Excerpt From China, Inc. by Ted Fishman, P34

All this local gigantism is carefully documented each day on the front pages of the Shanghai Daily, the English-language paper put out by the government press. It is a quick, mostly cheery read, peppered with local news, summaries of government commissions and states visits and, less prominently, wire service stories on select world events – perhaps in Denmark or Tonga- that often seems to have no conceivable local relevance. The tour boat’s trash bins fill with copies even before the boat departs.

Yet, the paper is still worth reading, and rereading. Its news-like that in most of China’s state-run media-is both a measure and stimulus of China’s ambitions. While the rest of the world’s press leads with war news, celebrity scandals, or political coverage, the Chinese press logs every effort, public or private, that is being made to push China to the top in every contest it publicly places itself. The China news, of course, also has a “life the face” message, in which Asians, and Chinese in particular, are encouraged to try harder in all things. One day’s big story might describe how Chinese mobile-phone makers are winning the contest against foreigners, gaining the victory as a point of pride. The math, however, is strained, and the surveys it rests on are highly targeted. Chinese phones are not leading the market, but Chinese phone users say they hope homegrown brands will someday lead. The deadlines in the paper will, it is hoped, help make the wish come true.

Great personal achievements also fill the front page. There are, for instance, top stories about the young winners of one of the nationwide English-speaking contests. Imagine an American newspaper attempting to pump up sales with the story of a hardworking, likeable local boy who trounced his competitors in a conversational-French contest by giving a fine speech on the merits of international brotherhood. The Chinese press regularly carries such stories. In a country where much rides on the achievement of the upcoming generation, and where families must bet all on the achievements of the one child that the government allows families to have. Parents and grandparents apparently find the triumphs of other people’s superstar children entertaining, a kind of vicarious thrill in a country where good test scores and the right academic track are as sexy as six-pack abs. Smart children, after all, hold the key to China’s ascendancy. If they are diligent enough, they too may one day build the world’s biggest something or other. They will certainly help build what is destined to be the world’s biggest economy, and if all goes as the Chinese expect, the most influential geopolitical force in Asia and perhaps the world.