The current emphasis on Iraq and the war on terror may cause us to forget or underplay favorable world developments. One of the most important is the emergence of China as the economic and political center of Asia. With more than 1.2 billion people, how could it not be, once the nation began to tap its vast potential by opening itself to markets? Since the late 1970s, when Deng Xiaoping took over from Mao Zedong, China has expanded opportunities for business by freeing up agriculture, loosening central control on regional government enterprises, opening foreign investment, and, increasingly, encouraging private domestic business. These policies were continued by Jiang Zemin and are likely to be followed by the next set of leaders.
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