What's Ahead in China

In a single hour, Dumbartonian and development economist  Bert Keidel updated adult ed on 26 “hot topics” having to do with China. Here are some highlights:

• 
China’s growth: “They’ll have strong growth this year…There’s no banking crisis looming, but they’re also not strong enough to lead a world to recovery…I can be fairly optimistic that growth will continue, and China will overtake the U.S. well before 2030.”
• Corruption: It’s there but it’s normal for China’s development stage;
• 
Iran: “The Chinese are relying heavily on Middle East oil…They’re helping the Iranians develop port facilities; All sides look after their interests in the Middle East”;
• 
Foxcon and Apple: “The commentary is mixed…Workers liked the overtime that’s now been taken away … The Chinese have been closing down a lot of small-scale sweat shops”;
• 
Cyber warfare: “The U.S. is really far ahead”;

• Lessons learned  from the financial crisis: “In particular, China needs to prepare its instruments to combat criminal financial activity”
• Chinese military expansion: “Compared to U.S. accumulated hardware and worldwide basing rights and establishments, the Chinese defense capability is quite miniscule”
• Film and music: “They’re incredibly creative.”




Bert Keidel is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States. In May he will join an American delegation led by a former U.S. ambassador to China. The delegation is headed to China for three-way talks with Chinese and Japanese counterparts on North Korea, the likely impact of the Euro crisis, and other issues.

--By Ginny Finch