But trade is a two-way street, and the West must remove its restrictions as well. The sufficient condition for peace is that China change its political regime to one based on the rule of law and limited government, so that liberty prevails rather than a system that spawns corruption. Whether that change occurs will ultimately depend on the Chinese people, but the probability that it will occur can be increased by strengthening commercial ties, spreading the use of information technology, and allowing China to enter the World Trade Organization on mutually beneficial terms. Peace and prosperity follow naturally when the government safeguards property rights, rules justly, and lets markets operate freely. The idea of spontaneous order is central to Lao Tzu's way of thinking.
Limited government is the norm for natural order, unlimited government the norm for disorder.
He warned against trying to plan the market, which is a complex system dependent on the decisions of millions of individuals, each of whom has unique information. A respect for the rule of law and a spirit of independence are important by-products of commercial society. There is increasing evidence that greater reliance on markets leads to growing pressure for political liberalization as a rising middle class demands the right to participate in the political process in order to protect newly acquired wealth. As each nation moves toward the market and away from state planning and mercantilism, a liberal international order develops, increasing the chance for peace and prosperity. That was true in the 18th and 19th centuries, and it is true today.