When looking for thought leadership on China’s environmental issues, there is perhaps no opinion more interesting to me than those outside of China who are (1) in a position of power and (2) meet others in a position of power in China.
It makes for one of those conversations that is billed as a “China needs to do more”, but when the arguments are made it is filled with enough generalities about “everyone needs to do more” so as to water down the fact that China really does need to do more. Even if they are already doing more than others
I am not trying to be critical of the Minister, who I believe is doing his best to drive change, but I am still wondering when we are going to see honesty at the global stage. When a Minister will be able to say what he really wants to, and in a constructive manner that allows for a fact to be established and a path laid. that the minister can come out and say that China needs to improve on the current western model of extract, package, consume, and chuck and create a model for the West to follow. That it is in fact more concerning that China develops like the west, than china developing at all.
That the ideas are vastly different, are not in any way meant to limit China’s potential, but is in a way a statement of admission. that the West grew in the wrong manner, has misplaced the pillars of their economies, and needs China to help them out of the quick sand.