Ten Reasons Why China Matters to You

This list comes from the May/June '08 issue of Good Magazine.

You can access the full article from their website at:
http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/ten_reasons_why_china_matters_to_you

The author is Thomas P.M. Barnett who authored The Pentagon's New Map and Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating.

10. Because Nixon went to China and your world was born.

9. Because China may be an ancient civilization, bit it's a young society that's growing up very quickly--and unevenly.

8. Because China's transformation echoes much of America's past: not only the good, but plenty of the bad, and the ugly, too.

7. Because China's rapid and deep integration into manufacturing means that Chinese products permeate your life--at some risk.

6. Because China's demand for resources is altering global markets in ways both profound and perverse.

5. Because the panda "huggers" versus "sluggers" debate is a lot of hot air--until Washington scares Beijing into raising your mortgage interest rate five points overnight.

4. Because as China builds out its infrastructure, it can set a good or a bad example to developing economies struggling to deal with fragile environments.

3. Because China is globalization's general contractor: always happy to take the job and your money, but hard to get on the phone once you discover problems.

2. Because China will not be our biggest future enemy, but our most important ally.

1. Because we're less than five years from a new generation of Chinese leaders with whom a far stronger relationship may well be built.