Engagement with China.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Karim Raslan

CHINA has become the new El Dorado, a land of enormous promise and extraordinary profit. For the nations of Southeast Asia and especially the region's all-powerful taipans, the initial anxiety about China's looming industrial and manufacturing capacity has been replaced by a growing realization of the Middle Kingdom's potential as future market-place as well as a source of tourists.

On my recent trip to Manila, my guide, herself of ethnic Chinese descent, explained: "The taipans are investing in southern China. Most of them can't be bothered with the Philippines any more; it's too small. My sons have Mandarin classes; it's their culture. However, I can't think of any non-Chinese Filipinos who've thought to learn the language."

Certainly Asean's trade with China (including Hong Kong) at $48 billion is booming, rising an unprecedented 29.3 percent in 2002 alone. While the United States, the European Union and Japan remain Asean's three largest trading partners with well over $85 billion in two-way trade each, growth rates have evaporated as figures slipped into negative territory.

Moreover, the scale of China's economic growth is breath-taking, so much so that most businessmen have to sit down after they go over the numbers. With an estimated 7 percent GDP growth, the excitement is tangible.

Certainly, for a first-time visitor, the capital of Beijing is a confusing if enervating maze of construction sites, shopping malls, sophisticated bars with erhyu-playing jazz singers, centuries-old courtyard homes and vast modern apartment complexes.