An eventful day was marked today (October 1, 2009) with the 60th anniversary of the declaration of the People’s Republic of China. National Day was celebrated in China with the major parade and military display by the Party as it has on previous anniversaries (note the public was not invited to the parade though they could watch on television). And at the head of it all the President and head of the party – Hu Jintao – who declared – “Today a socialist China geared to modernization, the world and the future has stood rock-firm in the east of the world.”
We have no question of the fact of Chinese modernization and increasingly of China's participationand growing leadership in the world (the G20 is but one locale) – but as to socialism – well it is increasingly hard to see. The Communist Party remains in firm control of the armed forces of China and so of China. But as to the future well – the future will tell. Just a note: I will be over at the CIGI ’09 blog - CIGI ’09 Towards a Global New Deal - for the duration of CIGI ’09. Come join Annette Hester and myself and our many guests, there.