SHANGHAI, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The following is a contribution from Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, an international investment banker and corporate strategist, and author of the book "How China's Leaders Think: The Inside Story of Reform and What This Means for the Future".
Dr. Kuhn's special television series on Expo and the Future of Shanghai, entitled "Expo's Meaning, Shanghai's Mission," is being broadcast on CCTV News internationally and in China. The contribution first appeared in Chief Executive magazine.
Postcard from the Expo: Shanghai: world city?
Shanghai's ambition? World city! Can Shanghai break into the big leagues of New York and London? China's leaders have given Shanghai a mission: Be a world city! What does this mean for China? For other countries? Is there a looming "China threat"? Or an emerging "China model"?
For more than a millennium, China's economy was the largest on earth, and China's science was centuries ahead of Europe's. But then came 150 years of foreign oppression and domestic strife, with all manner of devastation and misery. Now, as China ascends back up to great power, Shanghai, China's largest and most advanced city, seeks to become a world city.
I'm in Shanghai for Expo 2010 Shanghai, watching all nations ratify China's emergence and assessing Shanghai's increasing prominence. Expo is a remarkable gathering of all the world's nations to make the cities of the world more sustainable and more livable.
