If Washington was betting on international trade and globalization to “Westernize” China, the Chinese Communist Party took the other side of the bet.19 The party’s leaders wagered that supercharged growth would not weaken them but would consolidate their position as the successful helmsmen of their nation’s spectacular comeback. Beijing took advantage of trading opportunities. But it never subscribed to fully open markets. It decided who would invest and on what terms. It controlled movement of funds in and out. That, in turn, allowed the People’s Bank of China to fix its exchange rate, and
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