Let China sleep for when she wakes, she will shake the world.

This quote is attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.

It's contested, but what can't be disputed is that the rise of China has rapidly brought hundreds of millions out of poverty.

And it's also unprecedented in human history.

So this also, I would say, shakes the foundation of the international system.

But yeah, to discuss the rise of China, what it means, and perhaps what we don't understand about China,

I'm joined today by Alexander Merk Curis and Nelson Wong, the chairman and director of ACN worldwide and president of

Shanghai Center, RIMPAC, Strategic and International Studies. Welcome. It's great to see the both of you.

A great pleasure to have Mr. Wong on our program. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure and a nodder for me to be on your program.

So one of the things with this rapid shift in China, this rapid rise, it's not only do we see

China's industrial capacity, it's technological leadership, we see Belt and Road Initiative, all

these new financial institutions, the diversification of currencies.

So I guess to start off with a very wide question, how can we understand this spectacular

rise of China?

What are the secret ingredients?

And also what is it that people might misunderstand when they are presented of these topics?

Well, it's a very interesting topic, actually, and very good questions.

So, let me start by saying that after all these years,

I still believe there is a huge misunderstanding about China. Because let's face it, I mean, for the last 500 years when China's doors were

relatively closed to the outside world, Western dominers, and their interpretation of everything,

was taken for granted by many. Even until today when, you know, the rise of China gets mentioned

and talked about, every now and there, many people still don't really get what China is all about.

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