Will China Rescue The World?

Karl Gerth is professor of history and Hwei-chih and Julia Hsiu Chair of Chinese Studies at the University of California, San Diego. His latest book, “As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers are Transforming Everything”, explores the wide-ranging ramifications and future implications of China’s shift toward a market economy over the past thirty years. Chinese and International political and business leaders now look to Chinese consumers to replace their American counterparts (you!) and rescue the global economy. Such pressure for Chinese to consume more is certain to continue in the coming years. But what are the implications for China and the world of Chinese consumers adopting the lifestyles of the middle classes in developed economies? Drawing on the research in his latest book, UCSD historian, Karl Gerth, explains how – frame the brands we buy to the biosphere we inhabit – we are all being affected by the everyday choices made by ordinary Chinese, whether we like it or not.