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Bringing China In From The Cold
The loopiest aspect of the Group of 8 conclave in Evian is the notion that global leaders are confronting the challenges of the 21 st century in the absence of the nation that may well dominate the century. That's right: China .
Even if China's gross domestic product1 is measured using its official, undervalued exchange rate, its economy is far bigger than those of G-8 members like Canada or Italy — and almost three times the size of Russia's. If one values China 's economy using another approach, purchasing power parity, then it is already easily the biggest economy outside the U. S.
As it happens, France invited China's new leader —Hu Jintao — to Evian. But Mr. Hu may be the second most important man in the world, and he deserves a place in a Group of 9. On short and long term issues that the G-8 grapples with — from dealing with North Korea to preventing global warming — the two key players in the world are China and the U. S. And it's ridiculous to include Russia in the G-8 but not China.
Several objections can be raised to expanding the G-8 to include China: It's a summit meeting for industrialized nations, and China isn't one . It's true that China has more peasants than any country in the world, but it also has more industrialists. Hey, it's China.
China exports more manufactured goods than Canada, Italy or Russia; it is launching a space program to put a man on the moon; its biotechnology is superb. And while the industrialization of China is still in its early stages, the world needs to wrestle with what that means: if the Chinese come to use as much energy per capita as Americans do, that will amount to more than the total amount of energy now produced worldwide.
China has steadily become more responsible over the years on issues ranging from trade to terror, and in the last few months it has shown real leadership on resolving the North Korean crisis2.
President Bush has managed relations with China very well, mostly because Pentagon hawks3 who had been trying to turn Beijing into The Enemy were distracted by 9 /11. There are real risks that we will become enemies — there could be clashes between the U. S. and China over Taiwan, the South China Sea — but they will be lessened if we give China opportunities for global leadership.
In the meantime, China is too important to leave out in the cold. As the leaders in Evian struggle over SARS, AIDS, Iran and North Korea, they need China within their ranks, as a member of the G-9 .
練習題：
Ⅰ. Choices :
1. Which countries have less GDP than China does?
A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France
2. Which of the following have less purchasing power than China does?
A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France E. Germany F. Japan
3. Which countries export less manufactured goods than China?
A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France E. Germany F. Japan
Ⅱ. Question :
Where did this G-8 summit hold?
