Tonight, rather than a single speaker, we have two speakers.
Trends are the result of the interaction of institutions, people and circumstances.
If we look more carefully at institutional structures, much of that China-boosting looks very hollow. The enormous force of a mighty empire achieved far less of lasting significance than the tiny expedition of a small kingdom on the periphery of Europe. The failure of China is as least as much a subject for thoughtful consideration as the success of Europe. China is presently attempting a form of the capitalist road to economic development while being ruled by a regime whose mandate to rule rests on transcending and abolishing capitalism. So we have a Great Power whose path to modernisation fundamentally undermines the legitimacy of the ruling regime.