15 October 2009
The Guardian and New Statesman columnist, Martin Jacques, will give this year’s annual Bevan Foundation lecture at Swansea University on Friday 23 October 2009.
Martin, a fellow of the London School of Economics and a visiting professor at universities in Beijing, Kyoto and Singapore, will discuss his acclaimed book, When China Rules the World.
The book evaluates economic predictions that by 2050 China’s economy will be twice the size of the US and India. The only European economies in the top ten will be the UK (ninth) and Germany (tenth).
When China Rules the World investigates the West’s reliance on China for goods, and challenges the assumption that, if the UK buys enough Chinese goods, China will behave like a friendly giant and be part of an international, democratic “club”.
Martin explained: “China does not aspire to run the world because it already believes its natural role and position is at the centre of the world. Its civilisation is 3,000 years old, much older than ours, and the Chinese also consider themselves superior to us.
“What has China to be currently superior about? Its size, its numbers and, thanks to the industrial revolution started by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, its ability to make most things cheaper than almost anyone else. China will not just change the world economically; its political and cultural impact will be equally as profound.”
When China Rules the World was the Independent newspaper’s book of the week in June 2009. The Bevan Foundation, The Social Justice Think Tank for Wales, is a charitable foundation established in 2001 to develop fresh thinking about the issues facing people in Wales today. To date, it has carried out extensive research, organised conferences and debates, and published articles and reports.
This year’s Bevan Foundation lecture will be chaired by Professor Noel Thompson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences) at Swansea University. The welcome will be given by Professor Helen Fulton, Director of the University’s Research Institute for the Arts and Humanities.
The Bevan Foundation lecture will be held at 7pm on Friday 23 October at Swansea University’s Faraday Lecture Theatre (Faraday Building). This is a public lecture, and tickets should be booked in advance. Further information is available from Daneka Norman at the Bevan Foundation. Please telephone 01495 356702 or email Daneka.Norman@bevanfoundation.org