China's Spider Man Complex

by Patrick Appel

Damien Ma explains it:

It is simultaneously extremely poor and ostentatiously rich, dependingon the evidence that's selected for emphasis. Which country will Chinaput forward to face the future? It is afraid of assuming outsizedresponsibility that comes with greater power, or what I call the"Spider Man complex" ("with great power comes great responsibility,Peter"). And just as Spider Man, China too gripes about beingmisunderstood and occasionally being cast as a villain...