I’m happy that Thomas Friedman has recognized his adoration of China and qualified it with the appropriate allusions to their authoritarian system, etc.
However, China faces a demographic crisis that could easily undermine a system that has already seen discontent in the form of labor strikes, demonstrations against property seizures by the government, and the ancient complaint against official corruption.
China’s one-child policy has resulted in a surplus of males and when they come of age and are unable to find a spouse then the fireworks will really start. This could lead to further undermining the current central system and the strengthening of regional ties. Precisely the problem that opened China up to foreign aggression in the past.
Mondo 