Book stirs controversy over Middle Kingdom's ambitions

• Source: Global Times
• [23:57 November 01 2009]
• Comments

By Tian Wei

It is not rare at all to hear from the Chinese side about the West's tendency to selectively use facts about China to support theories the West has created either about China's role in the world today or the direction China is heading in.
 
There are several well-known examples: the idea of the G2, China as a "responsible stakeholder,"and China as a threat. Now, the most daring Western prediction about China comes from the Guardian's syndicated columnist Martin Jacques, who has written a book called When China Rules the World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World (Penguin Press HC, November 2009). (For more on this book, see Page 17)

While drama seems to be what each publishing house needs to sell copies, it is worthwhile to look more than skin deep to see whether the book's thesis is well founded.

It's true, economically speaking, that China is now the world's largest exporter. It is the world's largest market for vehicles, surpassing the US. Its foreign reserves, the world's largest, are now over $2 trillion.

If you still believe the predictions of investment banks, China will become the world's largest economy in 2027, according to what Goldman Sachs stated a few years ago.

However, it is also true that a common aspiration exists among people all over the world, including the people in China, for not only economic prosperity but also for personal freedom, democratic development, rule of law, and the free flow of information, areas in which China certainly has some potential to improve in the future.