Brian -

Thank goodness! A genuine attempt - minus agendum, inflammatory rhetoric or pandering to public perceptions - to present the modern China.

I consider the doomsday, antiquated ideas usually expressed by 'experts' on China to be an incredibly valuable proof of the spinmerchants craft and nothing more when reading the majority of articles on China.

So I hope you will continue to try to present your viewpoint.

Living myself in Ningbo the world as described through the prism of Shanghai or Beijing might as well be a whole other country to us here. Provincial cities and life therein constitute a far more accurate picture of life, and a far more representative version of thought and ideas which represent the majority.

Goodonyer for this and other articles.

Brian as a mature age historian, was surprised to read in our "West Australian" newspaper that China is perturbed abour Rudd allowing so much to modernise our defence equipment?

With China also hit economically by the general global economic slump, we could reckon the only reason China could make such a comment, is that she still regards Australia strategically as an American ally.

Regards, BB, WA.

The kind of perspective provided by this article is essential to truly understanding some of the dynamics and the relative influence of different social and cultural influences on politics and economics in a foreign country. Economic outcomes are not determined solely by entrepreneurial, governmental, or political influences, but by the actions of the people. Hence government "incentives" that don't work - the government itself is out of touch with what drives American citizens.

I'm from the US and look upon images and narratives on network news (mostly CNN, I should shop around more, but I don't see the point) that I view with a high degree of skepticism. "Spokespeople" for various officials, and people who are "in the know" pontificate and hem-and-haw over the "issues". Some increased awareness of what goes on on Wall St. with OPM (Other People's Money) has come about, and that is a plus. I fully expected some action to occur relative to making those who caused the problem pay for it, but no one is willing to try to apportion the blame between investment houses, rating agencies, and regulators. Nonetheless, an opportunity was ignored to really straighten out the financial community.

Obama's refusal (either inability or unwillingness, I'm not sure) to face down the financial empire while populist uproar was at its peak has shown a weakness or lack of political will. Maybe it's just realpolitik. Nothing can be done ...