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Optimism abounds amid crisis

By Chen Weihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-13 13:35

As if this were not enough, China's property and stock markets have both rebounded after a period of stagnation, while property market speculators have raised prices in major cities to new highs.

These trends have compelled many naysayer's and cynics to admit that China may actually be able to carve a new role for itself as that of a savior by helping the world fight its way out of the recession.

Part of this optimism no doubt stems from the 30-year economic miracle that China has enjoyed following more than a century of war and political turmoil.

The successful staging of the Beijing Olympics last year and China's first manned space flight have both buoyed up the country's international credentials and given its people a feeling that, now, anything is possible.

The media may also have to accept some responsibility for this new flood of good feeling as it has tended to place a greater emphasis on positive stories in recent times.

However, things are not quite as rosy as all that. Potential time bombs still tick away under the surface, such as the pressure to create new jobs, narrow the widening income gap, maintain a sustainable level of investment, revive the country's flagging export sector and put the inflation pressure in check. There are also more wide-ranging party poopers like environmental protection and widespread corruption to deal with.

But for the time being at least, most Chinese are happy simply to enjoy the party. They prefer to see the cup as half-full rather than half-empty. This ambivalence is reflected in the Chinese character for the word "crisis", or weiji, which literally translates as "danger and opportunity."

At a time when many countries and peoples are preoccupied with the former, the Chinese are banking on the latter.

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