DATELINE: Above the garage in Indy, 5 July 2006

Cut short the family holiday trip over the 4th to get back for quick one-day journey to DC (actually No. VA) to meet with exec of company that’s expressed the usual interest in Enterra.

On cab ride home (Pilot still being fixed) I tried to write down some of my major impressions of how the vision/briefs were received in China at the various venues (U. of Beijing, military research tank/audience, and prestigious China Institute for Contemporary International Relations, or CICIR).

First, I was surprised to see how many had already read the book in English, even more so how many brought volumes for signature. The bottom line being, the Chinese pol-mil elite study our writings a lot.

Second, most of their interest centered on the future of U.S.-China relations, so my argument for strategic alliance were of the utmost interest, the general feeling being that it was possible to consider on China’s side but that the Americans would be too suspicious for it to happen--or simply too fearful of China’s “rise” to see the logic of it.

Third, what seemed to strike the biggest chord with people was my notion that while the U.S. needed alliance with China, China needed it even more with the U.S. Torpedo the global economy and America’s still relatively rich and strong, but China might well come apart. Yes, free-loading on the global security was fine for now (and just about all Chinese I interact with loathe the notion of stepping up the country’s global security profile), but a budding backlash is brewing in the Gap against perceived Chinese economic exploitation that says China’s formula for trade with these states is really no better than the old European colonial model (raw materials at cheap prices for China and a flood of cheap finished goods for the local elites and minute middle class--so some enclaved development but no real integration). So while America catches a lot of flack today as the face of globalization, China’s continued emergence will soon push it into that same limelight. So it’s ally now or ally later, with higher costs likely on both sides the longer we collectively wait.

Fourth, China’s foreign policy elite know that the country’s growing reliance on foreign energy is unsustainable, not merely in terms of potential disruption but--quite frankly--in sheer volume required. The system simply will not adjust enough to accommodate China’s growing appetite, so it’s new rules forged by China’s development pathway or inevitable stagnation at some point in the mid-term, with political instability at home as the by-product.

Fifth, the car culture in China is taking off far more today than it was even two years ago. It’s all so 1950s-like (echoing last Sunday’s op-ed), with the leaded gas and the seat belts no one wears and the slower speeds and the plethora of mismatched vehicles on the roads. And it will only get worse in terms of congestion and pollution. People there simply love the freedom of movement too much. Cat’s outta the bag on that one.

Finally, I believe I now have some new friends on the book publishing front, which makes me a whole lot more optimistic on getting both PNM and BFA out. I’ll let my agents follow up on that, but hopefully something will break by the end of the year, perhaps even a joint publication of both books.

Overall, a great trip that will lead to many more, I am sure, and not just to China but to places around Asia.