One Man's View of the World

by Lee Kuan Yew

There is nothing inexorable about the rise of any country. China’s economic growth can continue over the next few decades if nothing happens to derail it. But there are a number of serious domestic challenges that will take the Chinese government considerable energy, time and resources to tackle. If any of these spin out of control, there could be deep economic recession or severe social unrest. Even if stability is maintained, there could be limiting factors. Why, for instance, wasn’t the iPhone invented in China? Intellectual property laws and the enterprise system are not at present providing sufficient incentives to liberate all the creative power that we know clearly from history that the Chinese people possess. But I am optimistic that there is sufficient will and competence within the present Chinese leadership to deal with these domestic challenges sensibly. Over the three and a half decades of gai ge kai fang, or reform and opening up, China has proven capable of reflecting on misguided policies and reining them in before they caused bigger problems.