In today's 'Financial Times Deutschland', it is reported that the Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC), which is the PRC's foreign wealth fund and effectively a division of the Chinese Government might be increasing its stake in the American investment bank, Morgan Stanley, to 49.9%.1 With something like three trillion dollars at their disposal China certainly has the money and, indeed, has the money to move markets. Moreover, while it is interesting to note that Beijing has limited foreign ownership of Chinese banks to 25%, one might, nevertheless, hope that the more the world can involve China in the global market place the better. On the one hand, it might lead to a world that is no longer dominated financially, and a priori, politically by the Anglo-Saxons and on the other hand it might see the Chinese understanding that they have to adapt their own financial and political institutions to live in the world as it is. It might just be that, in the "Global Village" cooperation and consensus is the only way forward. Of course, it might also mean that the type of "democracy" the world is heading for will be just as exclusive as the one England experienced after the signing of the 'Magna Carta' in 1215 rather than inclusive democracy of the type envisaged by Takis Fotopoulus.2
1 'Financial Times Deutschland' 19/20/21 September 2008. p1
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takis_Fotopoulos
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