China’s most important person

Forbes Magazine listed the 68 most powerful people on earth and Hu Jintao president of China is number 1 ahead of the president of the United States. Is this a fair ranking? I think this is more than fair and is an important signal to the world.

China has become the engine for growth around the world. It has replaced the US in this role. In the 90's and the last decade, the US consumer drove markets. The key for the next few years will be the Chinese consumers and the willingness of the government to promote internal growth. Of course, the Chinese economy is smaller than the US but the range of US GDP may be much tighter than what we will see in China.

Chinese currency policy may also be the driver for any solution the the global imbalance problems. The solution is in the hands of the government and not the people of China.

The growth in the entire Asian region will also be be affected by the policy choices China makes.

The political stability of the region will also be affected by the policy choices of China and not the US. US will be reactive to these choices. Many Asian countries are tilting more to the US not because of something the US has done but because of the new assertiveness of China.

Yes, Hu Jintao deserves to be the most powerful leader in the world.