by Simon Zadek at the World Economic Forum
"China", argues the dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, "is not to shake the world, they want it to remain as it is, and to be strong and prosperous within it". Willian McDonough, from Merrill Lynch follows suit: "yes, China wants a world it can be prosperous within. China needs a peaceful world in which trade can take place. Their comparative advantage is labour, and so they need to suck in materials to produce.
Life is simple, it seems. We are in safe hands, albeit different hands, going forward. "China is exporting its savings to us to allow us to live our lives".
"China is ambivalent about the international order", argues Pei Minxim from Carnegie, "what kind of China does China want is the key question. Chinese leaders clearly want more prosperity for China, and need to live within the prevailing economic rules. But politics is a different matter, where China continues to practice illiberalism, and cannot be part of the wider order on those terms".
Wang Jianzhou, CEO of the world's largest mobile phone company (no prizes for guessing which country): "we are adding 4.5 million lines a month. Faced with this sort of growth, Chinese companies are strengthening their governance, the quality of their products, and they are taking social responsibility".
So Chinese companies, it seems, are just like any other companies, they are evolving into typical global businesses. "We need lawyers, bankers, accountants", he reassures us.
Bob Zoellick, ex-US trade negotiator, "China expects respect for their new found strengths and success, they are restoring their previous role in the world. But they need a strategy for being a global power, and this is not yet in place. China wants security, energy security, and access to markets, technology and finance. The new generation of Chinese multinationals will run into the same problems that other multinationals have confronted, focusing the need for improved governance".
"China and others are having a 'little difference of opinion' over China's role in Africa", acknowledges Bill McDonough with a nuanced sweep of his hand. But i am sure that China will sort this out soon, he concludes.
Excepting Mr Minxin, it seems that everyone expects China to evolve. That is, in the realms relevant to them, the country will be pretty much like any one else. Once again, we see the supreme confidence of those in charge of the jail's keys: "the keys work, there are clear differences between prisoners and jailors, and when a prisoner emerges finally into the open, he or she will be just like any other jailhouse keeper".
