Date: Tuesday 26th February 2008

Speakers:

• Mark Leonard, Author "What Does China Think?"
• Rt Hon Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister for Africa, Asia & the UN, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Professor Zheng Yongnian, China Policy Institute, Nottingham University
• Gideon Rachman, The Financial Times

About this event:

In his new book "What Does China Think?", which was published by Fourth Estate on 18 February, Mark Leonard introduces us to the thinkers shaping China's future, and opens up a hidden world of intellectual debate that could change our world. We know all about the statistics of China's rise – dizzying growth rates, vast currency reserves, new cities built every week. But have heard very little about China as a powerhouse of ideas about politics, economics and world order.

Leonard reveals a Chinese model of Globalisation that could re-shape the face of Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. He shows how experiments with focus groups and opinion polls are changing China from a traditional authoritarian state to a new 'deliberative dictatorship'. And he reveals how Beijing hopes to use a "China Dream" to challenge America's military power. What does China Think? charts the development of a Chinese worldview and portrays the factions battling for influence.

This event was held in association with The Fabian Society and the European Council on Foreign Relations.