The Growth of a Giant: China as Viewed from North America

Thirty-five years ago the author visited China for the first time as president of The Iron Ore Co of Canada. He arrived very late on a flight from Tokyo and fell, exhausted, into a deep sleep at the old Peking Hotel only to be awakened at the crack of dawn by the most bizarre, cacophonous noise he had ever heard. In 1986, he visited China as prime minister of Canada on a full state visit. Inside Beijing's Forbidden City he met privately with Deng Xiaoping, the de facto leader of China. As they sat in oversized arm-chairs, in the Chinese style, he had the feeling he was truly in the presence of history. In July 2009, when, for most countries, economic indicators were pointing down, by contrast, there was a surge of enthusiasm around China as the great exception to the economic crisis. China in 2009 was seen, correctly, to have avoided the excesses that hobbled Western economies, and most notably the US.