China's Innovative Approach

China's long and slow march to the 21st century is worthy reading in the popular and academic press. CEO Jack Ma is taking considerable risk but likely with Beijing's blessing as long as AliBaba is profitable and can be managed in such a way Beijing's dinosaurs do not feel threatened.

China faces many obstacles to quick economic growth. Clear, future will show economic growth at a rate Beijing finds acceptable. With growth goes information, which investors will need to fund the growth.

To date, Japan and Germany seem to be addressing economic growth effectively. Still, much work needs to be done.

Tim Cook announced Monday Apple operations in China are expanding. Chinese want more technology to gain an edge over other economies. Maybe in the long run this is the way to manage. Though Cook's first concern should be how easily China can copy his technology and disrupt his market and unsettle his stockholders. Therein lies the big question for China. Will it continue to be s society that values intellectual property theft or will the mainline blossom for entrepreneurs.      

Evidence exists China maybe slowly embracing values that breed modern-style entrepreneurship. According to UCLA words, like "innovation," used in more than 270,000 Chinese-language books published between 1970 and 2008. Traditionally, Chinese come to the US West Coast for education and business training in"innovation" and "innovative" thinking in technology. Ditto for Koreans. Anyone been to Korea lately? It is a thriving economy in overdrive.

Innovation in an economy seen as desperately out of step with Korea, Japan, and other economically thriving Asians countries, pressures Beijing socially and culturally. Thus, Xi Jinping attempt to weaken sophisticated Western values among his citizenry. Internet freedom and the freedom of speech that goes with it are attracted among Chinese willing to learn evermore about Western values, innovation, and the World Wide Web. Does this spell an end to Communism? Perhaps it becomes a Westernized market economy lite form of Communism. 

Whatever economic path the Chinese are taking, it will be vastly different than past economic planning and maybe more profitable for all involved, provided Xi Jinping can control his military.  

"You can be brilliant here," a Chinese researcher told the Financial Times. But you can be more brilliant in the US. As the world’s largest and most populous economy, China needs to be a leader in innovation. 

The most brilliant Chinese students consider an education in California to he an (investment) their government owes them. For the country to approach its economic potential, Western values like freedom, should be encouraged in China.