An interesting development in the expansion of Chinese economic clout..
China has bought a 10% interest in the American equity firm Blackstone, for a reported £1.5 billion.. or $3 billion US..
Now this gives Blacksone a decided advantage in expanding it's areas of influence in China.. Blackstone was one of the companies that recently pulled out of a takeover bid for Sainsbury's in the UK..
What's interesting however, is not that Blackstone has sold 10% of it's company to China, but that the funding comes from the Chinese governments newly formed 'State Investment Fund'..
This intimates that China is now ready to spread it's cash around, worldwide, to diversify it's foreign ownings, under the aegeis of a State department.. This also intimates that China is set now, to truely enter the worldwide economic community, with a ton of cash to throw around.
There was a time, not that long ago, where the man on the street knew little about China, it's history, it's political development. But with the coming emergence of China as a non-isolationist world power, educational programs have sprung up like weeds, pushing a fast-track indoctrinational knowledge of what has, to this point, been a 'sleeping giant' among the world powers.
Even Nanny Services have been bombarded with requests from those who can afford £500 a month for their kids to be taken care of by surrogates, for Nannies who can teach Cantonese or Mandarin.
Doubtless it won't be long before those languages are included among those offered in schools, both Public and State.. for the indications are there to be plainly seen, that the need for either of the Chinese dialects will have more relevance than say German, or French, in this developing world..
There was a pertinent question asked in 'chat' this morning.. chatrooms by the way can be an invaluable source of public opinion on certain matters.. on the meaning of 'globalisation'. Does it mean the eventual dissolution of national barriers to make way for economic development..? Does it mean the amalgamation of States to form conglomerate economic entities..? Does it eventually lead to a 'World Government'..?
Is the EU the natural response to the US..?
Problematic to all of these scenario's is the ubiquitous problem of Africa, but can that, in time, be brought under control..?
It might well be said that the emergence of China into the world arena, could be the driving force behind the West's attempts to solve the disparities between the living standards of those in the Third World, before the Chinese move in themselves with their money, and a political system that if altered slightly, could prove attractive to those in turmoil and poverty..
A 'State Investment Fund', running under a system that is doing wonders within the boundaries of it's own country..
Something to ponder, when we in the West are throwing our disposable cash away on irretrevables the likes of bombs.. bullets.. the machines of war.. and to a great extent wasting our resources outside our own countries..
The Chinese are at this point, completely unconcerned with ideologies other than their own, and so far, have incurred the wrath of no idiologically driven States..
They are in a position to do that which we cannot.. and that is expand without having to fight a history of colonialism.
Again, something to ponder..

And now we have Gordon Brown leading Great Britain. Lets see what the man does, on the World Stage, for the next 18 months at least..