Jack Ricchiuto

Intensive conversations with friends in Shanghai this week reveal a striking contrast between the persistent uneducated perceptions by Americans of China’s present and recent past and the reality. As is often the case, the outside story pales in comparison to the richness of the inside narratives.

As it turns out, there are clear answers to questions about why China opened up its approach to economic growth, why this growth continues to outpace by several times that of the “superpower” US, and what portends the likely arc of growth into the future.

One of the compelling dynamics is that the Communist experiment in practice has revealed the cracks of unsustainable design features. The growth we have seen in the past ten years has evolved into the current state where the majority of businesses are private, wealth is growing and spreading, and the massive infrastructural strength will continue to support the economy.

Government corruption and ineptness continue to entitle party leaders, but with an increasingly benign impact on the economic growth imperative. The movement reflects the global trend toward business having more economic power than governments. The interesting divide to watch globally now is between countries where governments has the power edge over businesses and those where businesses have power edges over their governments.

Either way, we will need leaders who are less driven by corruption and ineptitude or shameless greed and lack of moral compass. To become a thriving planet, we will need leaders who are expert and socially responsible instead.