The China Mirage

China lures and fascinates strategists and businessmen alike: the strategists because of its vastness, proximity to the eastern reaches of the Soviet empire, and hostility to the declared enemy of our way of life; the businessmen because of all those people. Give or take the odd hundred million, a billion potential consumers. The good capitalist drools at the mouth and weakens at the knees.

Let us look at both halves of the fascination.