From Asia Times:
To maintain equilibrium between the different components of the Chinese world and to ensure that one-fifth of mankind lives in decent material conditions are the two main tasks of China’s leadership. These are also two major contributions to global stability.
As China opens to the global village, one believes – and often expects – that Western influences will change China. However, if it is true to say that Western practices and theories are influencing Chinese people, China is fundamentally in a process of absorbing foreign elements by translating them into its own context. From Shanghai to Chongqing, from Dalian to Hong Kong, techno-economic modernization does not mean Westernization. The Chinese world is not a passive entity but a living matrix of civilizations. [Full text]