Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 23 July 2008 | Nature 454, 384-387 (2008) | doi:10.1038/454384a
News Feature
China: Visions of China
Can the Chinese government meet its ambitious targets on space, the environment, research, energy and health? David Cyranoski takes a look at China today and what it hopes to be tomorrow.
China's post-Mao leadership has never been under so much pressure. At home, it is trying to appease 1.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
Yet another superbly refreshing and engaging article on China – thank you, Nature. A wide range of issues were raised and discussed. In its frantic, tenacious and uncompromising pursuit of industrial growth, China has contributed (in no small measure) to the degradation of its environment. Despite the effort of the authority, progress in bringing about a cleaner and greener environment has been rather slow, except of course the areas around the Olympic Games avenues. China’s state-of-the-art technology (be it space, military or communication) is still far behind that of the US and EU, a lag of at least 15 years. Nevertheless, given time and money, my assessment is that the Chinese will determine and persevere to close the gap by 2035. By then, it could well be a superpower in its own right. Should the world be worried by the Chinese advance? My contention is if the present ‘multilateral peace and harmony’ policy advocated by the leaders continue to be effective, the Chinese will be happy to keep minding their own business (unless they are threatened by unwelcome external forces) – Tan Boon Tee.