The Editor,
The Times.

21 October 2015

Sir,
No, the future is not Chinese. China will not rule the world. Its population will shortly start to decline, eclipsed in numbers, and eventually in GDP, by India. Mr Xi has no allies beyond North Korea and, for a while, the equally unpleasant Mr Putin. China faces ferocious problems of population ageing, and labour shortage for which no easy remedy will be available. It is pervasively corrupt, its society highly unequal and it is the world’s no1 polluter of the environment. Its one party dictatorship may seem secure now, but economic, social and environmental strains may lead to the mandate of heaven being withdrawn just as unexpectedly as it was in the apparently rock-solid Soviet Union. In fawning to this oppressive, aggressive regime and begging to be its ‘best friend’ Mr Osborne is behaving like an insecure small child in a school playground sucking up to the biggest bully. No, Mr Osborne, Britain does not have permanent friends, certainly not permanent best friends. It does have permanent interests, and one of them is to protect its self-respect, independence and security and avoid being anyone’s client.

Yours faithfully
David Coleman