Marx in China: Modern Art, Modern Conflicts, Modern Workers

A whole new deference has now appeared in Western discussions of China. "A New China Rises," said a Time magazine headline in June 2005, as it noted, "The People's Republic has embraced the modern world as never before. Is that cause for celebration or anxiety?"; "Chinese Strength, U.S. Weakness," proclaimed the New York Times in the same month, while in July 2005 it asked, "Who's Afraid of China, Inc?" and described "The New Power Brokers, Born in China, Closing Deals for U.S. Firms" and "The China Syndrome on Wall Street." Meanwhile, China has developed a brilliant film culture, a cinema reminiscent of Italian Neo-Realism, which has brought the world a vision of both the marvelous expanse of Chinese streets and the internal pressures that drive Chinese lives. China's power surge and rapid development form one of the most exciting stories of the late twentieth century.