Op-Ed Contributors

China still needs time to develop

By Michele Geraci (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-25 07:55

Living conditions remain very basic and access to higher education or health services is, sometimes, difficult. Infrastructure is developing very fast, but most of the new facilities remain beyond the means of the average citizen. While the southern provinces enjoy a more pleasant natural environment, the same cannot be said of the western and northwestern provinces, where climate is harsher and natural beauty less easily seen.

Notwithstanding these issues, I have also seen a great sense of hope and pride, even among people performing most humble jobs, something that has been lost in Europe. Sending a child to a better school and giving it the chance of a better future is already a great reward for parents, even if they still continue to plough fields day after day. The word "endure" is often heard in conversations.

It is in this backdrop of "two Chinas" that we, as foreigners, need to comprehend this diverse and vast country. While it is auspicial that, over time, China will take a more active role in international affairs - as it is indeed already doing - I believe it is right that it continues to focus its efforts on improving living conditions for its own people first. We need to be patient with China, engage it in debates, but respect the speed at which it chooses to take certain actions, without imposing our own thinking, or worse, advance undue requests.

Given the still ongoing uncertainties in the financial systems and the issues that the European Union and the euro face today, we may, perhaps need just another friendly helping hand to solve our own problems.

The author is head of China Program at the Global Policy Institute of London Metropolitan University and visiting scholar at Zhejiang University.

(China Daily 05/25/2010 page9)