The omnipotent reputation many assign to leaders in Beijing is being challenged. Take this week’s internet fiasco. China postponed the deadline for personal-computer makers to include state-backed anti-pornography software on new PCs after US officials and business groups urged it to scrap the rule.
China is normally a model of implementation. The speed with which it builds state-of-the-art airports, high-speed rail lines and Olympic stadiums is impressive by any scale. Its censorship efforts were exactly the opposite: sloppy and ill-considered.
Economic-stimulus efforts appear to be benefiting from greater competence. That may be a boon for 1.3 billion Chinese trying to get a share of the nation’s growth. The benefits for those outside China are much more limited.
I don’t know why so many people are so enamored of the Chinese “business” opportunity. These are the same folks that made the “Great Leap Forward”. Has everyone forgotten Tiananmen Square? GATT is evil.