The Rise of China - Sooner than You Think

Businessweek reports that tax revenues in China are up 25.5% in the first quarter. The rising revenues are due to a combination of sharply higher profits as the economy continues to grow at about 10% per annum and a crackdown on tax evasion by Chinese officials.

China is using its rapidly growing revenue stream to fund big increases in spending across the board. Western military planners are concerned about big increases in Chinese military spending, but China is also spending big bucks on social spending to ease the yawning gap between urban and rural livelihoods.

By some measures, China is already a larger force in the global economy than the United States. But China's institutions and global standing have yet to make a commiserate rise. China's leadership attempts to hide behind the rhetoric of a "peaceful rise". The real truth remains that the Communist Party apparatus is ill-equipped to maintain its iron hold on a rapidly changing nation.

Most people in China today are just getting their first taste of real material progress. As long as powerful economic growth continues, the government will be able to keep a firm grip on its people. But growth at this pace has consequences beyond rising standards of living. The toll of rapid industrialization and mass consumer culture on China's environment and social stability will be immense.

It's a good thing that China is rising, indeed to suggest otherwise is to justify the continued impoverishment of more than a billion people. Let's just hope that China can manage the figurative minefield that awaits its citizens.