bounty on the successful information leading to his whereabouts and capture, one would think that someone of that caliber wouldn’t survive for long without constant paranoia and the possibility of betrayals. Yet, for almost two decades, the man known as Li Fangwei aka Karl Lee, has yet to be captured. It is in this book that we learn just exactly who this mysterious person is, how the journalists got wind of him, and the five years they underwent traveling all over the world at great peril to hopefully get in touch with this person.

The book couldn’t have come at a more important time. It highlights the war escalation between Iran and Israel along with the tensions between the world’s two most powerful countries, The United States and China. Interesting enough, one man stands to gain a lot from this. Li Fangwei. But as the journalists are about to find out, not only is he a man of renown mystery, but it seems as if he’s both protected by the Chinese government and, at times, the United States themselves! The story highlights how a Chinese businessman hailing from the city of Dalian within the Heilongjiang northeast province of China has been, for decades, selling and illegally exporting parts used for building atomic bombs and missiles to countries such as Iran. These, in turn, are used against Israel, an ally of the United States. The journalists have their hands full, playing a cat and mouse game of trying to dissect the various shell companies used by Li Fangwei to evade capture and sanctions issues by the United States.

The Chinese Phantom is a pretty amazing read in that these journalists are not amateurs. They have covered The Panama Paper scandal and so are likely familiar with how these criminals escape justice by hiding and evading capture. What makes their hunt so interesting, although they probably themselves wouldn’t have appreciated this fact, is how at odds many of their interviews with potential sources react to this mystery enigma. Sources from the United States and Israel, both countries that have the most to gain from having Li Fangwei apprehended, are often reluctant to talk to the journalists once the subject of this person is brought up

There’s a lot to learn here regarding the economic and diplomatic relationship between the countries involved. The war between Israel and the Palestinians seems to never end, and as I’m reading this book, the situation has escalated once again, with only more innocent lives affected on both sides. This story goes to highlight how people like Li Fangwei profit from war and are actually one of the main people responsible for the hundreds of thousands of deaths from the missiles being completed due to his job as an exporter. An atomic-bomb-capable Iran will also help shape a much different Middle East in the future, as it’s looking much more likely that new factions are being formed, with China looking to be on the side of Iran and Russia while the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel are on the other.