In the spirit of Dan’s latest photo post, here is a Flickr page with some marvelous recent photos of Chinese cities. (I don’t know who the photographer is. I found a link to his site on a photo discussion board that I visit.)
China
Beijing Travelogue
Over a course of two weeks at the end of May and the beginning of June, I had the good fortune to take a class on international trade, focusing on China and the WTO, in Beijing. Naturally, I brought back many pictures, and I’ve written the trip, as reflected in the pictures, in nine parts at my blog. Not all of my reactions and reflections about China are expressed in the write ups, because there was just so much. Still, if you’re interested in what I do have up, please visit:
- UIBE
- Beijing in General
- Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
- The Great Wall
- Clubbing
- Food
- Farewell Banquet
- Hanging Out
- Post Script
Enjoy!
Don’t Drink the Water!
It is no secret that China’s one burning ambition is to meet and eventually exceed the United States in…well, everything! Military might, global prestige, cultural influence, space exploration. They think they should be king of the hill, and they are going to try and claw their way to the top.
Of all the categories mentioned above, it is Chinese efforts to build up their military that most Western analysts find to be the most troubling. We would welcome it if a liberal democracy like, say, Canada would actually stop the slow slide into oblivion that they have decided is the future for their armed forces. But a totalitarian state like China? Not so much.
Quote of the Day
One Western-trained Chinese economist said: “We just don’t know how to do capital markets. The only countries that get the message — proper financial risk accounting, etc — are the ones that were formerly in the British Empire. Anglo-Saxons seem to have something the rest of the world just hasn’t got.”
***
Asked about reserve diversification, a senior Chinese official told a leading Western banker that China took the long view: “In half a century from now, there will still be the dollar and there will still be China.” What this remark drily acknowledged was a truth overlooked by the “decline of American power” school. Viewed from one angle, the US is the world’s biggest debtor. Looked at from another, however, it has taken over the business of managing the world’s savings.
Taking note of Asian Achilles’ heel (Financial Times)
India Compared to China, Again
Or should I say “as usual”.
This paper, China, India and the World Economy, by T.N. Srinivasan, is worth reading, or at least skimming.
I like it because the conclusion basically says things I have long thought to be true. �China lacks some of the key institutional foundations of a market economy�, and notes that India has already created some very important institutions that China lacks, e.g. an independent judiciary, an accountable government, etc. India, due to its democracy, is slower to make changes, and it has to make compromises along the way. However, the legitimacy of these decisions is established by the process, where in China the public has to take what it gets from the leadership. This can create a false sense of stability, with major outbreaks of disorder instead of the usual friction and log-rolling of a more representative system.
Note that none of the foregoing is wishing China not to succeed. A successful China is a key to world prosperity and peace. However, the prospect of serious problems for China seems to me to get too little attention. And, the possibility of a successful and prosperous India is a prospect that seems to get too little attention.
I quote the key, concluding paragraphs from the conclusion of the article below the fold, and I highlighted the one I think is most important.