When I wrote the post about The Economist’s cover for the November 13 issue, The Fear of Mao Buying the World, I had not yet read the feature story the cover represented.
Now that I have seen China buys up the world, And the world should stay open for business, I’m not sure who designed the cover but I don’t believe it was the same person that wrote the feature.
This may have something to do with the unique way The Economist does business.
The Economist describes itself as “a political, literary and general newspaper.… Articles … are not signed, but they are not all the work of the editor alone.… Nowadays, in addition to a worldwide network of stringers, the paper has about 20 staff correspondents abroad.”
In the Western media, I’ve read a few pieces about China that were well done and many that sounded as if someone suffering from Sinophobia wrote them.
This feature in The Economist comes from someone that seems to know China well.
He or she says that the world should not lock China out from buying up businesses in other countries. As is, China owns just 6% of global investment in international businesses compared to both Britain and America that have owned about 50% (Britain in 1914 and the US in 1967).
The Economist says that creating hurdles for China’s state-backed firms from buying companies outside China would be a mistake because most of China’s state-owned companies compete at home and their decision-making is consensual rather than dictatorial.
In fact, I’ve said that “most” decisions in China were consensual and that China is not a dictatorship by definition. The Chinese just make decisions differently than “most”.
However, what does “consensual” mean when doing business?
When doing business, consensual means with permission, without coercion, arriving at a decision or position by mutual consent, involving the willing participation of both or all parties, performed with the consent of all parties involved.
The Economist also says, “not all Chinese companies are state-directed. Some are largely independent and mainly interested in profits.”
The conclusion to the feature demonstrates a rare genius, “As it (China) invests in the global economy, so its interests will become increasingly aligned with the rest of the world…”
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse 
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