There is no question that after Beijing joins the WTO if it sticks to its program of phased-in commitments Chinese society will undergo deep changes. Companies will be forced to get in shape and adopt international standards of governance or lose out to rivals that do. As China's post-WTO aspirations play out, it is likely to be in the port city of Shanghai where the results will first become evident. Long regarded as China's doorway to the world, Shanghai in recent years has become a showcase of the country's economic and social future, ground zero in the struggle to build a modern, open society. The city's pride of place has been secured by the patronage of top Chinese leaders, including President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji who both previously ran the city before heading for Beijing.
Shanghai is on the frontlines of China's business revolution.
Multinationals are moving in and local entrepreneurs are forging more efficient ways. It's a painful transition. Across China, workers by the millions are being laid off with no social safety net to support them. Some 12 million people a year are losing their jobs, with only about half finding new ones. Reforms could one day erode China's one-party domination and the corrupt state apparatus.