From Parliament Hill to Bay Street, Canadians were long bamboozled by the promise of China. World’s most populous nation. World’s biggest market. The bottomless pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If to get rich is glorious, as Deng Xiaoping put it, then for two generations of Canadian politicians and business people, China was imagined as the most glorious get-rich opportunity, ever.
Unfortunately, the real People’s Republic of China is not just an economic opportunity. It is also a threat. And that threat is growing. This is no passing storm. China’s rapid rise, even as it remains an unapologetically totalitarian state, is geopolitical climate change on an unprecedented scale. We must think hard about how to mitigate its impact.
Unfortunately, the real People’s Republic of China is not just an economic opportunity. It is also a threat. And that threat is growing. This is no passing storm. China’s rapid rise, even as it remains an unapologetically totalitarian state, is geopolitical climate change on an unprecedented scale. We must think hard about how to mitigate its impact.
