China's Emergence as a Superpower (till 2014)

[Backwards Observer]

The Murdoch hath spoken:

Hoping the record-breaking Chinese revenues from "Avatar" can be replicated many times over, Rupert Murdoch urged China on Sunday to further open up its movie market.
On Saturday, Murdoch and his Chinese-born wife, Wendi Deng, walked the red carpet at the Shanghai International Film Festival's opening ceremony alongside Hollywood stars including Susan Sarandon and Matt Dillon. A day later, pageantry gave away to tough talk.
Speaking before a panel discussion on film finance attended by a top Chinese film regulator, the Australian-born media mogul said despite rapid growth, the Chinese cinematic market was still underdeveloped.
Murdoch said the numbers were breathtaking: Chinese box office revenues surged from just $150 million in 2005 to $1.5 billion last year, and a theater-building rush is expected to raise the number of movie screens in China from the current 6,200 to 20,000 in five years. Most of the new screens use 3-D compatible digital projectors.
"The truth is there is no more exciting market in the world than this one," he said.

Murdoch urges China to open up its film market - Jakarta Post (AP article) - June 12, 2011.

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Brief article on China's party structure:

In theory, institutions like the party's central committee and the politburo are forums where compromises are reached. Yet these institutions have adapted to different purposes. They were originally designed to send down the orders of one autocrat and a small group of his assistants, as it was with Joseph Stalin in Russia or Mao, or to call on a collective responsibility with unanimous consensus over single decisions, as occurred with Deng Xiaoping.

Many roads, and no collective mind - Asia Times - June 16, 2011.