ARTICLE: “In China, More Facilities Go Green: Foreign Firms Look to International Standards Amid Inconsistent Environmental Practices,” by Andrew Batson, Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2006, p. A8.

ARTICLE: “As Families Splurge, Chinese Savings Start to Take a Hit: Long-Awaited Cultural Shift May Not Ease Trade Gap With U.S. in Short Term; Mr. Su Gets a New Townhouse,” by James T. Areddy, Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2006, p. A1.

ARTICLE: “China Raises Interest Rates To Rein In Galloping Growth: With Small but Symbolic Step, Beijing Signals Movement Toward Market Economy; Slowing an Export Juggernaut,” by Andrew Browne and Michael M. Phillips, Wall Street Journal 28 April 2006, p. A1.

OP-ED: “Health Care for 1.3 Billion People? Leave It to the Market,” by Scott W. Atlas, Wall Street Journal, 1 May 2006, p. A15.

ARTICLE: “No direction: Everyone is in love with Chinese cinema. Except the Chinese,” The Economist, 29 April 2006, p. 69.

ARTICLE: “The party, the people and the power of cyber-talk: At present the party has the upper hand. It is starting to sweat, though, The Economist, 29 April 2006, p. 27.

ARTICLE: “Japan Expects China Ties to Get Better Over Time,” by Sebastian Moffett, Wall Street Journal, 1 May 2006, p. A4.

Honestly, can China change any faster than it already is?

We’re told China is going to hell environmentally and won’t change fast enough. Except we see signs of that change--in fact, signs of an amazing embrace that’s far faster than our own was decades ago.

We’re told that China’s middle class will emerge and start having an impact on society someday, and yet they already seem to be here, altering what has long been described as an intractable Asian thing about super-savings. I know, I know, they’ll never be like us--until suddenly they are.

Have no doubt: the Chinese government and party leadership feels like its head is swimming with all the choices they face. There’s healthcare. There’s trying to keep tens of millions under mouse arrest. Which way to jump? Where to turn?

The good news is, of course, that every time China gets in a pinch in its efforts at export-driven growth, the leadership and business community there realizes that there’s no place like home--meaning, domestic consumption becomes their long-term salvation.

China’s got a thriving movie industry, and yet it has about one-tenth the cinemas the U.S. has despite having four times the population. Having trouble cracking Oscar’s code? Simply look homeward for your audience.

Others have done this for years now, and over time all this attention will benefit China’s bilaterals with the rest of the world, but especially with Japan and the U.S., two countries that need to toss most of their top leadership and dig down deeper into younger, more sensible ranks on the subject of China. Hopefully, Japan will lead the way on this, teaching Washington a thing or two about more Sun Tzu, less Clausewitz.