China's Pull in G-20
If only the rest of the world were run like China, the global financial crisis would be over much sooner. So the governor of China's central bank, Zhou Xiaochuan, implied recently. At the G-20 summit in London on Thursday April 2nd, China's President Hu Jintao sees a chance for his country to take centre stage. Now, with the West in economic disarray, China's leaders see an opportunity if not to supplant American power, at least to start wielding a bit more of the clout that they feel they deserve given recent, rapid economic growth and the country's importance to a global recovery. Notwithstanding the enormous social stresses that China is facing at home as a result of rising unemployment, caused by an export slump, Chinese officials recently have assumed an increasingly self-confident tone when speaking to the rest of the world.