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To: brian h who wrote (3886)	4/15/1999 12:30:00 PM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

Semi-OT. China, the future, the past and NATO By Paul E. Erdman, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 7:53 AM ET Apr 14, 1999 Columns & Opinions SHANGHAI (CBS.MW) -- I'm back in China for the first time in years. Last year, I returned to Russia after a similar hiatus. The contrast could not be greater. While Russia is in a process of disintegration, China is in ascendancy like never before in modern times. Shanghai could be a mirror image of what Chicago must have been like in the 1920's. Bustling with energy, traffic jams from dawn to dusk, hundreds of new high-rise buildings, a new opera, a new art museum, a new subway, a new system of elevated expressways. And, yes, bars and night clubs all over the place, reminding one of the decadence for which Shanghai was so famous in the 19th century. As one of my Chinese friends pointed out, Shanghai reeks of prosperity and optimism concerning the future. And today there isn't a statue or picture of Mao to be seen anywhere By contrast, most Russians today see their country as just a shadow of itself under Communism. They long for the days when they were taken care of from the cradle to the grave. They look to the future with hopelessness. Unable to understand or cope with capitalism, they are gradually sinking back into a state of sullen lethargy. Entrepreneurs Why is China making such a rapid and successful transition from Communism to Capitalism while Russia is not? Over dinner I put this question to a high official in the Shanghai government who had also visited Russia recently. His answer: "Because we Chinese, like you Americans, are basically entrepreneurs. We are both willing to take huge risks if the potential rewards seem worth it. That's why America -- Silicon Valley -- is the new model for China." And the Russians? "They don't want to work. They are finished as a superpower." How true. I think there is a serious lesson to be learned from this. During the second half of the 20th century, the United States stood challenged by both the Soviet Union, with its huge nuclear arsenal, and China, whose murky intentions were one of the principal reasons we got involved in both Korea and Vietnam. But our attention was predominantly directed towards the containment of Russia and the liberation of Eastern Europe. Our means to that end: NATO. What we are doing in Yugoslavia today indicates how much the old mind set still prevails in our foreign policy establishment. We are fighting yesterday's war. If Russia and NATO are yesterday, China is tomorrow. It is time that we as a nation adjust our priorities accordingly. Economist and author Paul E. Erdman is a columnist for CBS MarketWatch. © 1997-1999 MarketWatch.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Disclaimer. CBS and the CBS "eye device" are registered trademarks of CBS Inc.