Why China Matters

“China’s astonishing urbanization could bring a new era of supercities, but its cultural norms probably won’t eclipse American dominance.” The foreign minister of Singapore on the rising state. “With the world in turmoil, many developing countries are studying the Chinese system, wondering whether it might not offer them lessons on good governance,” said foreign minister George Yeo in a recent speech at Cambridge University. “For the first time in a long time, the Western model has a serious competitor. Like biological species, human ideas and systems are also subject to selection. Those that survive and flourish should, we hope, raise civilization to a higher level. China today is a key presence in this process of geo-civilizational evolution.”