You lead by example
People in China have spent the past 30 years closely watching developed democracies. For many, there was a belief that democracy would inevitably blossom in China along with more freedom.
That feeling has passed.
"The attraction that western-style democracy and free-market capitalism may have exercised on this elite has now withered," writes Martin Wolf today in the FT after a trip to China. "They stressed the failure of western states to invest in their physical or human assets, the poor quality of many of their elected leaders and the instability of their economies."
Instead, China is increasingly confident in its own model. One where free markets allocate some capital but a central government lays out the priorities.
One interesting takeaway is the rebuttal to the idea that China has centralized leadership and ambitions. What's rarely broadcast abroad is the internal divisions and decentralization within China. This is the focus of Chinese leadership rather than wanting to play a bigger role abroad.
Ultimately, this sounds like a prescient view:
"This will be a testing year. If it goes in the right direction, it will be fine; if it goes in the wrong direction, it will be earth-shaking," Wolf quoted a participant saying.
