From Infidel753:
From time to time I’ve touched on why I’m skeptical about the “inexorable rise of China” meme which dominates a lot of American thinking about the future — the issue of “zombie” state-owned enterprises which produce little value but are propped up at huge expense to absorb what would otherwise be dangerous numbers of unemployed workers, the likelihood that official figures on economic growth are exaggerated, and the stultifying effect of a totalitarian state upon the open society and free flow of information which are essential to real modernity. But there’s another problem which, while it superficially seems trivial, I believe will be a major factor holding China back. It’s the writing system used by the Chinese language.