As China's leaders follow the debate initiated by Britain's Tony Blair of how best to reverse sub-Saharan Africa's slide into wretchedness, they must be feeling quietly pleased with the contrast to their own country. Some 30 years ago, average per capita incomes in sub-Saharan Africa were twice that of South and East Asia - today they are half that level.
While Africa and its donors focus on aid - how much of it, to whom, from whom - the question has never had much resonance in China. In contrast to Africa, and indeed to many other Asian nations, the mainland achieved economic takeoff without being the recipient of vast amounts of...
