The Chinese economy is fascinating in many ways and especially in contrast to the contemporary western economies. The Chinese were first shocked and humiliated by the brutal impact of first the British and then other western imperialists who all imposed their will, by force, upon the nation of China. Almost uniquely however China was not completely seized and subjugated as were most other territories, because China was both too big and too deeply entrenched in its own perception as being the centre of civilisation- a claim it could rightly make some centuries earlier, and a belief that endures today. The Chinese economic success is in part a result of liberalisation- allowing Chinese to compete freely and create wealth rather than being forced to work in autocratic and brutal collectives. But the Chinese government understands and implements the hard lessons of the Opium Wars and western imperialism- namely the huge importance of government strategy in both internal development and external relations. Central to this the Chinese government composed mostly of engineers, carefully manages each element of the economic structure. Most crucial to this is the issuance of capital via fiat- the Chinese government directs Chinese banks to in turn direct capital toward projects that will build Chinas wealth. There projects can be state owned or privately owned but the crucial point is capital is always subservient to the overall imperative and strategy of government. Hence such grand visions as Belt and Road. In contrast western politicians are mostly lobbyists, lawyers and bankers. They are mostly directed by private capital- ie the banks and corporates who sponsor them into power. This is crony capitalism and has resulted in the decline of western infrastructure and wealth creation. The majority of fiat debt finance issuance in the west today is directed into rentseeking non productive asset price property speculation, not productive enterprise or infrastructure. In the west bankers have captured governments and they are bleeding them and their citizens to death. Perhaps the Chinese will come unstuck with their highly centralised autocratic regime but they do still have the look of a rising power, while the west has the look and feel of decline.