A war on terrorism will not succeed, but a historical awareness by the West of the temptations of dogma and intolerance would help avoid repeating the 20th century ‘age of extremes’ in even more terrible form. In short, making the world safe beyond 9/11 requires a memory that stretches back not just a year, but a millennium.

A Beijing dinner with two Chinese families on 4 June 2002 inspired Jean-Pierre Lehmann to write this warm, informed yet clear-eyed appraisal of the condition of modern China in the context both of its tumultuous recent history and its place in the developing global economy.

To whose benefit is the global trading system working? How should it be improved to ensure that practical goals, such as poverty reduction and environmental protection, are advanced and principles of equity and justice guaranteed? A recent report by Oxfam addressing these questions inspired this vigorous dialogue between Kevin Watkins, Oxfam’s senior policy adviser, and Jean-Pierre Lehmann, director of the corporate forum, the Evian Group. The discussion was moderated by Caspar Henderson, Globalisation editor of openDemocracy.